Sharing tips and tricks

Urien Rheged

Tip: To take away bitterness you should actually add salt not sugar. It blocks the bitter taste from getting to the brain.

For the chemists out there: The Na  ion diminishes bitterness by interfering with the transduction mechanism of that taste. The effect occurs below the level at which the salty taste would be registered.

Urien Rheged

To make the best roast potatoes: Salt the water you par boil them in. As soon as the edge of the potato starts to break away, drain them. Leave in the colander until all the steam has gone. Shake them up in the colander to bash up the outer surfaces. Season with salt and pepper. Add to hot duck/ goose fat or beef dripping. If not available, a mix of vegetable oil / olive oil / butter. Do them in a very hot oven around 230 degrees. Keep an eye on them and turn them.

sniffer66

I agree on the floury, par boiled spuds into dripping posts but don't agree on the temperatures. I put mine into the hot fat at around 190c typically and cook for about 90 mins.
The other tip is not to overload the tin and make sure the spuds aren't touching. I tend to put them in one by one with tongs and make sure they are turned in the hot fat and coated before going back in the oven.

Urien Rheged

One great tip I have found. If your stew, soup, casserole, etc lacks a certain 'something', lacks that Umami, savoury flavour or tastes a bit bland, add a teaspoon of Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder, stir well in and re-taste. It's superb at rescuing a bland dish. A cheap and simple tip.

KyleS1

I always add 80% dark chocolate to my chilli.
Add a little sugar to take the heat away for kids.