Tightwad Wednesday – Sensible Substitutes

Posted on November 7, 2007 by Melissa
Filed Under Tightwad Wednesdays

Each week, I will test out two tips from the The Complete Tightwad Gazette, and on the following Wednesday I’ll review how they went and evaluate if it is worth my time/effort/money to continue with it.

This week we tested a few more of the “sensible substitute” recipes in the Tightwad Gazette. I like the idea of being able to create cheaper substitutes for the seasoning mixes and soup mixes we use all the time. Let’s see how it went!

Note: Because these recipes were almost entirely made up of spices I decided not to calculate the prices myself this time. I have a fully stocked cabinet of spices so I didn’t have to buy anything new and I don’t remember what I paid for some of these quite honestly. However, I have provided the Tightwad’s estimation of price for this round (I think they may be a bit outdated, though).

Onion-Soup Mix

I don’t think I have ever used onion soup mix but I know many people who say it is a good thing to have around the house. I bought some store brand onion soup mix to taste test against the tightwad version in a heads up challenge.

Onion-Soup Mix from The Complete Tightwad Gazette (p.424)

3/4 cup instant minced onion
4 teaspoons onion powder
1/3 cup beef flavored bouillon powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and store in an airtight container.

To use, add 2 tablespoons mix to 1 cup boiling water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. This makes a stronger soup than the store bought mix, so you can use less.

For the taste test I did three things. First, I mixed in some of the dry mixes into a few tablespoons of sour cream to make two dips. Second, I made soups from the mixes according to the directions. Third, I called in my husband to try out the creations in a blind tasting.

Unbelievable! He actually liked the tightwad version better in both tests!

Onion Soup Battle - Store Bought vs Tightwad He felt the dip from the store bought mix had a more pronounced onion flavor but also had an oddly bitter aftertaste. He gave the nod to the tightwad version for the dip and I also agreed with his observations. For the soup we both felt that the tightwad version was better, mainly because it was stronger and the other soup was pretty weak. Several spoonfuls into the test the tightwad soup began to taste too salty. After I cut it with hot water it had a good balance and flavor and was perfect for use as plain soup.

Tips - if you plan on using this mix for a dip I recommend grinding the bouillon into a fine powder so it gets absorbed more evenly and quickly. If you plan on using it for straight soup make sure to cut it with water before serving or it will be too strong.

Here’s the price breakdown from the Tightwad:

Lipton onion-soup mix: $0.99 for 2 oz, or $0.50 per oz
Homemade: $0.33 per oz

This was a good one for us and I’d recommend trying it.

Seasoned Salt

This one was an uphill battle for the tightwad version from the get-go. After looking at the ingredients I realized that it wouldn’t taste like Lawry’s (the most common seasoned salt around here) so it would be hard to get a good comparison. I wonder if this recipe was made to mimic the “Durkee’s” version because they mention it in the pricing. I’ve never heard of it before this.

Seasoned Salt from The Complete Tightwad Gazette (p.423)

8 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and store in an airtight container.

Seasoned Salt Challenge - Tightwad vs Lawry’s Well, we both didn’t like it much. I felt the salt was overwhelming and the flavor wasn’t strong enough. Eric tried the tightwad one first then the Lawry’s. He immediately pointed at the Lawry’s and said it was much better. I agreed. I normally prefer Emeril’s Bayou Blast mix (less celery flavor than Lawry’s) but even Lawry’s tasted a lot better to me than the tightwad version did.

I wonder if I used granulated garlic and onion instead of powdered if this would taste better. I feel like the powdered versions give it a chalky appearance and a “dryer” flavor. I also think the pepper should be decreased. It’s not a bad mix but not spectacular. And when it comes to seasoning dull food nothing works like a spectacular seasoning mix.

Here’s the price breakdown from the Tightwad:

Durkee’s Seasoned Salt: $0.98 for 3.5oz ($0.28 per oz)
Homemade: $0.14 per oz

I’d say pass on this one.

Taco-Seasoning Mix

Ahhh, my beloved tacos. I was excited when I saw this one because it gave me an excuse to have taco night! For this challenge we compared the flavor to my store-brand taco seasoning mix.

Taco-Seasoning Mix from The Complete Tightwad Gazette (p.423)

6 teaspoons chili powder
4 1/2 teaspoons cumin
5 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/8 to 1/4 cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and store in an airtight container.

Taco Seasoning Challenge - Tightwad vs Store Brand I immediately noticed that the competition wasn’t fairly stacked. The tightwad mix had no salt or sugar. Surely, those ingredients would sway our votes for the store-bought team. I decided to add some kosher salt to the tightwad mix for tasting to increase the chances of it being considered tasty on its own.

It wasn’t enough. I don’t think it was bad but it lacked that strong flavor that we like to see in our tacos. It needed a boost with more chili powder, cayenne, and cumin for sure. But even that didn’t boost it above our store brand mix. Eric felt the store mix was far superior even though it still needed more spices to improve it as well.

I wonder if the bright orange color of the store bought version influenced our opinions, too. It even looked more like taco mix. I know it is likely artificial coloring but it is hard to resist.

Here’s the price breakdown from the Tightwad:

Old El Paso taco seasoning mix: $4.95 for 1 pound or $0.31 per oz
Homemade: $0.13 per oz

I will say that I like a lot of spice so maybe for those who don’t this recipe would be great. And the fact that it doesn’t include sugar and salt makes it that much better for you.

One of our readers, my15000DollarYear, mentioned that she would like to see less recipe tightwad challenges and more “other” types of challenges. So I dug through my tightwad this week and chose two non-food related tips I could test out. Without further ado…

Stay tuned for next week’s Tightwad Wednesday challenge when I will be testing out:

Reusing old room deodorizers p.378
Unsealing stuck envelopes p. 378

Comments

4 Responses to “Tightwad Wednesday – Sensible Substitutes”

ValleyGirl on November 8th, 2007 8:48 am

I love your ‘Tightwad’ reviews! (I’ve added the book to my Christmas wish list because of your site!) I’ve been making onion soup mix and taco seasoning from scratch for a while already. The onion soup recipe looks quite similar, but I use this recipe for the taco seasoning. I’ve found it to be a great substitute for El Paso’s package.
Amy on November 8th, 2007 4:35 pm

Great taste testing. The “Tightwad” reviews are excellent and I loved the pictures. Thanks!
Chief Family Officer on November 8th, 2007 10:31 pm

For taco seasoning, I really like the Miserly Moms homemade version that I posted at CFO a couple of weeks ago. Again, it’s not as orange, but I think the taste is right on, and I love that there isn’t any filler, artificial color, etc.
Melissa on November 15th, 2007 9:52 am

@Chief Family Officer – I checked out the mix and it looks like a good one. I am surprised about the flour, though. I guess that is used as a thickener. I would think you would have to be sure to cook it down fairly well, like a roux, to avoid any raw flour taste. Or you could add water to make it like a slurry.

I will have to try that out – thanks so much for the tip!