譯文大賞

這篇文章是擷取自wellio這個食譜部落格，圖片來源：Toa Heftiba, Unsplash

Intuitively, we all know there are benefits to cooking at home. You can use healthier ingredients, set portions to a reasonable size, avoid food allergies, and of course you can save money compared to ordering restaurant delivery or using a meal kit service.

我們都知道在家煮飯的諸多好處，相較於叫外送或是使用調理包，除了可以確保有健康的食材、控制好食物份量、能避免食用到含有過敏原的食物外，成本當然也會比較低喔。

But just how much money do you save by cooking at home? We decided to analyze our recipe data to find out the true cost of cooking at home from scratch, compared to delivery from a restaurant or a meal kit service.

但應該有很多人會很好奇，在家煮飯到底能夠省下多少錢呢？為了找出答案，首先我們決定利用食譜進行分析，並與餐廳和調理包的價格進行比較。

wellio食譜網站，截取自wellio官網

We analyzed data from Priceonomics customer wellio, a platform that breaks down millions of recipes into single ingredients and matching those to grocery items from local stores. That allows us to measure the ingredient cost for a wide variety of recipes. For 86 popular dinner recipes, we decided to look at the average cost per serving of cooking from scratch and compare it to the cost per serving of ordering from a restaurant or a meal kit delivery service.

我們的方法是從wellio這個有著上百萬個食譜的平台蒐集資料，然後裡面的每一項食材會比照實體量販店的價格，最後在計算每一項食譜的總花費。以裡面點閱率最高的前86個晚餐食譜為例，我們會計算每份食物的平均成本並與同品項、同份量的外送餐點或是調理包進行比價。

We found on average, it is almost five times more expensive to order delivery from a restaurant  than it is to cook at home. And if you’re using a meal kit service as a shortcut to a home cooked meal, it’s a bit more affordable, but still almost three times as expensive as cooking from scratch.

平均來說，叫外賣的花費會比在家煮還貴上五倍，而相對來說，使用調理包會比較便宜而且比自己煮的還來得簡便，但仍然要貴上三倍左右。

平均來說，在家烹調的成本是三者中最低的，圖片來源：
Brooke Lark, Unsplash

When cooking at home, you'll save a substantial amount of money on carb-based meals like pasta or pizza, and you'll save the most on protein-based meals when compared to ordering from a restaurant or meal kits.

從營養成分來看，相較於叫外送或是買料理包，當在家裡煮以澱粉為主的飲食像是義大利麵或是披薩，會省下一筆不小的金額；另一方面，如果是以蛋白質為主的料理，則會省下更多的費用。

Before diving into the results, let’s spend a moment on the methodology of this analysis. We looked at 86 popular meals and examined how much it would cost to acquire them as: groceries for home cooking, restaurant delivery or meal kit delivery. For home cooking, we've calculated the price per serving based on the consumed portion of ingredients. For example, you purchase a whole onion for the recipe, which requires half an onion per serving, so the price per serving is ½ of the onion. To be clear, this is an analysis of your costs and isn’t about looking at opportunity costs of time associated with cooking.

在深入了解調查結果前，我們先來看看本次的調查方式。首先我們找出這86個在wellio上點擊率最高的食譜，並找出類似的調理包和餐廳外送餐點。在家烹調(親自下廚)的部分，我們根據一份餐點所需食材的使用量來換算金額。例如，如果洋蔥炒蛋食譜需要一整顆的洋蔥，但每份的洋蔥炒蛋只需要半顆的話，那麼我們會以半顆的價格來做計算。簡言之，本文只是根據花費的金錢成本，而並沒有把像是烹調時間這樣的機會成本列入考量。

本文只依據金錢的成本，並沒有列入其他的機會成本，圖片來源：rawpixel, Unsplash

For restaurant delivery, we looked up menu prices on the websites of the following national restaurant chains: Applebee's, Cheesecake Factory, Chevy's, Chili's, Lyfe Kitchen, Maggiano's, and P.F. Chang's. Then added an average $5 delivery fee based on delivery prices from Caviar, UberEats, and Grubhub. Since meals sold within a meal kit are usually part of a bundle, we took the average price of a meal across the bundle and then allocated a $2.50 delivery fee per meal. For home cooking, we looked at the cost of ingredients according to wellio, based on Whole Foods Market, a national grocery chain with quality products.

那麼這三者的價格依據呢？在餐廳外送餐點方面，我們除了依照美國國內幾家連鎖餐飲官網上的價格，包括蘋果蜂(Applebee’s)、芝樂坊餐館(Cheesecake Factory)、Chevy’s(美國國內知名的墨西哥餐廳)、Chill's(美式餐廳，台灣也有營業據點)、Lyfe Kitchen(美式餐廳)、Maggiano’s(義大利餐廳)及華館(P.F. Chang's,中菜館)，還會再加上五美金的外送費用(這是從Caviar, UberEat’s及Grubhub這些外送服務平台公告的平均價格)。另一方面，考量到市面上所販售調理包通常都是家庭號的型態，並大多都是要用配送的方式，因此我們的計算方式為每一份餐的平均價格並加上2.5美金的宅配費用。最後在家烹調(親自下廚)的部分，我們會以全食超市(Whole Foods Market)這個國內大型的食品連鎖店的產品價格來換算wellio食譜中的食材成本。

First, let’s look at the average costs of the meals we analyzed depending on if you acquired them from a restaurant versus meals kits versus cooking at home from scratch.

首先，我們先來看看那86樣菜色個別的成本

註解：三者的外送費分別為(由左至右)：5美金; 2.5美金; 0

資料來源：wellio; 原圖表源自Onomics

By far, getting dinner delivered from a restaurant is the most expensive meal option.

看到目前為止，我們可以確定的是餐廳外送是三者當中最貴的。

At over $20 per serving on average, a restaurant delivered meal is almost three times as expensive as a meal kit and five times as expensive as cooking at home from scratch. Obviously when you cook at home, you’ll spend more time but you usually end up with a healthier meal because you’re the one to decide what exactly goes into it.

從表一可以看出，餐廳外送是三種用餐模式中最貴的，它的成本幾乎分別等於調理包和在家烹調的三倍和五倍之多。相對而言，儘管在家裡煮會花較多的時間，但通常可以確保健康的飲食而且還可以省下些許的荷包。

Next, let’s look at the cost of getting specific meals delivered via restaurant delivery versus making the meal from scratch. Of course, there are “cheaper” places to buy these restaurant meals, but these are the prices published on restaurant websites in our sample of mostly national chains.

接著讓我們來從特定的餐點來分析這三者的成本，或許您可能會覺得某些餐點在其他地方的價格會比較便宜，但為求調查的公平性，參考價格的來源會保持一致。

圖片來源：Heather Schwartz, Unsplash

Which meals save you the most when you roll up your sleeves and cook instead of picking up your phone to order?

有哪些是您親自下廚比打電話叫外送來得便宜最多的料理呢?

資料來源：wellio; 原圖表源自Onomics

At the top of the list, the meals you can save the most money by cooking at home are heavily protein based entrees. As it turns out, restaurants charge a lot of money for meals that have beef, pork, and chicken. When you factor in a delivery cost, your price per meal can easily exceed $20 per person (and sometimes even more than $30 per person!).

從這份榜單上會發現到一個有趣的現象: 排在前面的多為含有豐富蛋白質的料理，換句話說，外面的餐廳所提供的品項中，這類料理的價格和利潤是很高的。光是每一份的餐點就已經超過20美金(600台幣)了，更何況再加外送費的話，甚至都可能超過30美金呢。

To better understand this comparison, let’s look at an example of the price per serving breakdown for Pork Tenderloin, one of the top money-saving meals when cooking at home from the list above.

為了要讓大家更了解餐點的成本差異，那麼就以嫩腰豬肉(Pork Tenderloin)的食譜為例子，來解析每項食材的成本。

嫩腰豬肉食譜之成本分析

每份的食材成本

資料來源：wellio; 原圖表源自Onomics

Also appearing throughout the list are pasta-based meals like Broccoli Alfredo, Pad Thai, Pasta Bolognese and Soba Noodles. If you buy these from a restaurant you will pay “entree” prices of about $20. However you can easily make these meals at home and save 80-90% per serving.

在這份榜單上會發現，排在前面的除了肉類的料理外，像是青花菜白醬義大利麵、泰式河粉等麵食類也是。無論是在哪間餐廳點這類的餐點，都至少需要消費20美金以上才行，但如果是買食材回家煮，都能省下多達80%-90%的金額。

Restaurant delivery, however, isn’t the only alternative to cooking at home. You can also have meal kits delivered to your house. These kits are sold at a premium compared to cooking from scratch because the raw ingredients are pre-assembled and pre-portioned for you.

除了外送與親自下廚這兩者的比較外，那麼調理包呢?調理包的成本大約是多少?跟從頭到尾親自下廚的成本差距多少呢?(備註：調理包裡都是事前搭配好的食材及份量，通常只需加熱即可食用)

If you’re looking to save money, when should you avoid meal kits and instead cook from scratch at home?

如果您不管餐點的美味與否，只在乎花費的話，那麼到底有哪些是您親手烹調比調理包便宜最多的料理呢?

資料來源：wellio; 原圖表源自Onomics

For vegetable and pasta-based meals, frankly, it’s really cheap to make them at home while meal kits still charge a lot for them.

簡單來說，親自烹調蔬食和麵食會比調理包便宜很多。

In the above list, for example, making a Cheese Pizza, Mac & Cheese, Cauliflower or Quinoa bowl is incredibly inexpensive to make at home -- it only costs about a dollar per serving! However, these are the type of meals where meal kits are the worst value since you’ll be paying around $12 for them as part of the “bundle” you’re required to purchase (that also includes delivery fee).

在上面的榜單中，您可能有發現到有些料理，親自下廚所需要的成本低到只需要1美金(約31元台幣)即可，例如起司披薩、起司通心粉和花椰菜時蔬飯等等。不過另一方面，如果是買這些料理的調理包就相當地不划算了，再加上配送的費用竟然就要多達12美金/每份(約375元台幣)。

圖片來源：Julian Rojas Dättwyler, Unsplash

Eating meat through a meal kit is about half as expensive as ordering it from a restaurant, but still much more expensive than making it yourself. A few meat-based meals stand out as being much more expensive with a meal kit than home cooking -- Cilantro Lime Chicken, Chicken Soup, and Teriyaki Chicken make the top ten worst meal kit deals compared to home cooking.

而肉類的部分，儘管調理包的價格幾乎等於餐廳的一半，但仍然比親自下廚貴上不少。其中香菜檸檬雞(Cilantro Lime Chicken)、雞湯以及照燒雞肉等料理，它們的調理包價格跟親自下廚間的差距是最大的。

Lastly, let’s look at all the data. The below chart shows the prices of all 86 meals we analyzed from a meal kit service, a restaurant, or making it at home from scratch.

最後，讓我們來看看這86道料理在外送、調理包及親自下廚這三者個別的成本吧。

資料來源：wellio; 原圖表源自Onomics(完整表格請看Priceonomics)

What rules of thumb can be gleaned from looking at all this data?

從這些資料中可以知道什麼呢?

First, If meat is involved, you can save a lot of money by making the dish at home instead of ordering it from a restaurant. These types of dishes are the most expensive entrees on the menu at restaurants but don’t cost you that much to cook from scratch.

首先如果您想要吃有肉的料理但預算不多時，在家裡煮會比外食更適合。這是因為這樣的料理在菜單上多半是最貴的。

Second, if the ingredients are items like flour, cheese, and pasta, which are very inexpensive at the grocery store, avoid getting them from a meal kit service. On the other hand, meal kits can be a pretty good option if you want to cook more complicated meals with many ingredients, especially a meal like Curry Chicken which has many spices.

再者，如果說料理內含有麵粉、起司、義大利麵等食材，那麼購買調理包就非常不划算了，在家裡煮會便宜很多，但如果說您自認廚藝技巧有限，無法煮出像是咖哩雞這樣複雜度較高的料理，那麼買調理包是個不錯的選擇喔。

Lastly, cooking at home saves you money across the board. Although you will spend more time then ordering delivery from a restaurant, you will get a nutritious and delicious meal for about $4 a person.

最後無論是哪一種料理，雖然相較於外送及購買調理包，親自下廚耗費的時間和體力太多，但這不失為是一種最省錢而且是最健康的方法。

原文出處：How Much Money Do You Save by Cooking at Home?

原文作者：Priceonomics Data Studio

原文日期：2018.6.20