Which cooking oil should I use?
Matching oil to temperature and flavour, and why the expensive one is usually the wrong choice for frying.
beginner15 min2 min read
Ingredients
Choosing, prepping and getting the most out of what you buy.
90 guides in Food & Cooking
Which cut of lamb should I buy?
Leg, shoulder, rack, chump, neck fillet, shank and breast — where each sits on the animal and which of the two completely different lamb destinations each one suits.
beginner10 min3 min readWhich cut of pork do I need?
Shoulder, loin, belly, leg, tenderloin, hock and cheek — what each is called on a UK label, and why pork is the species where the cut matters most.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy do my boiled potatoes fall apart in the pan?
Nearly always the variety rather than the cooking. What floury and waxy potatoes actually do when heated, and how to boil either one without ending up with soup.
beginner5 min4 min readHow do I cook dried beans and lentils?
Soaking, cooking times and seasoning for dried pulses, plus the one bean that genuinely needs care.
beginner2 hr3 min readWhich type of rice should I use?
What separates long, medium and short grain, and which dishes each is actually suited to.
beginner15 min2 min readWhy has my beef gone brown or grey inside the pack?
The oxygen chemistry behind red, purple and brown beef, why mince browns in the middle first, and the separate signs that actually mean spoilage.
beginner8 min3 min readHow do I preserve fresh herbs?
Freezing, drying and preserving herbs in oil or salt, and which method suits which herb.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I use vinegar and acid in cooking?
Which vinegar suits what, and why acid is the most under-used correction in home cooking.
beginner15 min2 min readWhat can I do with stale bread?
Six genuinely good uses for bread past its best, most of which are better with stale bread than fresh.
beginner20 min2 min readWhat does free-range actually mean on a chicken?
The four legally defined poultry categories, what each one controls, and why the bird's age at slaughter changes how it cooks.
beginner10 min3 min readWhich fish suits which cooking method?
Four categories of fish, the methods each can take, and why a fish that falls apart was probably in the wrong pan.
beginner5 min3 min readWhich potato should I use for which dish?
The waxy-to-floury spectrum, which UK varieties sit where, and why the wrong one collapses or refuses to fluff.
beginner5 min3 min readWhich pasta shape goes with which sauce?
The logic behind pairing shape to sauce, which is about how the sauce clings rather than tradition.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat is a turkey crown, and should I buy one instead of a whole turkey?
What a crown is, why it solves the main problem with roasting a whole turkey, and what you give up by buying one.
beginner10 min3 min readWhich cream whips, which can I boil, and what is the difference?
Every cream on a British shelf is defined by one number — its fat content — and that number decides whether it whips, whether it survives boiling and whether it can be substituted. The ladder, and what each rung is for.
beginner6 min5 min readHow do I buy and store fish?
What to look for at the counter, why frozen is often the better choice, and how long fish actually keeps.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I keep herbs and spices fresh?
How long dried spices actually last, where to store them, and how to get more out of the ones you have.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I store and use nuts, seeds and dried fruit?
Why nuts go rancid, how toasting changes them, and the storage that keeps them usable for months.
beginner15 min2 min readWhat can I use instead of wine in cooking?
What the wine is actually doing, matching the substitute to that job, and the ratios that work.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat do the fat percentages on beef mince mean?
What 5%, 12% and 20% actually change, and which percentage suits burgers, bolognese, chilli and meatballs.
beginner5 min3 min readWhat is the difference between fresh and dried pasta?
Different flour, different eggs and completely different behaviour — and why dried is not the inferior option.
beginner5 min3 min readWhich cream can I boil without it splitting?
UK creams ranked by fat content, with the threshold above which a cream can be reduced in a sauce and below which it will curdle — and how to use the ones below the line safely.
beginner6 min4 min readWhich spices can stand in for each other?
Grouping spices by what they contribute, the swaps that work, and the ones with no substitute.
beginner20 min3 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.