How do I blanch vegetables and why would I?
A brief boil followed by iced water, used to set colour, prepare vegetables ahead and get them ready for freezing.
beginner15 min2 min read
Food & Cooking
The cooking questions people actually search for — how long, how hot, why did it go wrong, and how to keep food good for longer. Techniques and timings, not recipe theatre.
816 guides
How do I blend hot soup without it exploding?
Why a sealed jug of hot soup behaves like a pressure vessel, and the three ways to blend without one.
beginner10 min3 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 cook Brussels sprouts so they are not bitter?
Why boiling produces bitterness and roasting produces sweetness, and the preparation that stops them cooking unevenly.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I cook a duck breast?
The cold pan start that renders the fat, how deep to score, and why duck is cooked pink while chicken is not.
intermediate25 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 cook aubergine without it soaking up all the oil?
The sponge structure that drinks oil, the three ways to collapse it first, and why salting is now optional.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I cook brown rice properly?
Why brown rice needs different treatment from white, and two reliable methods — absorption and the pasta method.
beginner50 min2 min readHow do I cook lamb shanks so they fall off the bone?
A braise built around one hard-working muscle on a bone, with the browning, liquid level and cooking time that turn a cheap cut into the best thing on the table.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I cook mussels safely?
The alive-or-dead check before cooking, the open-or-shut check after, and the four minutes they actually need.
intermediate25 min3 min readHow do I cream butter and sugar properly?
Creaming is not mixing — it is the sugar crystals cutting air cells into soft fat, and it is where a creamed cake gets most of its rise. What the three stages look like, and why the colour change matters more than the clock.
beginner6 min3 min readHow do I decorate a cake so it looks good?
A crumb coat, a level surface and three simple finishes that look deliberate without needing piping skills.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I freeze herbs, garlic and ginger?
Which herbs survive freezing, the oil method that beats freezing them loose, and grating ginger straight from frozen.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I freeze milk, cheese and dairy?
What freezes well, what separates, and how to use the ones that change texture.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I get the best out of shop-bought puff pastry?
Keeping it cold, cutting cleanly so it can rise, and the difference an all-butter block makes.
beginner20 min3 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 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 keep vegetables under the brine when fermenting?
Why the brine line is the whole safety mechanism, five ways to weight a jar, and what to do when the level drops.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I make good porridge?
The ratio and technique for creamy porridge on the hob or in the microwave, and how to stop it boiling over.
beginner10 min2 min readHow do I make icing that is not too runny?
Buttercream and glacé icing that hold their shape, and how to fix icing that is too thin or too stiff.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I make kimchi at home?
The salting stage that makes or breaks it, the paste, and the two to five days at room temperature before it goes in the fridge.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I poach things without them disintegrating?
The temperature that separates poaching from boiling, and handling delicate things so they hold together.
beginner30 min3 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 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 read
Going deeper: PizzaHQ
Dough hydration and fermentation schedules, flour selection, oven types and bake profiles.
PizzaHQ is in development — GuideHQ covers the practical answers in the meantime.