Kitchen notes, not a diet club
Short notes from the hob: calories, shopping, salt and oil, sugar, freshness.
Topics
Start here
How many calories a day — a calm number, not a diet
UK advice often starts at about 2,000 kcal a day for women and 2,500 for men. That is a starting line, not a sentence. Here is how to use it in a home kitchen.
How to choose
Watermelon, melon, potatoes: how to choose so you are not cross at home
The same rule at the market and in Tesco: look, listen, smell. The potato variety decides the dish more than dear versus cheap.
No meat
A plate without meat — not a vegan manifesto, just supper
A fast, the purse, guests who do not eat meat — ordinary on this hob. Protein from eggs, beans, mushrooms, curd. Flavour from onion, oil and patience.
Freshness
How to tell with your eyes that food is still alive
The date on the pack is a hint. Nose and eye are kinder. Especially eggs, herbs, milk and fish. Throwing food away hurts; being ill hurts more.
Salt
Salt — to taste, not by the packet
In this kitchen salt is neither enemy nor medal. A pinch in the potato water, a pinch in the mince, and a spoon on the table so each person finishes their own plate.
Oil
Which oil for which pan
Sunflower for a hot pan. Olive for salad and a finish. Butter for eggs and cake. A tablespoon is already a portion, not a splash.
Storing
How to store so you are not binning it
The date on the pack is a hint. The fridge, a jar and your nose decide more. Bread in a bag sweats; herbs without water wilt overnight.
Sugar
Sugar in a cake is not only sweetness
In dough, sugar feeds the yeast and keeps the crumb soft. In jam it also keeps. In tea it is your choice: a teaspoon is a teaspoon.