Why is my curry bitter and can I fix it?
Six things that make a curry bitter, how to tell which one it was, and the honest position on which of them can be balanced out and which cannot.
beginner10 min4 min read
Techniques
Roasting, frying, braising and why temperature matters.
234 guides in Food & Cooking
Why is my stock cloudy and can I clear it?
The four things that cloud a stock, why a rolling boil is nearly always the culprit, and how far a cloudy stock can be cleared once it has happened.
intermediate15 min4 min readHow do I add cream to soup without it curdling?
Which cream to use, when in the process to add it, and why an acidic soup such as tomato or a soup that will be reheated needs a different approach.
beginner6 min4 min readHow do I cook fish in a paper parcel?
The fold that actually seals, what to put in and what to leave out, and why a parcel is the most reliable way to cook fish without watching it.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I cook smoked haddock and kippers without it being too salty?
Poaching in milk, what dyed and undyed actually means, how to take the edge off an over-salted fillet, and how to cook a kipper without the whole house knowing.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I make apple sauce for pork?
Which apples collapse and which hold their shape, how much sugar it actually needs, and how to make and freeze a batch when the tree is producing more than you can eat.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy has my sauce gone gluey or slimy?
Four different textures people call gluey, what causes each, and which of them can be thinned back to a sauce and which cannot.
beginner8 min4 min readDoes basting meat actually do anything?
Basting does not put moisture into meat, but it is not useless — what it genuinely achieves, what it costs you in oven heat, and when it is worth doing.
beginner8 min4 min readHow do I cook a tuna steak rare in the middle?
Why tuna behaves like beef rather than like fish, the sear timings that leave a raw centre, and how to tell whether the steak in front of you is worth cooking this way.
intermediate10 min5 min readHow do I cook polenta without lumps?
The steady stream and constant whisk that prevent lumps, the ratio, and why instant polenta is a different product.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I keep hollandaise warm without it splitting?
Why a hollandaise breaks while it stands, the vacuum flask method that actually works at home, and how long it is safe to hold it for.
advanced10 min4 min readHow do I make a vegetable stock that actually tastes of something?
Why vegetable stock is usually watery and sweet, the four ingredients that give it savour, and why it needs a fraction of the cooking time of a meat stock.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I make mint sauce for lamb?
The proportions of mint, sugar, vinegar and water, why the boiling water step matters, and how long it keeps once made.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy do my roast potatoes stick to the tin?
Sticking is a temperature and contact problem, not a fat quantity problem. The five causes, in the order that finds it fastest, and how to get a stuck tray off intact.
beginner5 min3 min readWhy does my pesto go brown or taste bitter?
Browning is oxidation and bitterness usually comes from the blender or the oil — how to prevent both, and what to substitute when you have no pine nuts or no basil.
beginner12 min4 min readWhy is my cauliflower cheese watery?
The water comes out of the cauliflower after the sauce is on it. Three ways to get ahead of that, plus the separate faults that make the sauce split or go grainy.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I cook a rack of lamb?
A small, expensive, fast-cooking joint where five minutes is the difference between perfect and ruined — the sear, the oven stage and the temperature to pull it at.
intermediate30 min3 min readHow do I get chickpeas soft enough for smooth hummus?
Grainy hummus is a chickpea problem, not a blender problem. Cooking them past the point that feels right, and the bicarbonate step that dissolves the skins entirely.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I make a proper French omelette?
Pale, unbrowned, rolled and barely set in the middle. The pan, the temperature and the constant agitation that separate a French omelette from an ordinary folded one.
advanced5 min4 min readHow do I make a white sauce without dairy?
Which plant milks behave in a roux and which split, the fat to use instead of butter, and how to get back the savoury depth that dairy was providing.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy does my rice burn on the bottom of the pan?
There is one part of a pan of rice that can scorch and one reason it does. What is happening at the base, the four things that prevent it, and how to save the rest of the pan.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I use up a glut of herbs in a sauce?
Salsa verde, chimichurri, gremolata, herb oil and herb butter — five sauces that each use a whole bunch of herbs rather than a sprig, with the pattern behind all of them.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy did my chicken stock not set to a jelly?
A stock sets because of gelatine, and gelatine comes from specific parts of the animal cooked for long enough. The four reasons yours stayed liquid, and whether it matters.
intermediate12 min4 min readWhy is my soup gritty?
Grit in a soup is either actual grit from the vegetables, fibre that the blender could not break down, or curdled dairy — and each one has a different answer.
beginner12 min4 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.