How do I store potatoes?
Where potatoes should be kept, why the fridge is wrong, and what green patches and sprouting actually mean.
beginner10 min2 min read
Storage & Freezing
Keeping food safe, fresh and usable for longer.
97 guides in Food & Cooking
How do I tell if raw meat has gone off?
The smell and touch tests that genuinely work on raw meat, the colour changes that mean nothing, and the point at which your senses stop being evidence at all.
beginner8 min3 min readWhy has my jam not set, and can I rescue it?
The three things a set needs, how to work out which one is missing, and how to re-boil jam that has already gone into jars.
intermediate35 min6 min readHow do I defrost food safely?
The three safe defrosting methods, how long each takes, and why the kitchen counter is not one of them.
beginner20 min2 min readCan I cut the mould off food and eat the rest?
The hard-food exception, why soft foods go in the bin whole, and the specific cases people get wrong.
beginner5 min4 min readHow do I cool a big pot of food quickly and safely?
Why depth is the variable that matters, the cold water bath method, and the ninety-minute target that decides whether a batch is safe.
beginner10 min5 min readHow do I cool a large pot of food safely?
Why volume is the problem, the methods that actually move heat out, and the two-hour target.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I make and store chutney safely?
Why the vinegar quantity is not negotiable, the sterilising and sealing that make it keep, and how long to mature it.
intermediate3 hr4 min readHow do I waste less food?
The habits that cut household food waste most — shopping to a plan, storing correctly, and having a route for things approaching their date.
beginner30 min2 min readHow long can food shopping stay in a hot car?
A parked car is not a warm room, it is an oven with glass sides. What that does to the safe window for chilled food, and the practical rule that follows.
beginner10 min5 min readHow long does food actually last in a freezer?
Why freezer times are quality limits rather than safety ones, realistic periods by food type, and what freezer burn actually is.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I get frozen food home without it thawing?
The frozen aisle last, the shortest possible warm interval, and the packing that keeps a load frozen for the drive — plus what to do if it has partly thawed by the time you get in.
beginner10 min5 min readHow do I know if a fridge is cold enough?
Why the dial is not a temperature, measuring it properly, and the placement that matters more than the setting.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I store bread so it does not go stale?
Why the fridge is the worst place for bread, what a bread bin actually does, and how to revive a stale loaf.
beginner5 min2 min readIs it safe to make garlic or herbs in oil at home?
Why oil makes a low-acid food more dangerous rather than less, and the three ways to have flavoured oil without the risk.
beginner10 min4 min readAre barbecue leftovers safe to keep?
Cooked food sitting on a table in the sun for a long afternoon is the actual risk at a barbecue, not the cooking. What can be kept, what must go, and how to reheat what survives.
beginner12 min6 min readHow do I freeze bread so it is still good?
Slicing before freezing, wrapping against freezer burn, and why the fridge is the worst place for bread.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I stop fresh herbs going slimy?
The different storage soft and woody herbs need, and why washing before storing is the usual culprit.
beginner15 min3 min readIs my food still safe after a power cut in hot weather?
Keeping the doors shut is almost the whole answer. What a fridge and a freezer can hold without power, how to judge afterwards, and the single trick that tells you what happened while you were out.
beginner15 min6 min readWhat does the date on eggs actually mean?
Best-before versus use-by, the float test and what it actually shows, and how storage changes the answer.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I keep bread fresh?
Why bread goes stale, why the fridge makes it worse, and the storage that actually keeps a loaf usable.
beginner5 min2 min readHow do I keep food cold without a fridge?
Camping, a festival, a long power cut or a caravan: what genuinely keeps food safe without a fridge, and why choosing different food beats trying harder to cool the food you brought.
beginner20 min6 min readHow do I organise a fridge properly?
Putting food where the temperature suits it, which both keeps it longer and reduces waste.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I preserve a glut of fruit or vegetables?
The four routes for a sudden surplus — freezing, pickling, jam and drying — and which is safe for what.
intermediate1 hr 30 min2 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.