Chef's Pick

Cake is one of life’s greatest pleasures. We eat it at birthdays, weddings, parties, special occasions and in cafés alongside a good coffee with friends. It sometimes happens that we have leftover cake, or we have cakes that we need to make or purchase ahead of time and knowing how long your cake will last […]

Cheese sauce is a classically made sauce that is useful for several popular family dishes. When added to pasta, cheese sauce can make a macaroni cheese. When added to cauliflower, it creates cauliflower cheese. Both dishes can be baked in the oven where the cheese will brown slightly on top giving the dish a lovely

Cardamom, sometimes spelt cardamon or cardamum, is a spice that is made from the seeds from plants that are native to Indonesia and the Indian subcontinent. Over time, the plants that produce cardamom seeds have been cultivated and grown in many other countries, with Guatemala now producing the most cardamom of any country. Cardamom comes

Turkey ham is a processed ready-to-eat meat product that is usually sold in the fridge section of the supermarket. It can be sold in slices in packets, or as a formed block of meat to be sliced at home. Despite the use of the word ‘ham’ in its name, turkey ham doesn’t contain any pork.

Egg is a useful binding ingredient when baking or cooking, but there are times when we need something else that can do the same job as the egg. Perhaps you’ve run out of eggs and have no time to pop to the shops, or maybe you are a vegan or cooking for a vegan friend

Greek yoghurt differs from natural yoghurt as it is strained through a fine mesh to reduce the liquid content and this makes for a thicker creamier substance. Greek yoghurt is lower in fat but higher in protein than natural yoghurt. Crème fraiche is a thick cream that is soured using cultured bacteria. It has a

Yes, some dumplings can be made using plain, all-purpose flour and no baking powder. Although most recipes call for either self-raising flour or baking powder, there are dumpling recipes that require neither. Dumplings come in a multitude of shapes and sizes, depending on their country of origin. The two major ‘types’ of dumplings around the

Potatoes are the most important non-cereal crop in the world and is an important staple food in over 130 countries. Potatoes come in many varieties, including red versions, each with its own purpose or each being best suited to a specific task. In the UK, we tend to buy our potatoes without a huge amount

Gammon is meat from the hind legs of a pig, the same part of the animal that bacon is taken from. It is a popular meat joint that lends itself to a variety of food dishes. It can often be seen as one of the meat options at a carvery and works well as the

Mince generally refers to beef or lamb that is processed into smaller pieces by putting it through a mincer. You can also get other varieties of mince such as pork, turkey, and soya-based vegetarian mince. In the US mince is known as ‘ground’ beef, and the two terms can be used interchangeably. One of the