we don't need to spend $20 on strawberries, do we?
Let's talk about when to splurge on ingredients and where to save
hi hi hello!
So the piece that is to follow is something I originally wrote the last week of December 2024. Then things went to shit- a lot of which affected the price of groceries. So, sending out a newsletter on when to splurge on groceries felt wildly out of touch considering everything was a splurge. I mean, eggs. I don’t have to remind you what egg prices were looking like.
Some time has passed and by no means am I saying suddenly everything is affordable. But, last week I said Harry’s Berries are Birkin of the produce world.
Which when I reposted to IG so many of you agreed with. It’s a statement I’m willing to stand by. Right now, at Specialty Produce in San Diego, the going rate for a pound of Harry’s is $22. Sure, direct from Harry’s I think it’s $18 for a pound. Thing is, they’re only good when strawberries are good. If I spent $18-$22 on strawberries in the middle of November, they’re just not gonna be as good as a strawberry I’m getting in July. But, so many people now attribute a high price point to being “the best”. When I ran my cake business I had people offer to pay a premium for their cakes to be made with Harry’s specifically. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time when a Harry’s Berry HITS. But, at the same time they’re hitting so are the berries from Tamai, Sunrise Organics or Smith Farms for a fraction of the price. I promise, most of the people who swear by a Harry’s Berry couldn’t pick ‘em out in a line up. So, in the grand scheme of things, when you’re making a strawberry shortcake in the summer- you can get away with using the $4/pound strawbs from your local grocery store and save yourself $14.
In saying that I’ve relit the need for the conversation around ingredients. The thought that high price is automatically assumed as high quality. Everything comes down to personal preference too. I love Valrhona chocolate, I love the variety in flavor you can get. But, I (for the most part) hate their inspiration line, especially the strawberry. I think it tastes like the stale idea of a strawberry. The la croix of the chocolate world. I remember doing a tasting of some of the line when I was working at Clark St. I made it very clear how I felt about the taste. Some other baker, said, “Really, but it’s Valrhona! They’re a really expensive line of chocolate!” To which I replied, “Expensive doesn’t inherently mean something’s good”
In the new year I’m all about embracing under consumption and saving money. Surprise surprise, when I’m in the grocery store, I spend my money like an absolute lunatic. New bev dropped? I need it in every flavor. Fancy pantsy heavily branded eggs? I’m a sucker for them. Another chip brand hit the shelves? Well, I gotta know if they’re good!! A $170 bag of organic free trade (and what ever other buzz words we’re using these days) civet poop coffee beans (Kopi Luwak)? I just need to try them for “science”. Part of these spending habits coincide with that fact that I know: better ingredients, better pizza, PAPA JOHN’S (which is arguably the worst pizza chain IMO). But, the ingredients you use matter. I know that the same recipe made with better ingredients will be better. I bake for a living, so, yeah I’m gonna splurge on even the “little” stuff like paying $4 more for the fancy organic dark brown sugar over the stuff thats just as pale as the light brown sugar. But, like do you need to? Or is the generic brand just as good?
Under consuming, or maybe more like appropriately consuming, for me is going to be outside of the kitchen, and I’ll probably still reach for Clover or Straus milk over the store brand option. No, actually when it comes to me over consuming in the kitchen… I gotta stop buying the trendy glassware, having too many plates for ONE person, etc all in the name of having “props” for “content”. That’s gonna be big for me this year-showing how I really bake and serve shit up and not vying for ultra aesthetic food pics. Like hell yeah, I just scooped my ice cream into a mug my mom has had for 20 years. Because I really don’t need anymore coupes, and you probably don’t either.
AnyWAYS, I know for the average home/hobbyist baker it’s hard to know what’s actually *worth* it when splurging on ingredients for recipes. Here are my “tips” for helping you decide when and where in a recipe you should put a few extra bucks:
If the recipe you’re going to use calls out an ingredient by brand. I know in 2025 everyone’s got something to sell, or an affiliate link to click (guilty!!) But, if a recipe specifically calls out a brand in the ingredient list- it’s worth it for that to be the ingredient you splurge on/spend more time sourcing. It could be that the developer tried every dutch processed cocoa powder under the sun and this, this is the one the truly gives you the best fudge brownie imaginable.
When the recipe you’re baking is pulled directly from a brands blog/ branded collab. Yeah, this ties in to the one above. But, these recipes are developed with this specific product in mind- and sure a lot of the time you can get away with swapping it out for something that’s wallet friendly or yeah, maybe something that tastes a little better. Some things are truly brand specific and at the end of the day, not all ingredients are created equally! I worked with Good Culture Cottage Cheese a few years ago- and boy is that a thiccc cottage cheese. I worked with them on a pumpkin cottage cheesecake recipe. Someone had made the recipe and complained that it hadn’t properly set and was very liquidy. Turns out they used a store brand of cottage cheese that was much looser from the get. So if a recipe calls for a specific brand, use it, it’s worth the few extra bucks in the end I promise.
If the ingredient is 35-40% or more of the recipe! These are times when you’ll *actually* be able to taste the difference higher quality ingredients make. Take something like creme brulee it’s 73% heavy cream, you’re going to taste the notes of the cream. Ice cream about 40% milk, you’re gonna get the flavor of the milk it self.
Closely tied to the last one, but if the recipe is 5 ingredients or less (which usually means one of the ingredients is 35-40% or more of the recipe!) But, when there’s less ingredients there’s more room for things to noticeably shine through. Think of carrot cake, there’s a lot of flavors and ingredients going on there already, you probably wont notice the difference between using $2/gallon cow’s milk and $20/gallon camel milk.
When the ingredient is literally in the name of the recipe! Right, like in a chocolate chip cookie, you’re gonna prioritize the chocolate over everything else. Because she’s quite literally, the star of the show. So, use something with a flavor that you like.
Ultimately, when and where you wanna splurge is up to you! Use the ingredients you enjoy the flavor of or have on hand. Because everything i said up there in contingent upon the idea you’re going out of your way to shop for a recipe. If you already have the ingredient on hand, there’s really no need to go buy more. Remember, baking is as fluid as you’ll let it be. Don’t let some rando on the internet dictate how you bake <3333
Personally, I tend to save on anything that no one is going to complement on the flavor of. Like, all purpose flour, sugar or eggs. No one is gonna bite into your cookies and go omg… is that a vital farm egg I taste??
Would love to hear where you splurge in the kitchen ingredient wise and where you save!
As a cottage food baker I totally agree!! I will use good chocolate and butter in my cookies but sry not sry I’m using the cheap eggs for my cookies like who can afford $10/dozen 😭😭 somethings I will always compromise on, others I’ll never compromise on like my valrhona cocoa powder - but sometimes the florals from Publix are just as good as they are from the farmers market for my decorations, and a little easier on the wallet too
As an occasional buyer of Harry’s Berries, I think they’re hit (soo good) or miss (totally not worth it). Their gaviota variety is their small, sweet berries and there are one or two other vendors at the farmer’s markets that also sell gaviotas (just not labeled or advertised!) These lesser known vendors’ gaviotas are just as good as Harry’s and cheaper, if you can find them!