"If you DON'T go in the kitchen you WON'T get burnt... But you WILL go hungry” Me to my son
Britain is a Do-It-Yourself crazed nation. Nothing counts as truly good unless we learn how to do it ourselves, and preferably in our own homes. We create guru's from people who are quite good at a skill- they are given hours of media time and deliver their broadcasters high viewing figures. Their books fly off the shelves as people clamour to learn exactly how to get the same results. Such is the power of a guru who will show you how to DIY that Governments will set policy by the recommendations of these people.
Delia Smith, Gary Rhodes, Rick Stein, Antony Worrall Thompson ,Phil Vickery, Ainsley Harriott, Gordon Ramsay, Clarissa Dickson-Wright, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Heston Blumenthal. Heard of these people?Of course you have. Between them they clock up almost half our national TV schedule-and what are they?..they are people who can cook. TV Chefs if you like. ( I know that is what THEY prefer to be called.) And the hours and hours (and HOURS) of TV time they and their ilk take up has substainably changed the average Brits relationship with his kitchen.
The UK has always been sniffed at for its cooking skill. It was a nation known for it's ability to boil the living daylights out of anything. This has changed. Our greatest critics (the French) are coming to grips with the fact skills abound on the opposite side of the channel to them. Alain Ducasse, France’s most famous chef, declared London the gastronomic capital of the globe. He is not alone... Restaurant magazine declared the UK's Fat Duck restaurant is officially “The Best Restaurant In the World'. We can prepare a plate of grub here - and that's a fact.
So... if we've learned how to cook better to the point that even the French are applauding... we should be happy...Yeah?
Well actually... No.
Believe it or not even in the face of all this free DIY guru information on what to cook there has been a national decline in cooking ability. Oh and this is coupled with rising health problems caused by poor diet and lack of food preparation skills. Apparently despite all the information out there the vast majority of us Brits claim it is easier and often more cost efficient to buy cook-in sauces and ready meals(and here is the rub ...branded by the DIY Guru's off the telly) than it is to make the meal from scratch.
Despite knowing that packaged food is full of binding agents and things that generally are not good for us, despite watching hours and hours of how to cook a meal telly programmes.. your average Brit would rather get his or her sustainance from a packet or a jar!
When questioned further the top two reasons why come down to not having the correct cooking equipment and not having to hand the store cupboard essentials to which the addition of between 2 to 5 fresh ingredients will make a meal for up to four people at a fraction of a ready meal cost. Being healthy is often a goal set far in the future, but saving money is a here and now thing. Yet even in the face of the worst financial crisis this country has seen in donkey years... even the motivational thought of saving money is not luring the average brit from a jar of Ragu or a packet of Tecso Finest.
I know I would much rather reduce my grocery bill and have more cash left for fun things than hand it over to the supermarkets. I know my friends feel much the same with an average UK grocery bill of £80pw, we feel quite smug that we spend so much less but eat so well. We know it's down to the fact we make our own sauces, gravies, salad dressings and either make up recipes or copy what ever the latest TV chef is up to for our mains. I have to admit watching Gino D'Acampo has proven rather an enjoyable distraction(and not just for us girls!) And yet I also have friends who routinely claim no knowledge of how to make idiot proof dishes such as Fish-cakes, Cottage Pie, Beef Stir fry or Macaroni Cheese. I have even caught friends buying rotisserie chicken... claiming it is cheaper than doing it at home because they lack the equipment!
You know what... as most of my friends have kitchens that make estate agents [realtors to my American readers] drool- I wanted to see for myself how on earth this could be. Well... at a surface glance their kitchens looked well equipped... until you really looked at what these people had furnished them with. There were cappuccino machines... and garlic presses... and ice cream makers, and deep fat fryers, and sandwich makers, and salad spinners and espresso machines,... oh and George Foreman grills, apple corers, and electric carvers. One friend even had a set of Ginsu Knives (a terrible trend from the late seventies to mid eighties... no one knew what they were for but everybody bought them) so I suspect guilt on the part of his parents passing on that piece of toot.
It became clear that despite the best and shiniest equipment from the likes of DeLonghi, Krupp, Breville, Hobbs and ProCook... there was bugger all that would be useful to make a day-to-day meal. And don't start me on pots and pans.... it seems these days cookware is for show... hundreds of pounds spent on cooper bottomed monstrosities to hang from the ceiling... but not to put on the stove.
When I pointed this out, I was told that they had no idea what on earth you really need in a kitchen. Apparently their parents were in such haste to get rid of their Ginsu knives set... they forgot to pass this information on. So despite the current wealth of information on how to cook meals cheaply, healthily and quickly... this group ofmy friends have always lacked the ability to cook simply because they set up their kitchens wrong (in some cases decades ago) and cannot be asked to do it again because it will cost too much.
OH PHAAAFFF!!! What a rubbish excuse!
Look...its simple you need the following equipment to NEVER be caught in a recipe and find you can't complete the task. So here are less than 20 items, most of which you can pick up at the pound shop:
2 Saucepans. A small saucepan is great for boiling vegetables, eggs, potatoes. A larger one is useful if you are going to cook a soup or a huge stew.
Measuring Jug A large plastic measuring jug is not only useful for measuring liquids like water and stock, but can also be used as an impromptu mixing bowl for eggs.
2 Frying Pans Get a good non stick one with high sides to do every thing from a hangover cure brekkie to a stir fry and a thin-edged one that is perfect for pancakes and omelettes.
Sieve Perfect for getting rid of lumps and also doubles as a colander to drain water from pasta, vegetables and anything else that needs separating from liquid
Mixing Bowl I hate to advertise but Pyrex is the brand you want here as they are heatproof. Mix up stuff that ends up on your plate as anything from burgers to cakes.
Hand Held Blender Because food processors are stupid and bulky and blenders are quicker than going to the gym to get arms strong enough to smush food.
Chopping Board Maybe more than one so you don't cross-taminiate, but one will do to stop you chopping into the surfaces.
Potato Masher Mashes everything not just spuds!
Vegetable Peeler Unless you WANT to eat the skin on fruit and veg
Can Opener Some things are best in cans and not all cans are ring-pull... think ackees, fish, coconut milk, chopped tomatoes... not just beanz!
Grater Grating garlic, ginger, stale bread for breadcrumbs etc... not just cheese
Whisk Because there are many more interesting ways to strain your wrist than beating eggs
Spatula The best bit of plastic you will EVER buy... gets all the left overs out a mixing bowl!
Wooden Spoon These don't scratch the bottom of saucepans when stirring.
2 Knives A small one for when you don't need a huge knife to cut something – like cheese. And a Large one to chop herbs, meat, garlic, the works.
The next horror was the inside of my friends kitchen cupboards. It was like they have no idea what the meaning of the words DRY STORAGE are! What the hell people are doing with jars of celery seeds, lemon mint, pink pepper and saigon cinnamon I will never know! You need salt, you need pepper, you'll need a few herbs and spices... and (yes this is the UK so you'll defo need tommy ketchup and a bottle of HP sauce)... but if you don't know what it is for... put it in the bin. You need the space in your kitchen cupboards for REAL dry storage items that will go into REAL meals!
It's an easy shopping list,get em in. Top em up... they will never let you down!These are the basic items which will keep for ages and serve you well.
Basmati Rice: Our nations number one dish is curry but you'll also to make rice with bits and bobs in your fridge.
Canned Tomatoes: An absolute necessity to put in bolognese,soups, cottage pie...
Caster Sugar: Use itto sweeten everything from a cuppa to desserts.
Chicken/Vegetable Stock Cubes: It's endless what these are used for totally essential for gravy, soup,risottos etc... great for seasoning meat too
Coconut Milk: Amazing to have so you can look like Nigella turning boring food into Thai green curry, or coconut soup with chicken or prawns with little skill.
English Mustard: Not only to accompany food but to flavour it (amazing in mash spuds) and makes a great salad dressing
Garlic: Garlic will keep in a cupboard for 2–3 weeks.
Ginger: Gives a Thai/Asian feel to savoury dishes and gives a kick to booze and flavour to desserts.
Noodles: Egg and rice noodles, are great for stir fries and side dishes
Onions: A must must-have. Buy both red and white varieties; they have a shelf life of 2–3 weeks . Spring onions (when in season) give an exotic touch to any dish.
Pasta: A zillion delicious varieties, so don't just buy penne and spaghetti.
Plain Flour: Ideal for everyday baking and for thickening sauces and gravy
Ready-made Pizza Bases or pizza base sachets: Cheap home-made pizza need I say more?
Olive Oil: Not only for cooking with but is the basis of a zillion salad dressings.
Soy Sauce: Great for oriential cooking but also does the same job as tabasco or worcester sauce depending on measurement
Sunflower Oil: Great for frying, but also a drop in boiling water stops food sticking to the pan.
White Wine Vinegar: A must-have for salad dressings- just add olive oil and/or mustard.
There you go.
Problem solved.
If you have the right equipment and the right store cupboard essentials there ain't one meal, Heston, Nigella, Gordon or Jamie could come up with that you couldn't rustle up yourself. Most of the time you just have to buy a handful of fresh ingredients and voilà!
I can see no reason to waste money on ready done supermarket fayre if you have a kitchen at home. You've got an oven, you've got a hob and you've got a microwave... so use them! Just follow the recipe the telly taught you, use your pots, pans and store cupboard bits and you've put £20 a week BACK in your pocket... MINIMUM!
Cooking is EASY. It's actually fun. You get MORE food than you'll ever get in a supermarket ready meal. And the money you save by making your own dinner be it a pizza, a burger or a Thai Green Curry would be better and more satisfactorily spent down the pub.
And when you do... remember..mine's V&T with lime.
CHEERS!!!
The JaxWorld Blog can be followed on Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/JaxWorldBlog
If you enjoyed this blog and you want to contact Jax or find out more about the JaxWorld blog, please log onto :http://thejaxworldblog.vpweb.co.uk/
Thanks for continuing to vote for JaxWorld as the Best Blog about Stuff and for ALL your support that has made this blog such a huge success.
No comments:
Post a Comment