What food should I avoid cooking for someone who is pregnant?
The foods NHS guidance advises against, the ones people wrongly avoid, and how to adapt a meal without making it dull.
beginner10 min3 min read
Preparation
Knife work, prep order and getting ahead.
57 guides in Food & Cooking
How do I prep vegetables in advance?
Which vegetables can be prepped ahead and how to store them so they don't discolour, dry out or go slimy.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I marinate meat properly?
What a marinade actually does, how long each type of meat needs, and why more time is not better.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I spatchcock a chicken and why would I?
Removing the backbone so the bird cooks flat, which halves the roasting time and fixes the dry-breast problem.
intermediate15 min3 min readHow do I cook with children without it being a disaster?
Age-appropriate jobs, lowered expectations and preparation that makes it enjoyable rather than stressful.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I carve a chicken or joint?
Where the joints are, which direction to slice, and why resting first makes carving easier as well as better.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I handle chillies without burning my hands?
Where the heat actually lives, how to remove it selectively, and why cold water makes the burn on your hands worse.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I soften butter quickly without melting it?
Five methods that get fridge-cold butter to creaming temperature in minutes, ranked by how likely each is to leave you with a puddle — and why melted butter cannot be used instead.
beginner5 min4 min readWhat is the difference between dry brining and wet brining?
What each one does to the meat, the quantities for both, and why dry brining has largely replaced wet brining at home.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I make food look better without much effort?
Height, contrast and restraint — three principles that improve any plate in seconds.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat do I do with a glut of vegetables?
Preserving, freezing and cooking a sudden excess of one vegetable before it goes to waste.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I prepare artichokes, asparagus and awkward vegetables?
The specific trick for each of the vegetables people avoid because they look like work.
intermediate25 min2 min readHow do I take the pin bones out of a fish fillet?
Where the row of pin bones actually runs in a fillet, how to find them by touch, and the pull direction that gets them out without tearing a channel through the flesh.
beginner5 min3 min readIs it safe to eat raw fish at home?
What the freezing requirement actually is, why "sushi grade" means nothing, which species carry which risk, and the handling that matters more than any label.
intermediate10 min5 min readDo I actually need to rinse rice, and why?
What rinsing removes, which rices genuinely need it and which are actively harmed by it, and the separate arsenic question that is the only health reason to do it.
beginner5 min3 min readHow do I segment and peel citrus properly?
Supreming, peeling without the pith, and getting the peel off in one piece.
beginner10 min2 min readHow do I separate eggs cleanly?
Three methods ranked by reliability, why cold eggs separate better, and the three-bowl habit that stops one broken yolk from ruining a batch of whites.
beginner5 min4 min readHow do I zest and juice efficiently?
The order that matters, the tools that help, and why most people throw away the best part.
beginner5 min2 min readWhat is mise en place and does it actually help at home?
Getting everything prepared and within reach before the heat goes on — what professional kitchens mean by it, and the version of it that is genuinely worth doing in a home kitchen.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I cook beetroot without staining everything?
Cooking beetroot whole with the skin on, why you should not trim it too closely, and how to get the colour off your hands.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I devein a prawn, and do I actually have to?
What the dark line in a prawn really is, when it is worth removing and when it is not, and the cut that deveins and butterflies in one movement.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I skin peppers properly?
Charring then steaming, which is the only method that works, and why the skins matter in the first place.
beginner30 min3 min readCan I use a leftover marinade as a sauce?
Used marinade is raw-meat liquid, but it does not have to be thrown away — the boiling rule, the reserve-first habit, and where people go wrong at a barbecue.
beginner8 min4 min readWhy are my courgettes watery, and does salting help?
A courgette is around ninety-five per cent water, and how you deal with that water is the whole of cooking one well. When salting is worth the time and when high heat does the job faster.
beginner10 min3 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.