What is braising and how do I do it?
Browning then cooking gently in a small amount of liquid — the technique behind most of the best cheap cooking.
intermediate3 hr2 min read
Techniques
Roasting, frying, braising and why temperature matters.
234 guides in Food & Cooking
What is the difference between sautéing, shallow frying and deep frying?
Sauté, shallow fry, half-depth fry and deep fry are the same reaction at four different oil depths — and the depth is what decides evenness, turning and how hot the oil has to be.
beginner8 min5 min readWhy do my sauces and custards curdle?
The heat and acid thresholds that curdle eggs and dairy, and the tempering that prevents it.
intermediate15 min2 min readHow do I blanch vegetables and why would I?
A brief boil followed by iced water, used to set colour, prepare vegetables ahead and get them ready for freezing.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I cook Brussels sprouts so they are not bitter?
Why boiling produces bitterness and roasting produces sweetness, and the preparation that stops them cooking unevenly.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I cook a duck breast?
The cold pan start that renders the fat, how deep to score, and why duck is cooked pink while chicken is not.
intermediate25 min3 min readHow do I cook aubergine without it soaking up all the oil?
The sponge structure that drinks oil, the three ways to collapse it first, and why salting is now optional.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I cook lamb shanks so they fall off the bone?
A braise built around one hard-working muscle on a bone, with the browning, liquid level and cooking time that turn a cheap cut into the best thing on the table.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I cook mussels safely?
The alive-or-dead check before cooking, the open-or-shut check after, and the four minutes they actually need.
intermediate25 min3 min readHow do I poach things without them disintegrating?
The temperature that separates poaching from boiling, and handling delicate things so they hold together.
beginner30 min3 min readShould I start potatoes in cold water or boiling water?
Cold, for anything cut larger than a chunk of a couple of centimetres — and the reason is a heat gradient, not tradition. When a hot start is genuinely fine.
beginner5 min2 min readWhy did my caramel crystallise?
Why one stray crystal ruins a whole pan, the two methods and which is more forgiving, and how to rescue it.
intermediate25 min3 min readWhy did some of my mussels not open, and do I have to throw them away?
A closed mussel after cooking is usually a strong hinge, not a dead animal. What the open-and-shut rules actually detect, what they miss entirely, and the honest way to sort a pan of mussels.
beginner5 min5 min readWhy does microwave defrost cook the edges of the food?
Microwave defrost overshoots at the edges because ice and water absorb microwaves completely differently — and there is a technique that largely avoids it.
beginner8 min4 min readWhy will my mayonnaise not thicken?
A mayonnaise that stays liquid has not split — it has never emulsified. The four causes, how to tell which one applies, and how to get it thick from where you are.
intermediate10 min4 min readHow do I cook without an oven?
Hob, microwave, air fryer and grill methods that replace oven cooking for most everyday dishes.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I make a vegetarian gravy that actually tastes of something?
Deeply browned onions, a proper brown roux and three or four sources of savour — the method for a gravy with no roasting tin behind it, for a nut roast or a vegetarian at the table.
beginner35 min4 min readHow do I use a bain-marie?
The hob double boiler and the oven water bath — two different set-ups with the same purpose, protecting delicate mixtures from direct heat.
beginner10 min4 min readIs it safe to stuff a chicken or turkey?
Why cavity stuffing is a genuine food safety problem rather than an old wives' tale, and the three ways to get stuffing flavour without it.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy does my fish release so much water in the pan?
Four different sources of the liquid that stops fish browning — ice glaze, added water, thaw drip and protein squeeze — how to tell which you have, and what to do about each.
beginner10 min4 min readDoes meat need to come to room temperature before cooking?
How much a joint actually warms up on the worktop, why it matters less than everyone says, and the two situations where it genuinely does help.
beginner7 min4 min readHow do I cook cabbage so it does not taste of school dinners?
The sulphur compounds released by long cooking, the short methods that avoid them, and how each type of cabbage behaves.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I cook sous vide at home?
What sous vide actually gives you, the kit that is genuinely needed, how to bag food without a vacuum sealer, and why the sear at the end is not optional.
intermediate25 min5 min readHow do I rescue hollandaise that has split?
Telling a split hollandaise from a scrambled one, cooling it before you rebuild, and the two-bowl rescue that brings back a sauce that has separated.
advanced8 min3 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.