To make fudge that doesn’t require a thermometer, melt 500g white chocolate with a 397g tin condensed milk in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring frequently until the mixture is smooth and combined. Here are some of the best cooking shows or channels for beginner cooks out there (a lot of them you can watch online for free!

How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food

Not only will you make some of the best food you ve ever eaten, you ll save money and eat more healthfully, too. For sponge cakes, curdling happens when too much egg is added too quickly to the creamed butter and sugar. In no time at all, you'll be hosting dinner parties galore using these essential recipes—we promise that they'll never go out of style. Keep the knife still and twist the board or turntable to score an even line all the way round the cake. Our guide to perfect omelettes tells all, but the most important things you can do when making an omelette: beat the eggs with seasoning really well beforehand, don’t skimp on the fat used for cooking, use a medium-high heat, push the mixture a little whilst still wet to create folds and texture, scatter over the filling whilst the top is still a little undercooked, then fold the sides in and slide out of the pan (preferably on to a warmed plate).Scoop balls using a teaspoon dipped in warm water and dried, then put in a parchment lined roasting tin. It’s also useful for making buttercream icing and cakes where you don’t want to impart too much saltiness or want to be able to control the amount of salt added.

HTCE 20th Anniversary — Mark Bittman

Herbs can single-handedly give a dish a distinct flavor, characterizing it as belonging to Greek, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, or any other type of world cuisine.Also, baking is usually associated with food items that require batters and doughs, such as bread, cookies, pies and muffins. To ensure the pastry is leakproof, after blind baking, brush the cooked pastry with egg white, then bake again for a further 5min. If you want to learn from the convenience of your home, there are lots of GREAT cooking classes online, thanks to today's technology. Using the lines as a guide, hold the knife parallel to the work surface and saw through the cake, twisting the board or turntable as you go, making sure that the knife stays on the guideline you've made.