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When I hear homemade now I think it was made from scratch by someone (ie it could be homemade at a small bakery down the street). Housemade would indicate it was made in house, by someone who works at that restaurant.

Doesn't bother me, it says "made on premises".

Been using it for years...so what else is new? I feel the term housemade has more flavor...

I agree. It's definitely jargony, but there's a clear distinction between the terms, especially in the connotations. "Homemade" implies a little rustic, solid, made-at-home fare--the kind of thing your grandma might make. "Housemade" indicates that it's hand-made, artisanal, etc., but not necessarily down-home or basic--in fact, housemade is likely to be pretty high-falutin' stuff. There's a good need for both words and I say let's keep 'em.

i concur with the current majority. this is something i'd love to see on the menu, especially regarding sauces and desserts. knowing that something is made from scratch, on the premises, is valuable information... without the cozy connotation of "home-made."

Housemade makes sense to me in regards to restaurant fare because, as others have said, it's made "in house," and unless the restaurant is trying for a "down home" feel, I think housemade is more appropriate. Now, if someone offers me their "housemade" cookies in their home, that's a bit pretentious :).

I agree with the majority on this one, I have always hated seeing "home-made" on a menu. It is not someone's home, it is a business. Whether they say "house-made," "made in house," "made in premises," or "not from a can," makes no difference to me, I just want to know the price of the food is justified by the ingredients and effort put into it.

As far as housemade not being a real word- a few years ago, blog and internet were not words.

I've always used the term "handmade" simply because I've never have liked the terms homemade or housemade, for reasons already given by others. This term "handmade" has a following via sites such as Etsy and Buy Handmade for crafts, clothing, etc. The term works for food as well, particularly preserves and other canned goods, breads and other baked goods, etc.

I hear "housemade" immediately as "made in the house (restaurant) in which I am currently dining." "Homemade" means the product was made in someone's (non-inspected) home.

Housemade = Not procured in its ready state from a purveyor such as Sysco. Housemade dressing = not poured out of a bottle - and created in the kitchen to the rear of the table where I'm enjoying my restaurant meal.

@sunshine6: some crazy restaurateurs live in their restaurants, or at least in the same building. No thanks.

I seem to recall our business law instructor at the CIA explaining that homemade could not be used on restaurant menus because the products were not made in a person's home. Housemade or house-made was acceptable though. I've never liked either. And the sign proclaiming 'housemade mayo'? Big whoop. How hard is that? Were the bread crumbs housemade as well?

i get that it's designating something made in-house, but frankly, i do tend to agree with pourgirl. however, i'm just generally tired of any trend in food/drink/restaurants/etc. can't we just have good food w/o all the posturing? just note as "made in house" if it's important to your diners (as it should be).

What is wrong with just the term "House"? It eludes to being made in-house and a choice of the house. House salad, bread, dressing, et cetera.

Here's what my comment was going to be:
"Housemade" sounds lame but I hate when restaurants use the term "home made" because it's NOT homemade, it's restaurant made.

Then I read runnereater's comment and decided that I agree completely.

I really hope that restaurants don't start using "housemade". The only professional cooks who can use it are those who cook either in their own homes or others (e.g. caterers).

The official Serious Eats style guide has this listed as a hyphenated compound: house-made.

@gabagool, i don't understand the ethnic restaurant/wild mushroom allusion?

I agree with most postings that "house"made refers to being made in house at a restaurant, whereas "home"made refers to something made in someone's living quarters. I think "in house" sounds a lot better but then again, I hadn't really thought about it until I read this. Perhaps establishments that use the term once have to use it mulitple times to make sure the customer doesn't assume everything else is not "housemade" even if it is. Would a customer that likes the "housemade" dressing on their salad be less likely to order the cheesecake because it doesn't use the same descriptive term? I'm not sure, but maybe the place is just covering their bases to make sure.

What about "from scratch"? I did AP/AR in the business office of a truckstop for a year until I decided to earn more by becoming a waitress there.

Before I learned about how the food business works, I'd tell people that everything there was "from scratch" because I'd see the prep cooks--two older women--rolling out pie dough and spreading meringue on top of lemon filling, browning huge vats of sausage for cream gravy, or adding spices to spaghetti sauce.

The office manager heard me say "from scratch," and gently said, "YOU cook from scratch: THEY don't," and proceeded to explain the differences in the terms "from-scratch," "homemade," "house-made" and "homebaked." Then she told me to take a closer look at the restaurant's invoices--I was so disappointed to find that the gravy, pancakes, meringues, pie fillings and a bunch of other stuff was made from just-add-water mixes. She added that I wouldn't be lying if I said things there were "house-made" or "homebaked." But "homemade" or "from scratch"? No.

They're just trying to renew interest, make people stop and think about the word that is less mundane than homemade. But, it's still the same product.

Hillary
Chew on That

I found this article to be an over romanticized work of fiction. The simple fact is that states have passed "truth in menu" laws that prohibit the term "home made" unless the item in fact was made in someone's home. "House made" is the legally acceptable substitute term that restaurants may use.
It is just conjecture on my part but I suspect the author was just under the gun to produce an article on food that would fit neatly between the two significant ads from California Almonds.