Kitchen Essential

Kitchen Storage Behind Closed Doors

Cupboard storage ideas are only as limited as your imagination.

• Glass doors can often be incorporated into cupboard design — these are generally at eye level to show off colour-coordinated china and glassware.
• Plastic-coated wire baskets are popular for storing numerous items from pots to vegetables.
• A tea-towel rack may be useful in a small narrow space.

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With all of its pots, pans, bags of groceries and delicious comforting aromas, the kitchen is the heart of the home. But it does have a dual role to play: it has to be efficient yet comfortable and inviting.

Planning a kitchen may seem daunting at first, but most of the important decisions will be common-sense ones. Then you can spend time on the fun things like colour schemes and the overall ‘look’. Continue Reading »

This configuration is suitable for virtually all types of rooms, except for particularly narrow ones, or those with lots of doors.

It’s often used to create a kitchen in the corner of an open-plan living room, or in a large combined kitchen/dining room.

In almost every case, the L-shaped kitchen can include an eating area, even if it’s only in the form of a breakfast bar; generally, though, there’s room here for a table. Of course, it’s a very sociable set-up, ideal for relaxed entertaining and family meals, enabling the cook to join in conversation without feeling excluded. Continue Reading »

You need more than money to create a kitchen that looks good and works well. Far more important is a sense of how you actually want your kitchen to work, plus a knowledge of basic planning principles.

The layout of the room, rather than its size, has an enormous impact on its level of efficiency. It’s worth taking your time over the planning stage to avoid what could prove to be costly and annoying mistakes. Continue Reading »

Every day in every kitchen, an enormous amount of waste is generated.

Waste comes in all shapes and forms — paper, cardboard, plastic, food scraps, liquids, oils, even airborne waste — the list goes on, and we all create literally mountains of the stuff.

A lot of our rubbish is a product of modern packaging methods, particularly in the case of cardboard wrapping, plastic bags and containers and metal cans. We can all do our bit by refusing to buy over-packaged products. It’s easy enough to cut down on plastic carrier bags by recycling them or by using canvas or string bags. Continue Reading »

Fridges and freezers are no longer huge white shapes looming in the corner. While they may be less bulky on the outside, their internal capacity is what counts for most people.

Despite all the streamlining, size, more than any other factor, determines which model of fridge or freezer we buy. A tall larder fridge and a matching freezer give ample easily accessible storage space but many kitchens are simply not big enough to accommodate them. Alternatives include a freezer kept separately — in the utility room, garage or wherever — or a combined fridge/freezer unit. Whatever you buy, choose a model on which the door is hinged correctly — it should not open into the central space of the kitchen. Continue Reading »

With such an enormous variety of stoves, ovens and cooktops (hobs) on the market it is essential to do a little homework before you buy.

Start by making a list of basic requirements. How much can you spend — and does that amount include installation? What fuel do you prefer — gas, electricity, solid fuel, oil? How much space do you have? Do you cook mainly for just one or two, with occasional dinner parties? Regularly entertain on a grand scale? Produce nonstop meals for the family and assorted friends? What sort of cooking do you do — baking, frying, grilling and barbecuing, steaming and stir-frying? Continue Reading »

Apart from making sure that it is not easily breakable, there are no special requirements when selecting crockery and cutlery for camping. Naturally, it does not make sense to take along the family’s Dresden china or parts of a complete dinner set which would be ruined if one piece went missing. But the other extreme of using only disposable plastic knives, forks and spoons is also not the answer: Continue Reading »

If you take a look around your well-equipped kitchen at home, with its plumbed-in sink, its spacious oven, its four-ring hob, its refrigerator, dishwasher, electric food-mixer and so on, it is fairly clear that no portable camp kitchen is likely to match up to it for sheer convenience and labour-saving efficiency. It follows, therefore, that when you go camping you should not expect to cook and eat as elaborately as at home. Continue Reading »

We are all faced with situations where we need to save face, join the party, be the party or simply leave the party. The trick is to know when to do what. Read the etiquette section for tips on when not to be late (ever, according to our publisher!) and more about formal table settings to know which fork to stick in what and not be completely flustered by the mere sight of it. The wine section will help you fake it with the best of them. Then we give you the cocktail recipes for fun, hangover cures for necessity and cigars for style. Continue Reading »

Freezing

If you’re going to freeze something and you know you might not use it within a month, write the date on the bag. To prevent freezer burn always try to get as much air as possible out of the bag before placing it in the freezer.

How long can you leave food in the freezer?

Beef and chicken 1 year

Lamb, pork, mince 6 months

Sausages and bacon 3 months Continue Reading »

Don’t use these in the microwave

Metal or anything with metal trim or decoration. This includes pie tins and your dinner service if it’s got any silver or gold bits. Metal causes sparks in the microwave.

Hard plastic (melamine) and some Tupperware - these may absorb microwaves so food doesn’t cook properly in them.

Glued containers - dishes or containers that have been repaired with glue, or have handles glued on should not be used as the glue will melt and leave a huge mess. Continue Reading »

A modern miracle, the microwave’s potential is hardly ever met in the mere mortal’s kitchen. It stands in the corner forlornly hoping its owners will use it for more than pizza leftover warm-ups. As we are also maniacal reheaters, we went in search of the holy grail — or in this case the Best Kept Microwave Secrets.

In many instances the general reluctance to make the most of your microwave oven may well stem from a secret fear that it will blow up and take you and your home along with it. So let’s start with some golden rules: Continue Reading »

The pots and pans in your kitchen can make or break all future cooking experiments and experiences. If you’re still using your Mom’s or Gran’s discarded pots and pans, you’re going to have to replace them some or other time. On your first outing to buy a pot, you will find that there is such a wide variety that it is quite hard to choose. Here are some guidelines to help you with this treasure hunt. Continue Reading »

Barbeque Chicken

There are various bits of chicken that can be cooked over the fire varying from whole chickens to kebabs. The greatest danger with chicken is over-cooking, resulting in dry, stringy meat, or burning the outside while the meat is underdone closer to the bone. To avoid this, cook it fairly slowly over a moderate fire. Prepare a marinade for the chicken and baste it frequently while barbeque. A whole chicken cooks in roughly 45 minutes, chicken pieces in 20 minutes and kebabs in 10-15 minutes. When you suspect that the chicken is cooked, prod it with a fork or knife; if the juices that flow out are clear, your job is done. Continue Reading »

The term ‘china‘ is used to describe widely different materials ranging from the finest porcelain to heavy earthenware pottery. Fine china is usually kept for entertaining and a heavier duty pottery or earthenware is used every day.

Porcelain and bone china

This is the very best china and, treated carefully, will last well. Its extremely delicate appearance is deceptive, for it is remarkably robust and, unless knocked quite hard, is far more resistant to chipping than one might expect. It should not, however, be put into or on a very hot oven but should be warmed very gently. Overheating will cause tiny cracks to appear in the glaze and the lustre will disappear. Fine china should never come into contact with direct heat such as a low gas flame. Continue Reading »

Among the ’special’ dishes or sets of dishes you might like to acquire are those for a particular food. The following are the most usual.

Artichoke plates

These round dishes, embossed with a raised design of artichoke leaves, have a circular depression in the centre for the artichoke and a dimple for melted butter or french dressing.

Avocado dishes

These come in exactly the right shape to hold half an avocado, and are made from glass or fine bone china embossed with leaves. Continue Reading »

Candles add elegance and romance to a table setting and throw a gentle light which is flattering to faces, flowers and food.. Light a formal dinner with several candlesticks or use one or two Candles for a more intimate romantic occasion.

The colour of the candles should be matched to china, linen and flowers and can be varied to suit different occasions. Red, white and green are ideal at Christmas, combined with holly, poinsettias and other festive items. A meal in springtime is brightened by daffodils and narcissi arranged with yellow, white and pale green candles. Try other colour combinations for different effects.

One kind that is available features a sherry-type glass with a wick and float and a special liquid that burns with a red or green flame. Continue Reading »

Leave yourself plenty of time as there are always little jobs to do to ensure that everything looks perfect. First decide which accessories you are going to use. Sometimes a cloth or napkins need ironing, using a little spray starch to give a fresh, crisp look. Silver and glasses may need polishing, mats may need a wipe over, flowers may have to be picked and so on.

Lay the table with the cloth or mats first. Count out the cutlery you need and set this next. Then come the glasses, well polished and sparkling. Count out the pieces of china you need for all the courses and stack ready in the kitchen, other than those you need for the first course and any side plates, which will go directly on the table. Continue Reading »

HIGH TEA

As high tea is a much more informal, family affair than afternoon tea, your everyday china is quite suitable. An unfussy practical setting is required, with a fairly plain table-cloth set with everyday cutlery. As hot dishes are usually served, each place setting should include a large knife and fork as well as a side plate and small knife for spreading butter and jam.

SNACK MEALS

If a very light meal is to be eaten after the theatre or in the early evening a low occasional table is ideal for arranging dishes and setting informal places. Almost any ’snack’ meal can be served in this way. If the surface is not heat-proof, any hot plates of food and coffee pots should be placed either on a heat-proof tray or large mat. Continue Reading »