The Capital Cooking Blog
Yes We Can: in praise of tinned food
- 16/01/2020
- By Imogen
Tinned food gets a bad rap, especially these days where fresh is king: is buy fresh, cook fresh - and from scratch. And of course, fresh and seasonal is the ideal. But plenty of us live the type of lives where we make absent-minded shopping lists then, when arriving at the supermarket realise we left it on the countertop at ...
Read MoreChristmas culinary traditions from around the world
Turkey. Brussels sprouts. Mince pies. This is the basic drill when it comes to festive feasting in the UK – the images, tastes and smells so synonymous with Christmas that’s it’s hard to believe that this fodder isn’t the norm in many countries the world over. From cherry sauce to KFC and whale blubber, we take a slice of wh ...
Read MoreFive Show Stopping Vegan Recipes That Don’t Scrimp On Flavour
- 12/11/2019
- By Imogen
It used to be that vegan food consisted of just plants, fruits and grains, served up individually as part of what seemed like a horrifyingly puritanical existence. Should you want cake, cheese, burgers, pizza or ice cream, you could forget it. Where once vegans were on the margins of society, now more and more people are und ...
Read MoreFive delicious things to do with wild mushrooms
October is for knitted beanies and opaque tights, brisk walks and warm baths. It is also for wild mushrooms, given this is peak season in the UK. Firstly, we don’t recommend foraging for mushrooms to eat unless you are supremely confident you know the difference between poisonous and edible. One lapse of judgement can have v ...
Read MoreWhat To Do With Blackberries
Tis the season to be extremely jolly – and no we don’t mean Christmas. Very little brings more joy than going blackberry picking during an Indian summer. The hedgerows teem with bounty under a soft and mellow sun. Returning home with full baskets and purple fingers, there is so much promise. And then what? Apple and blac ...
Read MoreChurned on: How to make your own ice cream from scratch
By August, summer is in full swing. People are in holiday mode even if they are only ‘staycationing’ and al fresco dining reaches an apex. While in winter, custard and cream might suffice, no summer feast is complete without ice cream complementing the pudding course. And ice cream really is one of life’s great joys, esp ...
Read MoreMaking a Mean Mustard
- 23/07/2019
- By Imogen
Mustard – that fierce little condiment that gives most meats, many salad dressings and the occasional sandwich some extra pep, is a kitchen and dining room staple. The mustard plant is part of the broccoli and cauliflower family but unlike those vegetables, its seeds are the part which are most coveted when it comes to cooking. ...
Read MoreFabulous Fresh Fennel
With a distinctive taste - think a soft, floral anise vibe - fennel is the Marmite of the vegetable patch – the one that people tend to either love or hate. If you’re a lover, good news, July is prime fennel season. Fennel is actually part of the carrot family, growing its dense bulbous base beneath the ground. It’s really go ...
Read MoreThe Golden Rules of Barbecue Season
Tights and scarves are in the back of the closet and people are confidently stepping out in sandals. It’s finally June, the month of midsummer and the optimal time for al fresco dining. It’s barbecue season. And in honour of the most essential summer feasting, we’ve got a little list of dos and don’ts to make sure your BBQ i ...
Read MoreComing Up Roses
June is peak rose blooming season in the UK; gardens are blooming with colour and fragrance – and you might just find some petals on your plate. Here in Blighty, there is a new trend for cooking with flowers, although in Middle Eastern and Indian dishes, blooms have been used for centuries. But how best to do it? A ge ...
Read MoreLoafing around in celebration of British Sandwich Week
- 19/05/2019
- By Imogen
Sarnie, sanger, sub, hoagie – whatever you call your sandwiches, today marks the start of a week dedicated to this enduringly popular meal. British Sandwich Week (19th to 26th May) is a full seven days devoted to the quintessential lunch of choice for a busy Brit. Sandwiches are said to be named after John Montagu, the 4th E ...
Read MoreSharpen your (asparagus) spears!
- 09/05/2019
- By Imogen
It’s asparagus season! Short, sweet and full of promise. These elegant spears – which are in fact part of the lily family - can be traced back to ancient Greece, and the Roman times. It arrived in the UK in the 16th century. There are so many benefits to eating asparagus it’s hard to know where to start. It fights again ...
Read MoreCooking With Coffee
- 29/04/2019
- By Imogen
Forget fine wines, vintage whisky or cold beers on hot summer afternoons. Everyone knows coffee is the good stuff. There for you at the start of every day, a deep bitter and exciting kick. UK Coffee Week begins today (29th April until 5th May) and while we deliberate over a double espresso or an iced latte, it’s worth rememb ...
Read MoreWhat’s On Our Easter Menu
We think Easter is pretty underrated as a holiday. It plays second fiddle to its flashier sibling, Christmas. But there are so many perks to Easter, not least where food is concerned. Here are four delicious things to look forward to over the long weekend… Hot Cross Buns The cross atop these seasonal treats is to signify ...
Read MoreDaily bread
Today marks the start of Real Bread Week (23 February to 3 March), an initiative by the Real Bread Campaign which seeks to find ways to make this daily staple better for us – and the planet. According to the RBC, ‘real’ bread comes without any additives or processing aids – this means no ‘fast acting’ or ‘easy bake’ stuff wi ...
Read MoreLet Them Eat Cake
- 25/01/2019
- By Imogen
As January, traditionally a month of austerity, draws to a close, there’s a treat in store for anyone who is on their last nerve with kombucha, skinny lattes and cross trainers. Today is International Chocolate Cake Day! For a potted history of chocolate itself, have a little peek {http://www.capitalcooking.co.uk/blog/f ...
Read MoreGame on!
Game – from venison to quail - is a divisive foodstuff. It’s either someone’s very first choice or dismissed out of hand for being too, well, “gamey”. Typically served in the autumn and winter months, game consists of any and all animals or birds which are historically hunted for food rather than being reared on a farm. T ...
Read MoreSpaghetti growing on trees?
- 05/11/2018
- By Imogen
As the nights draw in and the temperature dips it’s only natural to seek out all the cosy things in life – cashmere socks, woolly hats, log fire and comforting grub. With this in mind, we’re celebrating the world’s most comforting staple food. Contrary to popular belief – Italians didn’t invent pasta. Marco Polo did not brin ...
Read MoreA deep dive into the pros and pros of feasting on fish
From Essex oysters to Welsh lobster and Scottish salmon, the UK boasts a dazzling array of seafood. National Seafood Week – and eight-day celebration of the bounty found in our island’s waters, starts today. And why should we eat more seafood? Well, the health benefits are numerous. Oily sea fish contains plenty of Omega- ...
Read MoreFood of the Gods: A Potted History of Chocolate
Look, we know that chocolate isn’t the best thing for us but a little bit of what you fancy really does do you good. And besides, this particular delight has captivated taste buds for centuries. Chocolate was discovered in Central America around 900 AD by the Mayan people, who called it “food of the Gods”. Cocoa was so valua ...
Read MoreOrganic September: Get Involved
Welcome to Organic September – spearheaded by {https://www.soilassociation.org>The Soil Association} all about raising awareness of organic food. We all know organic is better. But why is it better? What exactly is organic food anyway? And why is it more expensive? Organic simply means ‘natural’ – as nature intended wi ...
Read MoreNational Burger Day - 23rd August
Yes, there really is a National Burger Day – on 23rd August to be precise. We’re ready for it – and so will you be once you’ve read our guide to making the best burgers – whatever your tastes. No one is really sure where the burger originated. There was a popular cookbook The Art Of Cookery published in 1758 (no that date ...
Read MoreJuicy Fruit: In praise of the peach
Fuzz wrapped around juicy flesh – the peach is such a treat, a simple pleasure and synonymous with summer and sweetness. Its botanic name – Prunus Persica – implies that the peach was originally from the Middle East, it was actually from further east than that – in China. In Asia generally the peach is a common symbol of immorta ...
Read MoreCherry On Top
There are few things more joyful than a bulging bag of ripe cherries – and today’s the day to get your hands on some, given that it marks National Cherry Day, which aims to encourage us Brits to eat home- grown cherries. There are two schools of thought when it comes to how cherries arrived in Britain. One is that they came ...
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