Test kitchen
How to French trim a rack of lamb
A French trimmed rack of lamb is deceptively simple and extremely impressive. Way back when, it became traditional in French cuisine to remove excess fat and sinew from the rack before cooking in order to make sure that pretty much... Continue reading
How to make a sugar rose
A rose by any other name is rumoured to smell as sweet and the same applies to sugar roses, the tiny edible cousin of the real mcCoy. As cupcake toppers, clustered on cakes and perched in a homemade ice cream... Continue reading
Review: Wusthof magnetic knife rack
As far as I’m concerned, the conclusive sign that you are becoming a foodie is if you start collecting good knives. All of a sudden the R20 specials from your local Checkers just won’t do, and you start rolling the... Continue reading
How to make crème anglaise
Crème anglaise is an oft-vanilla-flavoured light cream made from sugar, egg yolks and hot milkiness. It is particularly lovely served with fruit tarts and crumbles, that require some smooth creaminess to balance caramel, zest and pucker. Ingredients 1 cups milk... Continue reading
Everything you need to know about oysters
Let’s be real about the fact that oysters can be intimidating: getting hold of fresh ones, preparing them, prying them open, eating them, dealing with the constantly deferred hope of finding a pearl… No one said life was going to be easy,... Continue reading
5 tools for tackling fruit
Peeling, coring and liberating fruit from skin, pips and stones is not the type of kitchen task most people would write home about. But, such tasks needn’t remain a chore. Clever designers around the world are constantly coming up with... Continue reading
How to pit a cherry
A bowl of fresh cherries is a delightful thing, until you have to pit a hundred. When preparing cherries for jam, sauces or tarts the process of removing stones can be the pits. Enter the cherry pitter – a handheld kitchen... Continue reading
Ice cream maker review: Krups vs MagiMix le Glacier
Ever wondered how to go about choosing an ice cream machine? Automatic, self-freezing, auto-churn? Kate Schrire is a food activist, cook, journalist and owner of The Creamery – a local business that makes and sells hand made ice cream –... Continue reading
Going green: what are heirloom veggies?
If you hang around food markets long enough you’re bound to hear about heirloom veggies sooner or later and may wonder what all the fuss is about. Here is a little explanation of the fuss, which we hope will put wind... Continue reading
The Science Behind Pastry: Sweet Shortcrust Pastry and Peach & Almond Filling
Flour, butter, water and eggs. These ingredients, mixed in different ways and in different proportions, can produce a myriad of baked goods – bread, doughnuts, scones, eclairs, tart shells, pie shells or croissants… the list goes on and on. Have... Continue reading
