In the end I decided to give it away, but in the form you
see here, as a series of articles that you may
also come across elsewhere on the internet, although not
as a complete collection. They have proved to be very popular
and I invite you to add this page to your favorites and return
often.
Please use the links below to be taken to the relevant
page.
- About Boiling
Let's take a look at one of the most basic forms of cooking - immersing food in hot water. Boiling, in other words.
- About Boiling (2)
Wait a minute! What's this? You cook potatoes and rice by boiling in the same way? Yes! Well - almost. And it's foolproof
- A Guide to Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is the 'wine' of Modena, Italy. It is rich, thick, expensive and marries up beautifully with food such as steak to produce an unusual finish that greatly enhances the look and flavor of the meat
- Bicarbonate of Soda
For well over a century professional cooks have known that adding bicarbonate of soda to cooking vegetables enhances their color; greens turn bright green and old carrots look like new
- Collecting Recipies
Collecting recipes from all over the world wide web can be fun and very rewarding in terms of the food you eat. It can also be a nightmare to organize. It doesn't have to be. A little work early on will pay rich rewards as your recipe collection grows.
- Egg Whites
It’s not at all unusual for cake and dessert recipes to call for egg yolks. Any kind of custard is a liaison of several yolks, sugar and milk. Which leaves the egg whites
- Fats And Oils
I like olive oil as much as the next person and I use it extensively in my cooking. However there are alternative oils and there are very good reasons for using some of them
- Haybox Cooking
crock-pot cookery is the modern equivalent of haybox cooking. It has a long tradition based on a slower paced life-style, but it works equally well today.
- Hoggett Dressed as Lamb
One of the more shady practices of unscrupulous butchers, including those to be found in many supermarkets, is to present hoggett as 'prime lamb'.
- How to Sharpen a Knife
All chefs who go to a western-style catering college, and most butcher's apprentices, are taught to sharpen their knives by swiping the cutting edge several times on a steel towards the hand that is holding that implement. I used to do it that way as well, many years ago
- Microwave Cleaning
One of the big advantages a microwave has over a conventional oven is that it is so easy to keep clean, especially if you keep food covered when you cook it
- Microwave Myths
Despite the fact that microwave cookers have been with us for over 30 years, they still tend to be treated as a secondary method of cooking in many kitchens
- Microwaves And Metal
Metal, we are told, should never be used in a microwave. Yet that is exactly what the oven is made from, right down to the reflective mesh in the window
- Obesity and Nonstick Pans
It may be the case that obesity is caused by a number of different things, but it is also true that the consumption of too much fat contributes to the condition. This is something parents of young children may have to watch carefully
- Party Planning
A dinner party can be fun, but it can also be a source of stress and disappointment for the cook. The way to avoid this is through careful planning.
- Peeling Vegetables
The great English cook Prue Leith once famously remarked “life's too short to stuff a mushroom”. I feel pretty much the same way about peeling a grape
- Recipes Are Guides
Judging by the comments in some cookbooks, you would think recipes are chemical formulas to be measured out and carefully mixed. It just ain't so.
- Reductions
A reduction can be made from any liquid just by heating it - but why would you do it? The answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture).
- Roasting
Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I still see roasting recipes that insist you should cook meat at high temperature for the first twenty minutes or so to seal it and then lower the level for the rest of the cooking time.
- Teflon
For over 40 years scientists have known that the fumes from hot Teflon surfaces can kill birds such as canaries. So just how dangerous are they to humans?
- Thickeners
With most sauces and nearly all types of gravy you will need to use a thickening agent at some stage. This may be one of any number of things
- Tricks of the Trade
Every now and then, nightly in some cases, something will happen to test a cook’s mettle. Good ones will rise to the occasion, mediocrity will sink others without a trace. There are a few tricks that can help when the gremlins strike in your kitchen.
- Using Herbs
In any number of cookbooks and recipes you will find advice on which herbs go with what. I’m not going to take that route.
- Using Spice
Most people, including most professional chefs, use spice that has already been prepared. That is to say it has been ground up, ready to use
- Whole Spice
Using ground spices may be quick and convenient, but for that special occasion nothing beats whole spice that you grind yourself. Not only will you get a better flavor, you will save money as well
