Category: Food

I saw a spread in the local magazine last week—all tiny, expensive little sandwiches with the crusts cut off and those fancy little jars of chutney that cost more than a decent bottle of cider. It got me thinking about how much nonsense people believe about how to make a picnic actually worthwhile. If you […]

I’ve spent thirty years looking at the structural integrity of flint cottages and Victorian terraces, so I have a low tolerance for anything built on a shaky foundation—and that includes your pastry. I see these glossy recipe books claiming that learning how to bake a quiche requires expensive French butter, a specialized tart tin, and […]

You don’t need a degree in food science or a kitchen full of expensive gadgets to master the art of preserving fruit; in fact, most of those complicated recipes you find online are just a way to make a simple task feel unnecessarily daunting. I spent three hours last Tuesday wrestling with a particularly stubborn […]

I was out by the allotment this morning, just past the old stone wall I attempted to mend last Saturday, and I saw Mrs. Higgins lugging around a heavy-duty vacuum sealer she’d bought online for a small fortune. It struck me then how much nonsense there is out there regarding how to preserve runner beans; […]

You don’t need a fancy electric whisk or some complicated, temperature-controlled gadget to get a decent rise; in fact, most of that modern kitchen nonsense just gets in the way. I spent years watching people struggle with recipes that promised perfection through complexity, but after forty years of Sunday roasts in various kitchens across the […]

I was standing in the aisle of the Co-op in Andover last Thursday, watching a young man stare at a pre-packaged salad bowl like it held the secrets to the universe, when it hit me how much nonsense we’ve been fed. There is this persistent, expensive myth that learning how to cook on a budget […]

You don’t need a dozen expensive spices or a degree in pastry arts to get this right, despite what those glossy magazines in the village shop might suggest. Most people think that learning how to make a fruit cake is all about the complexity of the recipe, but after forty years of seeing people overcomplicate […]

I was standing in the kitchen last Tuesday, looking at a bunch of coriander that had turned into a dark, weeping heap of sludge only three days after I’d bought it from the shop in Salisbury. It’s a damn shame, really, because most of the advice you find online about how to keep herbs fresh […]

You don’t need a degree in chemistry or a cupboard full of expensive, lab-grade equipment to master the art of summer in a bottle. I’ve seen plenty of people get themselves into a muddle with complicated ratios and fancy additives, thinking that’s the secret to how to make elderflower cordial that actually tastes of the […]

You don’t need a linen tablecloth or a selection of imported preserves to do this properly; in fact, the moment you start looking for “gourmet” ingredients, you’ve already lost the plot. I spent years valuing properties in the Test Valley, and I can tell you that the best lunches I ever had weren’t served in […]