The skyrocketing cost of groceries is only one way Australians are feeling the pinch as the cost-of-living crisis worsens, but it’s a pinch that’s sharp.
Red meat and milk are only some of the items finding themselves on the chopping block as families strategically curate their shopping lists to get the most bang for their buck.
RecipeTin Eats’ Nagi Maehashi is no different, and there’s one simple trick the Sydney-based cook uses to cut costs at the supermarket.
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Maehashi simply buys vegetables that are in season.
“Cook with the seasons, and you know what? It tastes better because it’s in season,” she tells 9honey Kitchen.
A classic example is bananas versus raspberries – at Coles, bananas, which are in season year-round, cost $3.50 per kilogram. Raspberries, meanwhile, are only in season in summer, and cost $39.20 per kilogram at Coles.
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“And don’t be afraid to get the imperfect picks,” Maehashi, who is giving a cooking demonstration this weekend at the Good Food & Wine Show in Sydney, continues.
“The wonky carrots, because they taste exactly the same on the inside,” she says.
“They just look a little bit scrappy on the outside, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”
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Another way Maehashi has been feeding her family for cheap is by making pizza from scratch, with her 20-minute pizza recipe being one of the dishes she’s showcasing this weekend at the show.
“It’s such an economical dish to make,” she says.
“It would probably cost $3, $4, with the amount of flour, and you get so much out of it.”
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“Everybody loves pizza,” she says.
It’s also a dish that doesn’t require much oil, which is another kitchen item that’s seen its price tag swell.
“Use a teaspoon, two teaspoons of oil in the dough, and that’s it. A little bit in the sauce, it’s tiny,” she says.
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