What is the origin of the phrase to make something "from scratch"?

Answer by  Anita27 (656)

The term "From Scratch" does not refer to the ingredients, but to the written recipe. Cooks and chemists would write (or scratch) out their formulas and directions in a notebook for future refrence.

Answer by  ahhmericanwoman (102)

When something is made from scratch, it is made from whatever the maker is able to come up with that is around at the time. None of the ingredients are ready made. The phrase would have originated as a reference to simpler times when all things were made that way.