Kitchen Essential

If you’d like to expand your knowledge of wine beyond where you get the best deal on Tassies, read on. If you remain firmly committed to the hops fraternity, you may want to skip to one of the other stupefyingly interesting sections. For instance, it is very dangerous handling heavy machinery in any shape, form or size after a wine tasting (a dedicated driver is a valuable asset) and a few other details that you may want to indulge us sharing with you. One thing is certain, if you do study this section you will know so much marvellous and interesting wine terminology, if you don’t impress anyone you’ll definitely confuse the pants off someone! Before we get serious — with wine, too, you only learn through experience. Take note of what exactly you’re drinking. Not all wines will cause your face to scrunch up as if someone has just poured a bottle of vinegar down your throat. If you’re lucky you may even find a wine that leaves you with a blissful little grin, like few other things in life ever will. Continue Reading »

Formerly a full suite of glasses would contain anything from ten to twenty different shapes. Nowadays we make do with far fewer and the rules as to their use are less rigid. There are many different qualities and designs available and it is generally possible to find attractive glasses to suit your budget. There are two main kinds to be aware of, lead crystal and soda glass.

Lead crystal is the most expensive hand-made glass and it contains lead oxide. Because of its high light refraction it displays the contents to the finest advantage, and lends itself best to decorative cutting. Within this section there are several grades, so enquire carefully from the retailer the exact description of the high-quality glass to guide you on price. A printed price list should indicate the grades. Continue Reading »

Have you ever watched the precise and practised way in which professionals in a good hotel or restaurant set a big table for a five- or six-course meal? Lots of different glasses and table silver are placed in exactly the right spot without hesitation. The number of items involved in a setting may seem confusing to you.

However, there is a clear rule for everything.

Guests start with the cutlery furthest away from the plate and work inwards during the course of the meal. The same procedure applies to glasses. The drink which is served first is put into the glass which is furthest from the centre of the plate. There is often also a side plate, which is placed to the left of the setting.

These few rules are so basic and clear that they can become a matter of routine for any guest, so you nolonger have to worry about which knife, fork or spoon to use next during the meal. Continue Reading »

This invention is older even than the ancient Romans, who prized the product of melting sand, limestone and soda, and the attractive shapes and practical containers which could be made from this refined material.

Glass is found today in almost all walks of life, and it is hard to imagine life without it. The range of drinking vessels extends nowadays from cheap moulded glass to hand-blown, engraved designer glasses.

The differences in quality depend on the composition of the glass as well as on the way in which it is produced. The use of different raw materials and the melting process are decisive in determining the quality of the glass. Good-quality glasses are usually hand-blown, the sides are engravedand they don’t have a seam. On the other hand, moulded glasses are rarely as clear as hand-made ones, they have a small bulge at the rim and usually have a seam on the stem or foot. However, they are much cheaper than blown glass, and therefore much more practical for many uses. Continue Reading »

Everyone has their own pet ideas on storing items that no standard kitchen unit could accommodate. For example, units don’t provide little hooks for all those rubber bands we can’t bear to throw away! So full marks to those British kitchen unit manufacturers who do look beyond merely what their Continental rivals provide, and actually try to see what the housewife really needs.

Recipes and recipe books are never provided for. Recipe cards or small notes are not easy to handle whilst making a new cake for the first time. A bulldog clip and a cup-hook attached to the underside of the wall unit solves this problem. Attach the recipe to the bulldog clip and simply hang it on the hook! Winchmore Kitchens have produced a recipe book holder which looks, when closed, like part of the pelmet concealing the strip light under the wall cupboard. When it is pulled out it holds the book — just like a mini-lectern. Continue Reading »

FOOD PREPARATION

Frequently used items must be housed at hip height. Position wall mounted cupboards 45 cm from the base unit so that they are easy to reach but still allow space for small appliances below.

For easy accessibility, fit deep cupboards with one or two shelves on runners, or have a number of narrow adjustable shelves in the unit. Wicker or wire drawers make good containers for vegetables or cleaning equipment. Continue Reading »

In summer time the cooking is easy. To keep your guests lingering at your table, avoid a fussy table setting and scour cookbooks for ideas and inspiration for preparingtasty, home-cooked meals for your guests.

Evening entertaining can be magical as the light fades, the air stills and the first stars appear. Vintage Provençal table linen, fresh-cut flowers and wine sets the ambiance.

This French look can be achieved in any style of home, from contemporary to Provençal and from farmhouse to city apartment. Continue Reading »