Is it cheating when you use a commercial seasoning mix, or seasoning salt, in a dish you call your own?

Hmmm, I would say so. It doesn’t matter either way as long as it’s good.

I don’t think it is cheating. I prefer my own home made seasoning mixes, but I often use a commercial blend if I don’t have my own on hand and am pressed for time.

Does anyone ask about the seasoning? If they do, then you can casually mention the makers, but if the taster just thinks the whole thing is delicious then bask in their praise!
If you mention the season-maker, then surely you’d have to mention other contributors to the dish and that could get lengthy.

The “Semi-Homemade” brand has made Sandra Lee a fortune.

No it’s not cheating. If it were, people would rarely be able to claim dishes as their own, including chefs.

No it’s not cheating. The spice-blend makers did make the blend (and you can always give credit) but they did not make the fried chicken or the soup or the grilled deliciousness, you did.

I use a lot of Trader Joe’s products in my “homemade” recipes, but I always mention the exact product so it can be replicated by others.

Not at all! All bottled or canned herbs and spices have been processed and are therefore, not from scratch, but they don’t make the recipes less yours. You can (and cook books have done) change the ingredients by amount or ratio and call it original. It’s nice to give credit if you can, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Happy cooking!

If I am doing all the chopping, braising, etc, I made it. As for someone else’s spices, the dish used someone else’s cow too, I still claim it as mine. Martha Stewart is the only one I am familiar with who raises the cow and the vegetables and the rare plants that get dried into spices (that she mixes herself) and uses her potter’s wheel to make the dang plates . . .

@Kayak8 That is so true and so funny : ) That is why I never attempt to make any of Martha’s recipes. They’re just too danged complicated and labor intensive. Give me Rachel Ray’s recipes any day!

LOL!! Hey…can I borrow your cow?