What does "Homemade" on a menu mean to you?

Recently there was a post about the meaning of 'natural' on food packaging, so I'd be interested on thoughts about the abuse of 'homemade' on menus. In my experience 99% of items identified as homemade never saw the inside of a home. We have one local orchard who touts their homemade pies, but I have it on good authority they come directly from mega food distributor Sysco.

Depends on the type of establishment, tho I would have guessed that an orchard would have homemade!

It usually means the place is annoying me with their poor use of language.

[Jenise]

Rarely see the term 'homemade' out here. What is popping up more and more though, at least on a menu, is a slightly different version of the word, 'housemade', which typically describes charcuterie, pickled foods, exotic ice creams and the like actually made 'in house'. We once ordered a charcuterie plate at a local upscale eatery that promised 'housemade', but only one of the salumi on our plate qualified; the others were obviously-to-me commercially made. Never went back--if they'd lie about that, then everything else is suspect.

Why don't you call the orchard in question and ask directly?

"Homemade" to me would indicate that the item in question was not purchased but was made by someone within that organization. That doesn't mean much to me as it could well mean that it was made in gargantuan batches at a central commissary to be distributed out to a chain of restaurants. In my experience, the term isn't used in fine dining establishments.

As Jenise says, "housemade" has more meaning to it. It's also more accurate as it's rare for someone to make a restaurant their home, while the term "house" is often applied to restaurants. I agree with her. If a restaurant bills an item as "housemade" and it clearly is not made on premises, then it's not the kind of place I could trust.

[Robin Garr]

...We have one local orchard who touts their homemade pies, but I have it on good authority they come directly from mega food distributor Sysco.

I wouldn't mind knowing who makes that claim and where they make it. In print, or verbal only? Would the orchard's family name begin with "H"?

Like the others, I'll accept "homemade" from a diner or "house-made" from a bistro to represent dishes made by the chef on the premises. But if it comes off the back of the truck, then they're lying, and I'd be inclined to out them.

To me homemade means they made it "usually" at that location with some exceptions. I knew of a 'supper' club that had as a couple of it's signature items it's spicy dilled green beans served in their bloody Marys and it's cheesecakes. The greenbeans were made by the owner in his own kitchen and the cheesecakes were made by the chef's wife in her oven at home. She had a heart problem and could no longer work outside the home. She was paid as an employee by the hour so that it counted as "quarters" for her Social Security. There was no guilt felt in either instance and I don't think the public was cheated.