How do I tell if food has gone off?
Judging whether food is still safe — what look, smell and dates actually tell you, and where judgement is not enough.
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
Is it safe to eat food if I cut the mould off?
Hard and dry foods can be salvaged; soft and moist ones cannot, because the threads spread further than you can see.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat is the food danger zone and why does it matter?
The 8 to 63°C band, the two-hour rule, why the clock never resets, and what actually happens to food left out.
beginner8 min5 min readWhy did my cake burn on the outside and stay raw inside?
Oven too hot, tin too deep, or a mixture that insulates itself — the three causes and how to tell which you had.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy did my cake dome and crack on top?
Why the middle rises last and hardest, the two changes that flatten it, and how to level a cake that has already domed.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy is my dough too sticky to handle?
When sticky is correct and when it is not, and the handling techniques that work without adding flour.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I freeze food properly?
How to freeze food so it's still good when you defrost it — packaging, portioning, what freezes badly, and safe defrosting.
beginner30 min3 min readCan I refreeze food?
Raw to raw is not safe; raw to cooked to frozen is. The rule is simpler than it appears.
beginner10 min2 min readHow do I build a curry base?
The sequence — onions, aromatics, spices, tomato — and why frying the spices is the step that changes everything.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I cook safely for someone with coeliac disease?
What gluten contamination actually looks like in a home kitchen, which equipment must be separate, and where gluten hides on a UK label.
intermediate20 min5 min readHow do I fix dry chicken?
Rescuing chicken that has already overcooked, and the temperature control that stops it happening again.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I fry an egg?
Frying an egg with a set white and a runny yolk, plus how to get crisp edges or a soft, tender white depending on what you want.
beginner5 min2 min readHow do I get a proper sear on meat?
Dry surface, hot pan, no crowding, no fiddling — the four conditions that produce a crust rather than grey meat.
beginner15 min2 min readHow do I hold a knife properly?
The pinch grip and the claw — two hand positions that make cutting faster, more accurate and considerably safer.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I know if my ferment has gone bad?
The specific signs that separate a healthy ferment from a spoiled one, what is normal and alarming, and the unambiguous throw-away rule.
beginner5 min4 min readHow do I know when meat is cooked without a thermometer?
The touch test and the skewer test for whole cuts — and the cuts where guessing is not acceptable.
intermediate10 min2 min readHow do I make soup?
A method that works for almost any vegetable soup — the base, the ratio, the cooking and the finishing that stops it tasting flat.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I pack a cool box properly?
A cool box keeps cold in rather than making anything cold. Chilling everything first, filling the empty space and packing in the right order is what turns four hours into two days.
beginner20 min6 min readHow do I plan a barbecue?
The quantities, the timings and the food safety rules — plus why a two-zone fire solves most barbecue failures.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I plan meals on a very tight budget?
Building meals around cheap bases, the shopping method that stops overspending, and where the savings actually are.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I roast a chicken?
How to roast a chicken so the breast stays juicy and the skin crisps — temperature, timing, and how to know when it's genuinely done.
beginner1 hr 45 min2 min readHow do I tell if an egg is still good?
The float test for age, the smell test for safety, and why they answer different questions.
beginner5 min2 min readHow long can food be left out?
The two-hour rule, why the danger zone matters, and the foods where it is strictest.
beginner10 min2 min readWhy did my cake sink in the middle?
The five causes of a sunken cake, how to identify which one applies, and what to do with the cake you have.
beginner10 min2 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.