All articles - Food and Drink

Although sugar is more and more criticised these days, it is still just as appreciated. Sugar is an important ingredient in cooking. To find out all about the different types...

Home made caramel is a perilous exercise that often leads to disaster, but once you get the hang of it it's easy. Here’s how to make a real home made liquid caramel and all its...

Everyone’s talking about them, but what exactly are they? A Japanese delicacy? A new way of eating? Here’s a quick look at and some advice on the art of bento. A Japanese lunchboxThe...

Cooking en papillote is a method of cooking that bakes food in the oven in a foil parcel. It is most often associated with fish, however it is also perfect for cooking meat, veget...

Delicious and healthy, here are 7 smoothies you have to try, one for each day of the week. Smoothie maker at the ready... whizz, pour and enjoy. Kale Ginger Detox Smoothie This tasty...

What better than marinade to give meat or fish with incomparable flavour. Marinades are ideal for barbecues and you can experiment with all kinds of sweet, spicy and exotic flavours...

Green, black, crimson, natural, stoned, crushed, tinned, preserved, fresh from the market or the tree, olives are a delicacy, especially in Southern Europe. The olive is a very...

Bright colours, funny shapes, soft texture and flavours from yesteryear...candied fruit remains a favourite, especially on special occasions. But we rarely dare make it ourselves...

Freezing food is something everyone should know how to do, whether you're a novice in the kitchen or a domestic goddess. However, it’s not always easy to know how to freeze food...

During hot summers most of us prefer to pick at food over a drink than sit down to a large meal, and the Spanish are the kings of this game with their famous tapas. Mini versions...

Sorbets are often colourful, always deliciously fruity, always refreshing and a lot less calorific than ice cream. A simple mix of water, fruit and sugar, sorbets are ideal if...

Summer, the sun, bikinis and ice cream! What’s more refreshing than a cold ice cream when the temperature rises? And today, with ice cream makers more easily available, making...

The day after a New Year’s celebration, a weekend with friends or a birthday party, you often end up with leftovers in your fridge. Here's our advice on using your leftover food...

What better than an ice-cold milkshake in summer? Flavours and combinations are endless, though vanilla, fruit and chocolate remain favourites. Milkshakes are very simple to make...

Perfect for dessert, a snack or a treat at any time of day, waffles can be spread with anything sweet, savoury and even alcoholic. Warning: they're hard to resist! Waffle history The...

Succulent lasagne is a traditional treat everyone loves. Here are our tips and recipes for this Italian staple. The origins of lasagneA bit of etymology to start with: the Italian...

Love strawberries? Join the club! Indulge your cravings with our delicious strawberry recipes, and check out our guide to the varieties of strawberries and cooking with them. Elsa...

Often with a pronounced character, the cheeses that come from Italy have an uncomparable flavour. Italian cheese is often made with cow’s milk. It's unctuous, creamy and irrefutable...

In Ancient Greece, Tartare was hell, where the ungodly and wicked were sent. What's the link between hell and a raw French delicacy? None. The origins of the word go back to the...

Carbonara is yummy, easy to make, never disappoints, combines tasty ingredients and is nourishing and delicious. Bacon, cream, eggs and onions combine to make a delicious flavour...

Praline is frequently used in cakes and confectionery. Individual pralines are delicious with coffee, or praline can be used to garnish cakes and confectionery, where the possibil...

Custard is more than a side serving: it can soften acidic desserts or bring out the flavour of a dessert with its subtle vanilla flavour. It's usually served hot with puddings...

A vegetable, a root vegetable or a fruit? Raw or cooked, savoury or sweet, the carrot is a staple ingredient in many dishes (not forgetting carrot cake!). Why not be a little...

We don't always give that much thought to celery and celeriac, yet they crop up everywhere. It's not always obvious what to cook them with...let us give you some insight. Check...

We all dream of recreating delicious fondue worthy of a restaurant in the French Alps. Here's our guide to making the many varieties of cheese fondue. It's so easy, as long as...

If you want to control the amount of calories you're getting from your diet but still enjoy the meals you like, healthy home cooking is the way forward. Here's how to cook healthily...

Citrus fruits originate from South East Asia and were introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages (except for the citron, traces of which were found in BC Europe). Here's our guide...

Known for its strong taste and smell, cabbage is a much-maligned vegetable, but cabbage and its Brassicaceae or crucifer relatives have so many good qualities it's a shame to...

Sweet, crunchy pastry makes delicious strawberry tarts, fruit pies and cream pastries that remind us of our childhood! It's child's play to make, too. Here are our rules, recipes...

Beef is a staple of British cuisine. We all know our roast beef, steak and kebabs, but there's much more than that to beef and a huge range of ways of cooking it, from fancy dishes...

Many are reluctant to try puff pastry because they think it's complicated, takes too long and you need to be a masterchef to do it. Wrong! You do need a bit of time on your hands...

Shortcrust pastry is used to make pies, tarts, quiches, turnovers and crusts. It's a versatile, simple and essential kitchen staple. Here's our basic recipe and tips. See all...

Fish can be so simple - and so difficult. It is a mystery to many, and while fishfingers are easy to cook, it's a shame not to treat your tastebuds to the many delicate, delicious...

Forget your preconceptions: steamed food isn't bland, tasteless, uncooked or complicated to do. It's a simple and practical way of cooking. Discover the truth about steam cuisine...

Woks are widely used in Asian cuisine, but are now to be found everywhere! And the good news is that they can be used for more than stir-fries and noodles: woks can be used to...

Whether you're making dry, sticky, French, Italian or Swiss meringue, all are made using the same two ingredients: egg whites and sugar. Variations are made by altering the quantities...

Packed with vitamins, soup fills you up and tastes great, especially when it’s homemade. Complicated? Not at all: it’s incredibly simple, and easy on your wallet too. Follow our...

A classic of French cuisine, béchamel is a key ingredient of dishes including lasagne, gratin and soufflé. If yours ends up lumpy, too runny, not salty enough, or you haven't...

Eating whipped cream feels like eating a fresh, soft, sweet cloud. It's a calorific bomb, but so good it's hard to resist! Whipped cream was first invented in 1660 by Vatel in...

Carpaccio is a particular preparation of raw foods such as meat, fish, scallops, fruit and vegetables. The word carpaccio came from the Italian painter Vittore Scarpaccia (pronounced...

There are so many out there we don't even know what some of them are, let alone how to tell when they're ripe and how to cook with them! Here's a panorama of our favourite exotic...

Champagne is for special moments: parties, celebrations of love, success and big achievements in life. We often crack open the bubbly with dessert, but is this really the best...

Prawns are high in protein, very low in fat and filling, containing just 98 kcal per 100g, plus lots of Vitamins B12, B3 and zinc. Take care what you serve them with (they often...

Gingerbread is a childhood favourite and conjures up warm images of gingerbread men and gingerbread houses like in fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel. It's also a warm, spicy...

Potatoes may look similar, but there's a huge variety out there! It can be difficult to know which potato to choose for which recipe; they have different textures, cooking times...

There are over 700 cheeses produced in Britain! Soft and hard cheese, blue cheese and goat’s cheese… what are the differences? And which wine are they best served with? Soft chees...

Cakes topped with sugary coloured icing look so much better! Here's how to make perfect icing. Ingredients to make around 300g of icing: 1 egg white250-300g sifted powdered icing...

Flour is an essential ingredient in cakes, bread, shortcrust, choux or puff pastry. Read up about the different types of flour and their uses. Flour is basically ground wheat...

Fried, boiled, scrambled, poached, baked or in omelette…there are many different ways of cooking eggs. What are the different methods? Fried eggIn a frying pan, heat up a knob...

Didn't think you could ever make your standard choc-tasticly indulgent yule log better? Well you're wrong. And here's the proof. Believe us when we say you haven't tried yule...

Which type of oil should you use for frying, heating, cold dishes and cakes? Follow our cooking oil guide! Definitions: Virgin olive oil: extracted by crushing the fruit without...