What do I do if my freezer breaks down or loses power?
How long a full freezer holds, the ice-crystal test that decides each item, and what to salvage first.
beginner20 min3 min read
Storage & Freezing
Keeping food safe, fresh and usable for longer.
97 guides in Food & Cooking
What is freezer burn and is the food still safe?
The moisture mechanism behind those grey leathery patches, whether to eat it, and the packing that prevents it.
beginner5 min4 min readWhat is the fast freeze button and when should I use it?
It runs the compressor flat out to pre-chill the cabinet before warm food goes in, so the new food freezes fast and the food already in there does not thaw at the edges.
beginner10 min3 min readWhich fruits need added pectin and which do not?
The high, medium and low pectin fruits, what to add to each, and why some jams set on their own and others never will.
beginner5 min3 min readCan I use less sugar in jam?
What the sugar is actually doing, how far down you can go, and what changes about storage when you do.
beginner5 min3 min readHow do I dry or dehydrate food at home?
Which foods dry well, doing it in an ordinary oven, and the conditioning step that prevents mould.
intermediate3 hr3 min readHow do I store flour, rice and dry goods properly?
Airtight containers, realistic shelf lives, and what to do about the moths and weevils that get in through the packaging.
beginner15 min3 min readHow much salt do I need for fermenting vegetables?
The 2% rule, how to calculate it for dry-salted and brined ferments, and what happens above and below the range.
beginner5 min3 min readHow should I store eggs?
Fridge or counter, which way up, how long they keep, and how to test whether an egg is still good.
beginner10 min2 min readShould I turn my fridge or freezer off when I go away?
For a week or two it is not worth it. For a month or more it is — but only if you empty it completely, clean it and prop the door open, and the freezer answer is different from the fridge answer.
beginner30 min4 min readCan I cure my own bacon or ham at home?
What curing actually does, the difference between a wet cure you cook and a dry cure you do not, and why the numbers must come from a tested source rather than from here.
advanced15 min5 min readHow do I bottle fruit in jars safely?
The water-bath method for high-acid fruit, which fruits qualify, and the checks that decide whether a jar keeps.
intermediate1 hr5 min readIs cold smoking food at home safe?
What cold smoking does and does not do, why the cure rather than the smoke is what preserves, and who should not eat the result.
advanced10 min4 min readIs it safe to brew kombucha at home?
The conditions that make a brew safe rather than risky, what a healthy SCOBY looks like, and the second-ferment pressure hazard nobody mentions.
intermediate20 min5 min readWhy have my pickles gone soft, and is cloudy brine a problem?
The five causes of limp pickles, how to tell harmless cloudiness from spoilage, and what actually keeps a pickle crisp.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I buy and keep live shellfish at home?
How to judge mussels, clams, oysters and live crabs at the counter, how to keep them alive in a domestic fridge, and how long you actually have before they are no longer worth cooking.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I dry fruit at home so it keeps?
Oven, dehydrator and airing-cupboard methods, how to tell when it is dry enough, and the conditioning week that stops mould.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I look after milk kefir grains?
The daily rhythm, what the grains need, why kefir separates, and how to pause the whole thing when you go away.
beginner10 min5 min readHow do I store chocolate so it does not go white?
The two kinds of bloom, why the fridge causes one of them, and the temperature range chocolate actually wants.
beginner5 min3 min readShould butter be kept in the fridge or on the counter?
Butter goes off by oxidation rather than by bacteria, so light and air matter more than temperature. What that means for the butter dish, how long each option really lasts, and how to freeze it properly.
beginner4 min4 min readWhy is the peel in my marmalade tough and chewy?
The one-way rule about softening peel, why sugar sets it hard, and whether a finished batch can be saved.
intermediate10 min3 min readIs vacuum sealing food actually worth it?
What it genuinely improves, what it does not, and the safety caveat people miss.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy has my jam gone sugary and crystallised?
The three causes of gritty, crystalline jam, which of them you can undo, and how to stop it happening again.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I revive limp vegetables?
A cold water soak puts water back into cells that have only lost pressure, and it works remarkably well. Which vegetables come back, which do not, and how to tell the difference before you bother.
beginner10 min3 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.