How do I look after my pans so they last?
Care by material — non-stick, stainless, cast iron and aluminium each fail in a different way.
beginner20 min2 min read
Kitchen Equipment
Looking after the kit you cook with.
67 guides in Food & Cooking
Slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven — which should I use for the same dish?
Three appliances that all turn a tough cut tender, judged on the things that actually differ: time, flavour, texture, whether you have to be there, and what each one is bad at.
beginner9 min4 min readHow do I cook with a wok?
Choosing one that suits your hob, seasoning it, and why a flat base beats a round one at home.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I use a meat thermometer?
Where to put the probe, what the target temperatures are, and how carryover cooking changes when to pull the meat.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat are the different types of pan called and what is each one for?
Frying pan, sauté pan, saucepan, casserole, stockpot and wok — the names are almost entirely about the angle and height of the sides, and the sides are what decide the job.
beginner8 min4 min readCan I put foil, baking paper or a liner in an air fryer?
Foil, baking paper, perforated liners and reusable silicone in an air fryer — what is safe, what ruins the cooking, and the one rule that matters more than the material.
beginner5 min4 min readWhich kitchen thermometer should I buy?
Instant-read probes, leave-in oven probes, wireless probes, infrared guns and old-fashioned dial thermometers — what each is for and which one most kitchens actually need.
beginner7 min4 min readHow do I cook properly in a tiny or shared kitchen?
Working within limited space and equipment, and the etiquette that keeps a shared kitchen functional.
beginner45 min2 min readShould I buy a Japanese or a European kitchen knife?
The difference is edge angle and steel hardness, and it decides everything else: how sharp the knife gets, how long it stays sharp, how you maintain it and how easily it chips.
intermediate8 min3 min readWhy is my oven temperature wrong?
How to find out what your oven is really doing, and how to work around it without a repair.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I season a carbon steel pan?
Seasoning is a hard polymerised film built from many almost invisible coats — how to strip the factory coating, build the layer, and fix a sticky or patchy result.
beginner45 min5 min readIs a stand mixer worth buying?
A stand mixer is expensive, heavy and takes a lot of worktop — the jobs where it genuinely replaces effort, the jobs where a hand mixer is equal, and how to decide.
beginner8 min3 min readHow do I cook a recipe when I do not have the equipment it asks for?
Which pieces of kitchen equipment can be substituted with something you already own, which cannot, and how to judge the difference safely.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I set up a kitchen to cook efficiently?
Arranging by task rather than by object, the work triangle that still matters, and clearing the surfaces that slow you down.
beginner2 hr3 min readHow do I use a microwave properly?
Power levels, stirring and standing time, arranging food in a ring, and the things that must never go in.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I use a pressure cooker safely?
The fill limits, the checks before every use, and the foods that foam and block the valve.
intermediate20 min3 min readShould I use a glass, ceramic or metal dish in the oven?
Metal browns, glass and ceramic hold heat and are gentle — how the three materials behave differently in an oven and which dish to reach for.
beginner7 min4 min readWhich kitchen gadgets are actually worth having?
The short list that earns its space, the test for anything else, and what to buy well rather than cheaply.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I use a stick blender without spraying soup everywhere?
Stick blenders spray because the blade is above the liquid or the jug is too wide — the technique that stops it, and the small changes that make one work properly.
beginner6 min4 min readWhy has my pan warped, and can it be fixed?
A pan that rocks, spins on the hob or lets the oil run to one edge has gone out of flat — what causes it, how to test it with a straightedge, and which warps can be corrected.
beginner10 min4 min readCan I reuse frying oil, and how do I get rid of it?
How many times oil can be reused, how to filter and store it, and the two lawful ways to get rid of it.
beginner15 min3 min readCast iron or carbon steel — which pan should I buy?
Two pans that work the same way — bare iron with a seasoned surface — and differ in weight, responsiveness and how they take a scratch. Which one suits which cooking.
beginner8 min4 min readHow do I choose a chef's knife?
Length, steel, weight and handle — what each actually changes, and why the expensive one is often the wrong choice.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I cook properly on a ceramic hob?
Radiant ceramic hobs behave quite differently from gas and from induction — the lag, the flat-base requirement, the residual heat, and how to avoid ruining the glass.
beginner8 min4 min read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.