How to cook the perfect jacket potato in an oven
For the fluffiest centre, you need to begin with the right potato. I usually plump for large (200g-250g) Maris Pipers or King Edwards, which are easy to find and offer a wonderful, soft interior and crispy skin when baked well. I’m also keen to try the new Nemo potato, which is said to cook more […]
How to serve up a special supper for two
I had to cook meals that were special and put flowers on the table. I started to make a list of dishes that would be a treat but that didn’t require too much work. A bit of luxury – scallops, steak, wild mushrooms – was in order. A bowl of pasta, unless it was unusual […]
Energy expert Vaclav Smil on how to feed the world without trashing it
Here is a recipe for a thought-provoking, if not wholly appetising, snack: slice up a large tomato and pour over five or six tablespoons of your favourite cooking oil. Depending on where you got your tomato, that oil represents roughly the amount of diesel fuel needed to grow and deliver it to your plate. Bon […]
How to shop for ‘fine’ wines without breaking the bank
Lambson’s Connect the Dots Blended Syrah 2021, 13.5%, Lay & Wheeler, £21.81 But top of my list these days, when it comes to South Africa, is chenin blanc. I don’t buy it as an alternative to chenin blanc from the Loire, though. I love the glittering thrust and nervosity of acidity of Loire chenin blanc, […]
How to stack your fridge and make food last longer
How to organise your fridge Have a clear-out Pick a day when your fridge is looking sparse and start with a good clear out, checking use-by dates and looking under lids for signs of mould. Whether food is still safe to eat once mould has appeared depends on the food – for example, if a hard […]
How Simon Hopkinson taught the nation how to roast a chicken – and top chefs how to cook
In 1983, after a few years as chef at The Shed (Dinas, Pembrokeshire) and another few as an inspector for the Egon Ronay restaurant guides, he started out at Hilaire on London’s Old Brompton Road. Within a few years the triumvirate of Hopkinson, Rowley Leigh and Alastair Little (RIP) were the hippest chefs in town. […]
Flavour-predicting AI can tell brewers how to make beer taste better
Beer brewers generate a huge variety of flavours from just a handful of ingredients Kutredrig/Getty Images An artificial intelligence that can predict how a beer will taste from its chemical make-up could help create alcohol-free versions that taste just like regular ones. Predicting flavour from chemical compounds is difficult, as complex interactions between ingredients and […]
How to stop snacking and develop healthy eating habits
Put protein first Protein is “thermogenic”, which means it requires the body to expend more energy digesting it than it would with other, more processed foods. That makes you less likely to feel hungry after a protein-based meal. But eating it before the other food on your plate might also help keep you full too. […]