Cooking Basics

Solved: Does Baileys go off? With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to take inventory of the drinks cupboard and ensure your supply is fit for purpose. Stocking up on your favourite drinks just before Christmas is an annual tradition (at least in the UK!) and is one that...

What Is Chestnut Puree?? Chestnuts are a bit like Michael Bublé. They are absolutely everywhere over the Christmas period but as soon as the festive season is over, they return to their hiding place. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eating a Chestnut in...

Bamboo Steamer – Do you need one? Thinking buying a bamboo steamer but not sure if you are going to use it often? Well, we did buy one and we do actually use it quite a lot.  A bamboo steamer works wonder whether you want to make dumplings, bao buns...

Know Your Flours & When To Use Them We’ve all been there. The recipe calls for plain flour but all you have in the cupboard is self-raising flour. It should be fine, right? Wrong. Plain flour and self-raising flour are different and will have dramatically different effects on the outcome...

SOLVED: How Long Does Wine Actually Last After It’s Opened? Some days just call for a glass of wine.  But, unless you are rocking a collection of single-serving bottles in your fridge that are just ready to go (if you are, congratulations, you have made it in life), a glass...

How Much Pasta Per Person is the Right Serving Size? To this day, I have never met anyone who doesn’t like pasta. In fact, I can’t even imagine what someone who hates pasta would even look like. To be honest, I think pasta haters are just a legend, like sewer...

Get a tofu press to revamp your entire tofu experience! Going vegan often requires a total change in your diet. We have to do away with so many products that we have grown up eating, and this can be pretty challenging. However, once you start transitioning, you’ll notice that it...

Everything about double yolk eggs explained Making your breakfast in the morning is probably the last time you expect to get any surprises. But sometimes a certain situation can take you by surprise. If you’ve ever cracked open an egg to make your morning omelette or you scrambled eggs and...

Keep Your Roasties Crisp & Fluffy. Read our helpful guide and learn how to reheat roast potatoes in a range of different ways. When it comes to food, usually the humblest ones are the ones we love the most. Regardless of age, classics like roast chicken, soups, apple pie and...

More than you will ever need to know about Masa Harina! I can hear you asking right now, what is Masa Harina? Well, Masa Harina is the main ingredient in corn tortilla and tamale.  Masa Harina is Spanish for Flour Dough. It’s a gluten-free flour made from finely ground corn...

Understand the difference between stew and casserole to perfect both dishes! With the winter months rolling around the corner, it’s time for us all to brush up on our comfort food recipes. These slow-cooked, rich and hearty dishes seem like a cosy sweater on a chilly day. They can warm...

How To Preserve Chili Peppers Understanding how to store chillies or preserving chillies can be very helpful in keeping them for a long time, especially if you have bought them in large quantities or if you have grown your own seedling. Having your peppers available in the kitchen is a...

What are the best substitutes for bay leaves? Bay leaves, also referred to as laurel leaves, are commonly used to enhance the flavour and aroma. Bay leaves are native to the Mediterranean region, but they are popular all around the world. They are commonly used in dishes that need more...

All the best wood chips for smoking and elevating any barbecue to the next level. With fall now upon us, it’s time for us all to whip out our grills, lawn chairs, and smokers. There can be nothing more perfect than an evening barbeque in the fall, with the slightly...

Looking for a list of the most useful & up-to-date food waste facts, figures & statistics?  Well you are in the right place! Instead of providing old or irrelevant data for reference and sharing in your articles, we regularly update our research with the latest research & data.  You will...

Everything you Need to Know About Anchovy Fillets Almost everyone loves the small forage fish, anchovy, but very few know how to cook with anchovy fillets. If you talk to any experienced home cook or chef, they will tell you anchovies are their secret weapons when it comes to enhancing the...

An Ultimate Guide to Reheating Porridge Porridge is the best breakfast option that not only digests slowly but also keeps you full for a long time. Above all, it is very healthy and has a great nutrition value. But it’s cooking process takes around 25 minutes that keep you from...

Figure out how much dried chili equals fresh & take your cooking to the next level! When we think of cooking essentials, what comes to mind the most is salt. Of course, without proper seasoning with salt, any dish can be bland and tasteless. However, it isn’t just the salt...

Tarragon Substitutes to Make your Food Shine! When it comes to cooking, it’s often the smaller ingredients that pack the most of the punch. The subtle yet distinct aromas of these ingredients can add an unparalleled complexity. This is why, in most cuisines around the world, different herbs are the...

Oven Temperature Conversion Chart There is nothing worse than discovering a great looking recipe, only to find the oven temperatures are listed in Fahrenheit but you use gas or celsius.  Sounds like what you need is an oven conversion chart!  The number of times I have had to search for...

Cooking and Reheat Couscous – All You Need to Know Couscous is a North African dish made of tiny balls of semolina. It’s readily available as instant food in the grocery shop these days. It’s cooked like pasta. You simply boil it up. But have you ever asked yourself; Can...

How Long You Can Safely Leave the Slow Cooker On If you are a die-hard fan of the drama series This Is Us and your heart broke after finding how Jack Pearson died, you must be worried about using your slow cooker. Hence, it’s fair to ask can I leave...

Ever taken a bite of something and been left with an explanation sensation in your mouth? Perhaps a savoury and meaty taste despite there being now meat in whatever you’ve eaten? If that sounds familiar to you, then you have just experienced the little known 5th taste sensation: Umami. Umami...

What is Catalan Chicken? You’ve likely come across Catalan chicken in some way shape or form before, but have you ever actually stopped to think about what it is? Well we have and we were pretty surprised to say the least! There are two stories to be told here; one...

A momentary lapse of concentration. Perhaps the phone rings or someone knocks at your door and you leave your post. By the time you head back, you see it. You are filled with dread as you curse the disturbance and race through all of your next steps. We are, of...

The cereal aisle at any supermarket can be a daunting place. You’ve got hundreds of bright coloured boxes all vying for your attention and for you to take them home. In our case, we often head straight to the granola section and pick the best sounding combination of fruit, nuts...

Looking to stretch your culinary wings and discover the wealth of flavours Japanese cooking has to offer? Well your first stop should be discovering where to buy miso. Miso is a staple in Japanese cooking and with over 482,000 tonnes of miso being produced in 2017, you can be sure...

If you have ever made any Japanese food at home, you have no doubt seen the mention of this mysterious, yet essential component: Mirin. Mirin is used throughout Japanese cooking and is a key ingredient in well-known sauces like teriyaki. But have you ever stopped and thought that Mirin actually...

Have you ever been in a supermarket aisle with the sole objective of acquiring some Creamed Coconut only to be faced with what seems like an impossible challenge?  Staring right back at you from the shelf you have Creamed Coconut, Coconut Cream, Coconut Milk & Coconut Oil – What does...

Looking for a list of the most interesting home cooking statistics uk? Well you are in the right place! We have compiled 21 of the most interesting statistics on home cooking the UK has to offer. For each stat, we have provided the source just in case you need to...

We’ve all been there. You’ve had one too many with the lads or girls and you think it’s a great idea to get a curry delivered at 1am. When it arrives, you dig in only to discover you ordered a meal fit for a family of 6 and you are...

Have you ever made a recipe that requires double cream? Of course you have! You’ve probably also wondered “Can you freeze double cream?” right? Well you have come to the right place! Double cream is a key ingredient in soups, desserts, soups, pasta and more! This is all great, however,...

Whether it’s on the shelf of a restaurant or your kitchen, you can see red pepper flakes everywhere. There’s no doubt that we all have used or experienced red pepper flakes on our food, at least once. But have you ever wondered what they are? Questions like, where do they...

Chop Garlic Without Smelling for Days! Garlic is incredible. It tastes great, it smells great both before and after cooking, and it can really take a dish to the next level. If it were socially acceptable, we would put garlic in everything. The only issue with the wonderful garlic is...

How to Use a Pizza Stone Is nothing better than tucking into a fresh, incredible tasting pizza that you have made with your bare hands in the comfort of your own home? The answer is no. There is nothing better. People think that to enjoy pizza you either have to...

Ricotta what? If you have ever cooked, eaten or seen Italian food before, it’s like you have come across Ricotta Cheese. If you haven’t, then it’s about time you came out from under your rock. We have electric cars & Bluetooth kettles now it’s great. For those of you who...

The Definitive Guide to the Tastiest Tinned Tomatoes in the UK! The world loves tomatoes. We love them all equally in their various shapes and sizes and if we could, they would be incorporated into every meal. But when it comes to tinned tomatoes, the quality varies wildly from tin...

What Do Bay Leaves Do? Do They Actually Taste of Anything?! Since the dawn of time man has asked the simple question off: What Does a Bay Leaf actually do? The rather dull looking leaf (by leaf standards anyway) is used in recipes worldwide by professional and home chefs alike....

Is there anything worse than when you psych yourself up for an incredible tasting pasta dish, only to be let down by the cheese clumping in the sauce?! A clumpy pasta sauce will ruin the smooth and velvety texture that is required for the majority of pasta recipes out there....