On this page you’ll find a bit more information about some of the basic ingredients I use!
MINI “GLOSSARY”:
Butter – I always use salted butter, even when baking. I haven’t noticed it having a negative impact on flavour, in fact I think it makes baked goods taste better! However, if you want to know how much salt you are adding, then I’d recommend using unsalted butter
Chilli (pepper) – Red bird’s eye chilli
I used to use the “unnamed red chilli”, the ones that are in sold in packs in the UK supermarkets. The pack doesn’t specify their name, but usually they are Serrano chillies, which are mild-to-medium heat. However, since their heat level varies from batch to batch and month to month, I’ve started to shift away from them. Nowadays I tend to opt for bird’s eye chillies, as with them you know what you get and don’t need to play Russian roulette, i.e. how spicy the chilli is this time… Also the good thing about bird’s eye chillies is that even though they are pretty hot, you can easily control the level of spiciness by removing the seeds!
Cream – Double cream
Double cream is my go-to cream as its high fat content (about 48%) makes it suitable for both cooking and baking. On the contrary, single cream contains about 18% fat and due to its lower fat content, it doesn’t whip and will curdle if boiled. So for example, if you are adding single cream to a sauce you need to make sure the sauce is not too hot, as single cream tends to split if heated to a boiling point
Flour – Basic plain flour, sometimes called ‘all-purpose flour’
There are so many different types of flour nowadays and it may be hard to know which one to use. Different types of flours have different gluten contents and in a nutshell, more gluten means more “chew”. Therefore, it’s not the best idea to use them completely interchangeably. But having said that, plain flour is my go-to ingredient: I use it for baking, rather than finer cake flour, and I also sometimes make bread using a mixture of bread and normal flour
Milk – Full-fat milk
I normally buy semi-skimmed milk, but when it comes to cooking and baking, I switch for whole milk. Generally speaking, the fattier the milk, the creamier the texture of whatever you are making. Fat is your friend!
Minced beef – Usually 12% fat
Mince’s fat content varies a lot, anything from 5% to 25%. I tend to use 12% fatty mince for most things as I prefer its flavour and texture. It’s all about personal preference, and if you know what you like, great! However, different fat contents can work better with different dishes so here’s a rough guide:
5% low fat – Ideal for soups as high fat content mince can easily make the broth a bit greasy and heavy
10-15% fat(ish) – A good all-rounder. It’s fatty enough and good for casseroles and different kinds of oven dishes
20-25% high fat – The best option for juicy burgers, meatballs and meatloaves
Oil – Vegetable oil (rapeseed)
There are dozens of different cooking oils with a variety of flavours and many different smoke points (temperature at which they begin to smoke). Vegetable oil is my go-to oil as it’s the most versatile and also cheap. But how much oil to add? Well, there are a number of factors how much oil to use when pan-frying, such as the type and amount of food, and size of the pan. As a general rule, use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan by swirling the oil around. For a large frying pan (26cm diameter), one tablespoon is typically enough
Salt – I mainly use table salt or a mixture of table salt and sea salt when cooking
Stock cube – Whether beef, chicken, fish or vegetable, I always use Knorr stock cubes
Sugar – White sugar
I’ve always used granulated and caster sugar pretty interchangeably, granulated more often. The difference is that caster sugar is slightly finer and dissolves easier, thus it can be better for delicate or smooth desserts, such as mousse and meringue. But apart from that, you should be fine swapping one for another! Anyway if I know one to work better for a specific recipe, I will specify which one to use
Yeast – Dry, fast action yeast. You don’t need to reactivate this yeast first with water, it can be used as it is
Notes:
- If the recipe calls for a certain type of salt, sugar, oil and so on, I’ll specify which one to use. Otherwise, if I for example just say ‘salt’, feel free to use whichever salt you prefer
- Note that unless specified, vegetables, fruit etc. I use are medium size! Also, if they need peeling, the recipe will say. The only exceptions are onions and garlic, those I just assume everyone peels, right?!