Matt Preston: Spend here, save there

For many Aussies, there isn't the luxury of choice when you are trying to stretch a family budget.

chicken

OK, FIRST things first. My general feeling is that for many Aussies there isn't the luxury of choice when you are trying to stretch a family budget to cover all the costs that families are faced with these days.

There are costs such as mobile phone bills for all the family, tolls, web and online charges, rocketing utility bills and maybe even health insurance.

There are, however, certain ways you can stretch the budget by being strategic about what you buy, where you buy it and how you use it.

ECONOMY GASTRONOMY

SURE, expensive organic and heirloom carrots may be all the rage, but if you are putting them in a beef stew where they will be bombarded and overwhelmed with rich, meaty flavours, you can usually get away with buying your bog-standard variety.

I go the other way when looking at tomatoes. Sometimes the bulk tomatoes such as large plum tomatoes look great but they won't have the same fragrant, sweet acidity of a punnet of cherry tomatoes. But if I'm making a tomato sauce for pasta, I think good canned tomatoes deliver the desired intensity far more readily that woolly fresh ones. The only reason this will change is if I'm throwing a few tomatoes in at the end of a pasta sauce where I want them stay whole and become like little flavour grenades. Then I'll use small, sweet cherry or Perino tomatoes.

SLOW FOOD IS CHEAP FOOD

AT THE core of these money-saving rules is the fact that most cultures have a litany of slow-cooked dishes that are designed to make the most of humble ingredients.

Next time you want beef or lamb, ask yourself whether you'd rather an expensive fillet or a sticky braise of a far cheaper cut such as beef cheek or lamb neck. Here, skill and knowledge can save you many dollars and give you a delicious dinner.

SAVING IT FOR BEST

FOR me, the smart thinking is to spend your money where its impact is noticeable. That's why I'll spend a few extra dollars on buying flake salt for finishing dishes - whether sprinkling it on a fillet of beef, fresh and sizzling from the barbie, a tomato salad or even a chocolate tart, where a few grains will add texture and bursts of saline sharpness to highlight other flavours.

Don't use flake salt for seasoning water for your pasta as cheap iodised salt will do the job just as well. The same reasoning holds for seasoning braises and stews. The cheap stuff is fine.

The same (slow-cooking) reason is why my MasterChef mate Gary cooks with cheap wine and only finishes with a little drop of expensive plonk, and why he uses cheap anchovies for the flavour base of a stock or stew but saves the good anchovies for those times when he's eating them as a delicacy straight from the tin!

Similarly, don't use good olive oil for frying. It is far better to use something cheaper such as grapeseed or vegetable oil. Keep a little bottle of good extra virgin for you to drizzle on soups or over pasta just before serving.

Parmesan is another ingredient for finishing dishes where I think it is wise to spend a little more as you use less and it'll taste far better.

Here, too, technique matters, and the fine shavings that you'll get using a $20 microplane rather than a chunky-toothed grater will make that parmesan go further.

The same goes with feta, which I use a lot to sprinkle on salads. I'd rather 100g of something creamy and crumbly that adds texture and gives way more flavour fireworks, such as Meredith, Yarra Valley Dairy or Dodoni, than 200g of cheaper feta that squeaks like wet cardboard with not much flavour.

ORGANIC ONE DAY, BARBECUED THE NEXT

SO MUCH of the other decisions on what to skimp on and what to splurge on come down to your own sensibilities and for whom you are cooking. Sure, I'd prefer to roast an organic chook, as cheap chicken sometimes tastes a little fishy to me, but for kids' sandwiches or an easy family meal I'm not adverse to buying one of those barbecue chooks from the supermarket especially at the end of the day when their price is slashed.

Your standard chook wings or pork ribs are just dandy if flavoured-bombed under cola or a Chinese marinade.

BUY LESS, EAT BETTER

WHEN it comes to steak, I'd rather spend my money on 100g of grass-fed, dry-aged beef and fill the plate with vegies and gravy rather than have 300g of dodgy meat that's been "wet-aged" in plastic and tastes liverish.

You may not feel the same and that's fine. Few people approach each meal with the nit-picking, analytical palate of a food critic. Well, unless they are a child under 10.

Similarly I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you can afford the luxury of making political or ethical decisions on what you buy - whether it's free-range or cage eggs, grass-fed or feed-lot beef, or tinned tuna. Having a conscience tends to be more expensive.

BUY IN BULK

IF YOU are serious about saving money, then also think about where your money will go furthest. I buy canned tomatoes by the slab from the Italian hypermarket across town and pick up other bulk items such as dried pasta and parmesan there too.

It's far cheaper even taking into account the petrol and the time, plus it is also an adventure. The same savings can be found heading to areas with a strong ethnic community where the produce may not look as pretty as in the supermarket but is cheaper and often has a better flavour.

Seasonality also has a massive impact on price. Things in season are always far cheaper, so before you shop check out www.taste.com.au to find out what is in season as this will help your planning.

I also have a preference for local rather than imported produce, which tends to reflect positively in price, flavour and how long it lasts.

GROW YOUR OWN

ONE final word on skimping or splurging. One of the things I most resent paying for is bunches of fresh herbs. These are always admittedly far more preferable to those dreadful preserved tubes or dried versions.

Far better, more convenient and cheaper in the long run is to plan ahead, find a little plot of dirt, a balcony or window box and plant a few herbs. Thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley, mint and basil are a good start and are easy to grow.

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GO BANANAS

AS far as food TV goes, I always rather enjoyed the banter between Adelaide's Simon Bryant and Maggie Beer on The Cook and The Chef.

Now in his first cookbook, Veggies, this vegetarian chef's love of vegetables comes to the fore. The fact that I always seem to have bananas going off in my kitchen means it's actually his fruity Indian flatbreads that are most likely become a regular treat in my house.

Mix a puree of two browned bananas with 280g Atta flour and 2 tablespoons oil to make the dough.

Fried, these "pooris" will be perfect for my next curry night.

OLD GRANDMA MATT'S TIP

I HATE throwing food away, so if I have a loaf of bread that's starting to go stale I'll freshen it up by putting a stick of celery in the plastic bag with it.

POP TO IT

SOAK popcorn kernels in water for 10 minutes before cooking for a better proportion of popped kernels and a fluffier popcorn.

Obviously dry the corn before putting in the pan for popping!