Ready made pastry.

I use ready made.
I can make pastry.
Shortcrust is easy , but puff/filo too much bother .
I like shortcuts !

As a supply teacher some decades ago I was given two Home Ec lessons a week with the same year group.
In those halcyon days before a rigid curriculum. I was given a free hand as I had had catering experience -how that was relevant escaped me., and very little guidance from the HoD.
So I decided to devote one lesson each week to the “proper” way to do things - cheese sauce, pastry, pizza, scones , cupcakes even shoe cleaning and one to the “shortcut” methods using Scuffcote, scone or cake mix, Jus-rol etc.
The kids reacted very positively and often it was difficult to tell the difference in the results.

Use it all the time but always feel guilty that my Grandma would tut as she taught me to make pastry and hers was perfect! Feel a bit of a cheat but never mind!

I've used ready made and it's fine. Life is too short.

We have heard so many times that hard work is the way. If you want anything that is worthwhile, you need to put in effort. To be proud of accomplishments, you need to have gone through all of the rough roads.
After years of ‘work’ on myself, I believe that life is meant to be joyful. Period. Whatever it is that you do, whether it is a kitchen full of mess while baking or just cracking an egg and mixing. Did you enjoy the process? Was the end result satisfying? Was anyone negatively impacted by your actions? I think you did good with one. 1-2-3 done and delicious result! Sounds joyful to me.

Kali2

I always buy ready-made pastre, but always check it is butter only and NOT palm oil.

Definitely with you on that! Palm oil is devastating vast areas. Destroying habitat for endangered species eg orangutans in Borneo. Vegan pastry made with it is not only disgusting but causes environmental harm to the planet. I make my own shortcrust pastry but buy all butter puff pastry.

Mamou - absolutely! As long as we enjoy the process - and hopefully eating the end result, that's all that really matters in the long run. It can be very therapeutic to do everything yourself, if you have the time, the means and the energy - but there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking short cuts either.

Life into short to make pastry, iron bed sheets and chop onions

I don’t iron our sheets but I do iron sheets for visitors’ beds though. Do other people?

I'm told my mincepies are like shortcake and melt in the mouth but its the only time of the year I actually make my own pastry.
Can't beat the pastry made by the grandchildren with there hot little hands. Hard and unpalatable but after grandad has his Granny saves hers for later?

If shop bought is better than I can do it then I buy it and feel no guilt. Pastry comes into that category.
Try frozen mashed potato too or those delicious tubs of mashed potato from M&S. Yum!
I do still make cakes, scones and soda bread. I have not been totally seduced by the dark side yet.

Certainly don’t make it anymore, never had the touch like my ma did hers was amazing. So ready made suits me. I make my own crumble though.

I only make pastry occasionally now when family visit and request a ‘homemade’ pie. The flour doesn’t last long even stored in an airtight container so I resorted to ready made a few years ago. The family are non the wiser and always praise the shortcrust

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t iron our sheets but I do iron sheets for visitors’ beds though. Do other people?

I only iron the pillow cases. The duvet covers don’t really show the creases - one’s a check and the other’s a William Morris pattern - the strawberry thief - in a dark blue.

My mum was very good making pastry. I watched her for years and mine is rubbish. Ive tried and tried and my problem seems to be the rolling out. I can't get it thin enough or it just crumbles and looks terrible. Ready made and rolled pastry is used often in my house I'm afraid Thank you Jusrol for saving my sanity as far as pastry is concerned.

Plunger

Kali2

I always buy ready-made pastre, but always check it is butter only and NOT palm oil.

Definitely with you on that! Palm oil is devastating vast areas. Destroying habitat for endangered species eg orangutans in Borneo. Vegan pastry made with it is not only disgusting but causes environmental harm to the planet. I make my own shortcrust pastry but buy all butter puff pastry.

Thanks. Yes, I know many people who have stopped buying palm oil, but do not check for palm oil in prepared products.

Can you recommend a Brand or type that is butter and not palm oil, please.

I have a small kitchen with not much room for rolling pastry out so I get the ready made, ready rolled sort. And I can guarantee that it will be edible. Which is often more than I can say about my own!!

It's been the secret of professional kitchens for decades, along with dried pre mix i.e. scones, carrot cake to name but two.Treat it as home made your secret. I only make from scratch Christmas pudding and cake, big hit in my house. Weights orange cake mix ,add chocolate nibs to mix. When taken out of oven sprinkle with sugar nibs and top with orange zest .

My mother was a cookery teacher but even she used ready made puff pastry! She said it was just as good and saved huge amounts of time. However she made her own shortcrust and crumble mix and was horrified when she found out I bought ready made crumble mix. She made me a large quantity when she came to stay which lasted ages, but I confess I went back to bought ready made when it ran out!
As I've got older I'm happy to take short cuts especially if it reduces the time spent standing in the kitchen, I hardly ever bake these days, especially when I'm on my own as it would encourage me to eat too much if I had homemade cakes to tempt me. I was considering baking for my daughter's birthday which is tomorrow, but in the end opted for a really nice bought cheesecake - her favourite dessert - and will take her out for dinner.

If you enjoy the process, it's fun, not hard work. I really enjoy making my own bread - and just can't buy anything as good. I'm quite happy to cheat with crumble, though (just smash a packet of biscuits).

I have never mastered pastry. We had a lovely domestic science teacher at school, but I can still hear her admonishing us for getting the butter and flour on the palms of our hands. " finger tips, girls. Just your finger tips! And lift them up!" I think I was scarred for life. I very rarely make pastry but will occasionally make a crumble topping. But ths ghost of Mrs D is still behind me, looking over my shoulder "finger tips! Use your finger tips"!!!!

Another " good as the real thing". I have only recently discovered the joys of Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Puddings. I absolutely always prided myself on my Yorkshire puds until a couple of years ago when my future DiL joined us for Christmas dinner. To keep her happy and make her feel welcome and at home I agreed to include Yorkshire puddings as part of our meal, much to the horror of the rest of my family. I figured that I really wouldn't have the time, space or inclination to make the batter, heat the tin and cook the things. So I got a large bag of Aunt B's frozen. 5 minutes in the oven!! Who knew!! So easy! Never looked back since.

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t iron our sheets but I do iron sheets for visitors’ beds though. Do other people?

I only iron sheets for guests and make the pillowcases look good.
A tip from Martha Stewart the American fold your sheets as flat as possible then quarter your pillowcases and fit them all inside one pillowcase to store in an airing cupboard. It's brilliant no more searching through piles of flat and fitted sheets and somehow they don't get as crumpled AND DH no longer has an excuse not to find a set.
When he first retired DH took to wearing his Rohan shirts through the week and I grumbled. I soon stopped when I realised they do not need ironing if you hang them outside or hang them by the tag in the utility room. He might look like Sherpa Tensing but he doesn't mind so why should I.
Table cloths for the kitchen are seersucker checks like mums again do not need ironing. A job I hate after doing six pale shirts and ten white blouses every week for years. maybe I'm getting lazy or just crafty in my old age!!!

Auntieflo - I have one of those contraptions in your picture, but mine is wooden handled with thinner wires. My mum bought it at the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1948 as a newly-wed and it is still doing sterling service!

A seersucker tablecloth! That's what I need! Thanks Yammy, why didn't I think of that?! Will search for one immediately.
I've found the Orvis winter shirts I've bought my husband at considerable expense over the years are worth their weight in gold as they don't need ironing! Not that I'm lazy you understand!!!