Cooking Fantastic Recipes
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- Category: Conversion Charts
| Dry (Weight) Measurements | ||
| 1 oz | 30 grams (28.35g) | |
| 2 oz | 55 grams | |
| 3 oz | 85 grams | |
| 4 oz | 1/4 pound | 125 grams |
| 8 oz | 1/2 pound | 240 grams |
| 12 oz | 3/4 pound | 375 grams |
| 16 oz | 1 pound | 454 grams |
| 32 oz | 2 pounds | 907 grams |
| 1 kilogram | 2.2 pounds/ 35.2 ounces | 1000 gram |
Tablespoon = tbsp teaspoon = tsp 1 Cup = 16tbsp = 48tsp
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- Category: Conversion Charts
|
Millimetres (mm) |
Centimetres (cms) |
Inches (ins) |
|
3m |
n/a |
1/8th |
|
6.25mm |
n/a |
1/4 |
|
12.5mm |
n/a |
1/2 |
|
25mm |
2.5cm |
1 ins |
|
50mm |
5cm |
2 ins |
|
75mm |
7.5cm |
3 ins |
|
100mm |
10cm |
4 ins |
|
150mm |
15cm |
6 ins |
|
200mm |
20cm |
8 ins |
|
250mm |
25cm |
10 ins |
|
300mm |
30cm |
12 ins |
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- Category: Conversion Charts
| Liquid (Fluid or Volume) Measurements | |||
| 1 tsp | 1/3 tbsp | 5 ml | |
| 1 tbsp | 1/2 fluid oz | 3 tsp | 15 ml, 15 cc |
| 2 tbsp | 1 fluid oz | 1/8 cup, 6 tsp | 30 ml, 30 cc |
| 1/4 cup | 2 fluid oz | 4 tbsp | 59 ml |
| 1/3 cup | 2 2/3 fluid oz | 5 tbsp + 1 tsp | 79 ml |
| 1/2 cup | 4 fluid oz | 8 tbsp | 118 ml |
| 2/3 cup | 5 1/3 fluid oz | 10 tbsp + 2 tsp | 158 ml |
| 3/4 cup | 6 fluid oz | 12 tbsp | 177 ml |
| 7/8 cup | 7 fluid oz | 14 tbsp | 207 ml |
| 1 cup | 8 fluid oz/ 1/2 pint | 16 tbsp | 237 ml |
| 2 cups | 16 fluid oz/ 1 pint | 32 tbsp | 473 ml |
| 4 cups | 32 fluid oz | 1 quart | 946 ml |
| 1 pint | 16 fluid oz/ 1 pint | 32 tbsp | 473 ml |
| 2 pints | 32 fluid oz | 1 quart | 946 ml, 0.946 litres |
| 8 pints | 1 gallon/ 128 fluid oz | 3785 ml, 3.78 litres | |
| 4 quarts | 1 gallon/ 128 fluid oz | 3785 ml, 3.78 litres | |
| 1 liter | 1.057 quarts | 1000 ml | |
| 1 gallon | 128 fluid oz | 3785 ml, 3.78 litres | |
Tablespoon = tbsp teaspoon = tsp 1 Cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp
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- Category: Conversion Charts
| Centigrade | Fahrenheit | Gas Mark | Heat |
|
110 |
225 |
1/4 |
Very cool |
| 130 | 250 | 1/2 | |
| 140 | 275 | 1 | Cool |
| 150 | 300 | 2 | |
| 170 | 325 | 3 | Moderate |
| 180 | 350 | 4 | |
| 190 | 375 | 5 | Moderately hot |
| 200 | 400 | 6 | |
| 220 | 425 | 7 | Hot |
| 230 | 450 | 8 | |
| 240 | 475 | 9 | Very hot |
| Temperature Conversion: | |||
| Fahrenheit to Celsius: | Celsius to Fahrenheit: | ||
| Subtract 32 Multiply by 5 Divide by 9 |
Multiply by 9 Divide by 5 Add 32 |
||
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- Category: Conversion Charts
| UK | USA | UK | USA | |
| aubergine | eggplant | hand of pork | pork shoulder roast | |
| baking tray | baking sheet | hard-boiled eggs | hard-cooked eggs | |
| bangers | sausages | heaped spoonful | heaping spoonful | |
| beetroot | beet | hull | shuck | |
| bicarbonate of soda | baking soda | icing sugar | confectioners/powdered sugar | |
| biscuits | cookies | joint | large cut of meat to roast | |
| broad beans | fava beans | ketchup/tomato sauce | catsup | |
| cake tin | cake/ baking pan | king prawns | jumbo shrimp | |
| capsicums | sweet or bell peppers | minced meats | ground meats | |
| castor sugar | sugar, superfine | offal | variety meats (liver, kidney etc) | |
| celery stick | celery rib | paw paw | papaya | |
| chips | French-fried potatoes | pig's trotter | pig's foot | |
| chuck steak | round steak/stewing beef | plain flour | all-purpose flour | |
| coriander | cilantro | pork fat | fatback | |
| cornflour | cornstarch | prawns | shrimp | |
| courgette | zucchini | rasher | slice | |
| crisps | potato chips | semolina | farina | |
| Desiccated coconut |
unsweetened desiccated/ shredded coconut
|
sieve | strain; strainer | |
| digestive biscuits | graham crackers | sift | strain | |
| double cream | cream, heavy | silverside | beef cut from the rump | |
| dripping | fat from roasted meat | single cream | cream, light, half-and-half | |
| essence | extract (vanilla, etc.) | skirt steak | flank steak | |
| fish slice | spatula | spring or salad onions | scallions, green onions | |
| forcemeat | stuffing mix for meat or fish | stock cubes | bouillon cube | |
| glacé fruits | candied fruit | strong flour | bread flour | |
| frying pan | skillet | sultanas | raisins/ seedless, golden | |
| gammon | ham | tomato Ketchup | tomato catsup | |
| golden syrup | light molasses | treacle | dark molasses | |
| Greaseproof/Parchment paper | wax paper | vanilla pod | vanilla bean |
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- Category: Dogs
Hey guys! - as the owners at cooking fantastic love dogs, you are welcome to take your well-behaved owners into the shop with you when you visit! What’s more a little 'puppy-dog-eye stare' to the person behind the counter is almost guaranteed to get you a delicious treat!
Peanut Butter Shortbread (for DOGS!)
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- Category: Hints and Tips
As an avid beekeeper, Tanya is rather used to being stung - the lengths she goes to in order to produce honey for you! She would recommend that you always take an antihistamine tablet and finds calamine lotion the most effective for the pain relief. We found this article while searching for remedies, to save you from reading the whole article, in short, they recommend toothpaste and ice!
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- Category: Hints and Tips
Storage
- Check the date stamp on each Lion Quality British Egg before use.
- Remove eggs from the fridge 30 minutes before using them - brings them up to room temperature.
- Don't bother to keep your eggs in the fridge. They won't last any longer be any fresher!
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· Thaw frozen fish in milk for fresher flavour
· Add a little lemon and lime to tuna to add zest and flavour to tuna sandwiches. Use cucumbers soaked in vinegar and pepper in sandwich instead of tomatoes. Use mustard instead of mayo to cut the fat and add a tang.
· Fresh fish freezes well in a milk carton filled with water.
- Make a quick and easy fish Stock by simmering a tin of anchovies with carrots and onion. The fish 'disappear' and leave a super stock!
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· Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds to double the juice you get before squeezing.
· Lemons stored in a sealed jar of water will produce twice the juice.
· Place ‘green’ fruits in a perforated plastic bag. The holes will allow air to circulate while retaining the ethylene gas which fruits produce during ripening.
· When picking a melon, smell it for freshness and ripeness. Check to see that the fruit is heavy in weight and that the spot on the end, where it has been plucked from the vine, is soft.
· When cooking any kind of strawberry dessert, add a splash of aged Balsamic Vinegar to the recipe to enhance the flavour of the strawberries. We recommend Mungo Deli’s essentials range.
. Store bananas with your unripe avocados - they help to hasten the ripening.
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· Invest in a stainless steel odour remover to get the awful smell of onions and garlic from your hands! (we sell these!)
· Microwave garlic cloves for 15 seconds and the skin should slip off easily – or try our rubber garlic peelers, which are quick, cheap and simple.
· When mincing garlic, sprinkle on a little salt so the pieces won't stick to your knife or cutting board.
· Instead of adding raw garlic to sauces, saute the garlic first for a milder flavour.
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· Rescue stale or soggy crisps and crackers: Preheat the oven to 300F. Spread the chips or crackers in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then seal in a plastic bag or container.
· If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy. (or buy a Jarkey from us, which is super!)
· You can correct greasy gravy by adding a little bicarbonate of soda to it.
· Keep popcorn fresh and encourage more kernels to pop by storing in the freezer.
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- Category: Hints and Tips
Store freshly cut basil on your worktop in a glass with the water level covering only the stems. Change the water occasionally. It will keep for weeks this way, even develop roots!
Basil hates to be cold, so NEVER put it in the refrigerator. Also, regular cutting encourages new growth and healthier plants.
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- Category: Hints and Tips
· To slice meat into thin strips - partially freeze and it will be much easier to slice.
· It's important to let poultry or a roast beef, pork or lamb joint to sit a little while before carving. It allows the juices to retreat back into the meat. If you carve a roast too soon, much of its goodness will spill out onto the carving board.
· A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast, the bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.
· For a juicier burger add cold water to the beef mix before grilling (1/2 cup to 1 pound of meat).
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- Category: Hints and Tips
- Cream should be well-chilled before whipping. For the largest volume, chill the bowl and beaters as well before whipping.
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If milk starts to go sour, salvage it for use in cake mixtures and scones. Sour milk also makes a good substitute for buttermilk in recipes which require it.
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Add richness and moisture to bread dough and other baked goods by replacing the water with fresh milk.
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Make a richer and more nutritious hot chocolate from a powdered mix by replacing the water with milk.
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- Category: Hints and Tips
· Try adding parmesan to pastry, when making something like an onion tart, to give it further flavour.
· Brush pastry scraps with melted butter: sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake like cookies.
· Use a 4:1 ration of ratio of lard:butter to get the perfect crust on your pie.
Crumble a couple of Weetabix into wholemeal pastry to replace some of the flour and give your pastry a crisper texture
Pie vents and funnels, available from Cooking Fantastic, will help stop soggy pastry.
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· For fluffier, whiter rice, add one teaspoon of lemon juice per litre of water.
· Try frying rice in a little oil in a very hot pan before transferring to a pan and boiling in water, to make a lovely rice – add onion, peas and sweetcorn for a meal in itself.
· To add extra flavour and nutrition to rice, cook it in liquid reserved from cooking vegetables.
· When using rice, keep in mind that 1 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice makes 3 cups cooked.
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Lettuce keeps better if you store in the fridge without washing first so that the leaves are dry. Wash the day you are going to use.
· Cutting lettuce with a plastic knife will stop it going brown (we sell these)
· Also do not use metal bowls when mixing salads. Use wooden, glass or china (we also sell these!)
· Make your own celery flakes. Just cut and wash the leaves from the celery stalks; place them in the oven on low heat or in the hot sun until thoroughly dry. Crumble and store in an air-tight container. (we sell these)
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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
· Sunlight doesn't ripen tomatoes, warmth does, so leave them in a warm place not directly in sunlight.
· Store tomatoes with stems pointed down and they will stay fresher, longer.
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· To keep cauliflower white while cooking - add a little milk to the water - it tastes better too!
· Let raw potatoes stand in cold water for at least half an hour before frying to improve the crispness of your chips.
· Mushrooms are truly fresh when the stems and caps are attached snugly.
· A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.
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· Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
· Use the most expensive wine you can afford for using in dishes such as Beef Bourginon (see recipe) as the results will be much better.
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- Category: Ingredients
| Allspice: | Mixed Spices: | |
| General Information: | Allspice is the dried, unripe berry from a tropical evergreen tree, Pimenta dioica, which is native to the Caribbean and parts of the central Americas. | Unlike Allspice, which is a single spice, Mixed Spice is a blend of several spices, including Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Caraway, Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves. |
| Flavour profile: | Allspice has a strong flavour and aroma, similar to a mixture of Nutmeg, Cloves and Cinnamon. |
Mixed Spice has a warm, spicy and sweet flavour and aroma. |
| Uses: | Allspice is more commonly used in savoury dishes and is a popular ingredient in Jerk mixes, curry powders, meat seasonings, mulled wine spices and tagine blends. Use sparingly. | Mixed Spice is traditionally used in baking and adds a delicious flavour to cakes, biscuits and puddings. Use generously. |
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- Category: Ingredients
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Milk should be kept in the fridge. It can be frozen, but it will expand on freezing, so make sure the packaging hasn’t ruptured before defrosting it in the fridge for 24 hours.
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If milk starts to go sour, salvage it for use in cake mixtures and scones.
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Sour milk also makes a good substitute for buttermilk in recipes which require it and makes your scones taste fab!
-
Add richness and moisture to bread dough and other baked goods by replacing the water with fresh milk.
-
Make a richer and more nutritious hot chocolate from a powdered mix by replacing the water with milk.
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Add milk to homemade soups for extra flavour and nutrition. Reduce the amount of water or broth called for by up to half and replace it with milk, adding it at the end of cooking (make sure you don’t let the soup boil).
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- Category: Ingredients
Raw Milk has become increasingly popular again.' Raw’ milk denotes milk that hasn’t undergone pasteurisation, and therefore shouldn’t be consumed by pregnant women, young children and those with compromised immune systems.
If you're interested in sourcing raw milk, the following table outline sources within the north of England.
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- Category: Ingredients
There are many different varieties of milk available for consumption within the UK.
The different kinds of milk tend to vary according to the way they are produced and in their fat content.
Whole milk
Natural whole milk is milk with nothing added or removed.
Whole standardised milk is whole milk standardised to a minimum fat content of 3.5%.
Some EU member states may produce an additional category of whole milk with a minimum fat content of 4%.
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- Category: News
Having been stung a few times, Tanya has been researching Bee Sting Relief! Check out her results!
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Whether your serving ultra fancy cup cakes, gorgeous little crisy cakes or good old fairy cakes, all your buns will look superb in this Mimimao cake stand. 
And, because it can be disassembled into 3 parts, it stores away really easily too.
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Just how cool is this mini sauce pan?
Ideal for boiling a couple of eggs or making a little sauce..
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This T&G salad bowl is beautiful, sturdy and multifunctional - it also makes a great bowl for a trifle!
Check out our Toffee Apple Trifle recipe.
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You'll need this for making the Salty Caramel Chocolate Torte and any other Cheesecake recipes
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Surprise your guests with the Victoria Surprise tin inserts that allow you to cook your victoria sponge with a cavity for a SURPRISE of your choice - we love whipped cream and Blueberries inside ours! Excellent quality, as expected of course, from Silverwood's
Check out the recipe from the Caked Crusader...
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Primavera from Walton & Co
Prices start at £22.99
100% Cotton - and they wash brilliantly
130 x 180
130 x 230
130 x 280
172 round
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Using the wonderful plums around aplenty at the moment, what better than a warming pudding. Even better served with Caramel Sauce!
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- Category: Pizza Talk
Delia Smith's Basic Pizza Dough
Pizza dough is made in almost the same way as white bread – by hand or using a food processor, except that you add olive oil and a little sugar to the flour mixture and there isn't a second rising.
6 oz plain white soft flour
1 level tsp salt
1 level teaspoon dried yeast
1/2 level teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
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- Category: Pizza Talk
Pizza Troubleshooting
There are times when you might still have a soggy bottom (on your pizza!) even when using a pizza stone. Here are some possible reasons for a soggy pizza base:
- · Too much sauce
- · The cooking time is not long enough to extract the moisture
- · Too many fresh vegetables which add to the water content, less is often more on pizzas
- · Not enough cornflour
- · Too much oil on the pizza - try adding this later
TANYA TIP: Some pizza chefs prebake the crust before adding the toppings.
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- Category: Pizza Talk
The idea behind a pizza stone is to distribute the heat evenly across the pizza base and secondly to extract the moisture, so that your pizza dough is crispy. Heat is important in the cooking process of a pizza: all breads need a high temperature to cook. A little cornflour rubbed on the pizza stone before it gets heated can prevent the finished pizza dough from sticking. Because it is porous it does absorb other things such as soap and oil, which means that they should never be washed with a detergent and only ever with cool water when the stone is cool.
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- Cheese, cheese and cheese! ie add 3 or 4 different cheeses but steer clear of strong cheddar and other high fat, hard cheeses as they overpower the pizza and make it greasy, too. Mozzarella, Gruyere, Dolcelatte and Parmesan work very well.
- Chicken and Mushroom - Don't be boring! Use great big Portobello mushrooms, or some of the wonderful and unusual mushrooms available in the supermarkets today. Also, try using spicy chicken, tandoori chicken or marinated chicken to add a new dimension.
- Proscuttio, Ricotta, and Olives - speaks for itself
- Sun-dried Tomatoes, Basil and Pesto
- Fresh Herbs - add your cheese first, then sprinkle freshly chopped mixed herbs on top - oregano, parsley, basil and mint would be a good combo.
- Roasted Vegetables - Roast a selection of veg first, then add to the prepared base to finish off - courgettes, red onion, celery, peppers & carrots would be great!
- Bacon & Spinach - Chopped dry cure bacon with torn spinach leaves
- Pepperoni, Onion & Jalapeno peppers - hot and spicy!
