Americans aren’t just cooking more meals at home. They’re starting to make some surprisingly specific grocery-store staples themselves.
Spice Blends
Instead of buying another jar of seasoning, some home cooks are mixing their own taco, ranch, barbecue and everything-bagel blends. Pinterest searches for homemade spice blends jumped 209% in 2026.
Pickles and Fermented Foods
The refrigerator is becoming a mini fermentation station, with homemade pickles, kimchi and other preserved foods showing up in kitchens again. It can be as simple as a jar of vegetables beside the leftovers.
Bread
Sourdough gets the attention, but homemade sandwich bread, focaccia and dinner rolls are also part of the scratch-cooking revival. For someone who remembers bread machines gathering dust, that comeback is a little surprising.
Lemonade and Drink Mixes
Homemade lemonade concentrate and similar drink projects are gaining attention. Pinterest searches for strawberry lemonade concentrate canning rose 110% in 2026, turning something normally grabbed from a grocery shelf into a weekend kitchen project.
Sauces and Condiments
People are experimenting with homemade barbecue sauce, hot sauce, salad dressing and even mayonnaise. The appeal is partly control: one kitchen batch can be customized instead of accepting whatever comes in the bottle.
Garden Produce
Growing tomatoes, herbs and other food at home is also feeding the scratch-cooking trend. The result can be as simple as walking outside for basil instead of adding another item to the grocery list.
