When Did People Start Saying 'Made From Scratch' (And Why Is It Such A Mystery)?
The study of the origin of words, known as etymology, can be fascinating, and many culinary expressions common today have a long intriguing history behind them. For instance, saying something is "not my cup of tea" to express a preference or "take it with a grain of salt" to show skepticism are freely used in everyday conversation and have become embedded in our culture.
Most people know the expression "made from scratch" doesn't mean that a dish is made using scratch as an ingredient. Instead, it's understood to mean that something is homemade, that the cook created the dish without the advantage of using processed foods or a premade mix. Despite being used for many years, few people know the origins of the expression and that when it was first coined, it had nothing to do with food or cooking (via Language Humanities.org). Instead, it was a sports term that continues to be used today.
From sports to the kitchen
The term "from scratch" started being used in the 18th century and was meant to indicate a starting point. For those competing in a foot race, a line would literally be scratched in the dirt, indicating where the race would start. Runners who were given an advantage — a handicap — in the race would start in front of the line, but those who weren't started at the beginning. They started "from scratch," (per Dictionary.com).
Even today, in golf, players who have no handicap are called scratch golfers (per The Left Rough), and the same relates to scratch bowling — no handicap is applied (via Bowling Quest). 200 years ago, boxers were required to walk up to a scratched line in the dirt boxing ring to be qualified to fight, and if they failed to demonstrate this basic ability, they were "not up to scratch," (via Medium).
You may have also heard the term "from scratch" used to refer to projects made from the beginning without any special advantage, such as, "we'll have to start this plan from scratch," (via My English Teacher.eu).
From scratch to scratch-made
You might think none of this relates to cooking, but language is constantly evolving, and what started as a sports term is now also used in the kitchen. How cool is that?
It isn't known precisely when the term "made from scratch" began being used to describe a homemade food creation, but it's believed to have been after 1922 (via English Stack Exchange). Most likely, the term saw greater usage after prepackaged foods and mixes became more popular during the late 1940s, and fewer foods were being "made from scratch," (via Grammarphobia).
Today, the term is sometimes modified to describe how food is prepared without shortcuts. We see bakeries offering "scratch-made" baked goods or a restaurant boasting about their "scratch-made" menu items. This variation of the term is thought to have originated in the 1980s, according to the Grammarphobia article.
Whether you call it "made from scratch" or "scratch-made," this simple pumpkin pie recipe and your new-found knowledge of the etymology of the terms will impress your friends.