Kitchen Tips for Men

Heavy-duty cooking pots and pans. Buy a few good-quality cooking pots and frying pans. Don't be afraid to get heavyweight ones, either - throwing around a two-pound frying pan with one hand counts as light exercise for big strong men!

Boil a Kettle. It is amazing how often hot water is required in a kitchen, whether to thin down a soup, stew, sauce or gravy; to top up boiling potatoes, rice or vegetables; or to warm up the washing-up water. When entering the kitchen, make it a habit to fill (at least half-full) the kettle and set it on to boil.

Tidy up as you go. Cooking should be a continuous process - with care and good planning, it should be possible to cook all day without running out of utensils. This means washing up frequently - much easier if you have a dishwasher - and tidying away packets and jars that you have finished using. Throw out (or recycle) the rubbish regularly, too.

Cooking should be fun. Cooking for yourself - or friends and family - should be relaxing, fun in itself, not a chore. If you're not enjoying it, don't do it - buy ready meals or go out for dinner. But if you are in the kitchen, then enjoy the experience. A little light music, and perhaps a glass of wine of beer to hand, too?

Quantities. It's far too easy to cook too much, particularly if you are only catering for one or two people. This is just wasteful, and there's also the danger of eating too much and putting on weight. So, consider cooking quantities which err on the small side and, if you are really still hungry afterwards, enjoy a second course - a dessert, fresh fruit, or even just some cheese and biscuits.

Thicken with Cornflour. Sometimes sauces, stews and cassaroles are not as thick as you want. Stir a heaped teaspoon or two of cornflour (cornstarch) in a little cold water to dissolve - use a cup or mug - then stir into the errant dish as quickly as possible.

Manage your store cupboard and your fridge as well. Tins and packets may keep for ages, but do pay attention to the use by dates. And you really don't want a 'blown' or leaky tin of jar in your cupboards - think of the smell!

Be sparing with the salt. These days, the danger of too much salt in one's diet is increasingly well understood, and it seems to be good advice to keep down the amount of salt wherever possible. Of course, this can mean that the food tastes rather bland, so try using more herbs and spices, or even freshly-ground black pepper, to zing things up instead.

Herbs and Spices. Commercial dried herbs and spices, ready-ground, are pretty good, but don't expect them to last for ever. They do lose their pungency after a while. Buy in small quantities and keep in sealed jars.

Grow your own Herbs. You can grow a wide selection of herbs in even the smallest garden - even a large pot on a sunny balcony works well. Buy established plants and peat-free compost, and water frequently.

Fit an extractor fan. It's definitely worth having a good extractor fan over the cooker to remove steam and smoke which would otherwise get everywhere in the house. And remember to switch it on as soon as you start cooking.

Make Stock. Consider making stock from offcuts and bones from meat, especially chicken and other poultry. Put the bits and bones in a large pan with enough cold water to cover everything. Bring to the boil and simmer for at least twenty minutes - longer if you like. Let the bones cool in the stock, then sieve to remove the bits. Stock can be kept in the fridge for a few days, or can be frozen. Before use, bring to the boil and reduce a little.

Wooden Spoons: I prefer to use wooden sppons and spatulas for most cooking purposes. These tend not to damage the inner surfaces of the pots and pans, and they seem to clean up well enough in the dishwasher.

Re-use Jars. Jars which used to contain jam, or instant coffee, or pickles can all be re-used in the kitchen. Make sure they are thoroughly wahsed before re-use - you don't want everything tasting of vinegar, do you! Running the jar (and lid!) through the dishwasher a couple of time works well - this also tends to remove the labels, too.

Once a packet or rice - or pasta, or sugar, or nuts, or whatever - has been opened, transfer the remainder to a clean jar. Use a marker pen to label it - so you can tell what's inside easily!

Timing. This is one of the skills of cooking and worth practicing. The objective is to get several things - a main dish, vegetables and a sauce, perhaps - to be all ready at the same time. Of course, you can keep things warm in a low oven, for example, but most food is best when served as soon as it is cooked. Timers which go buzz or feep at the set time help, too.

Bring food to room temperature before cooking. Modern refridgerators are excellent at keeping food fresh for a long time, but of course the food is very cold when you remove it ready to cook. Certain raw foods - meat (especially steak) and eggs, for example - are much tastier if they have been allowed to warm up for a time - at least 10 minutes, half-an-hour is better.

Warm plates and bowls before serving. Tepid food is generally horrid - it should be either as hot as Hell, or as cold as Charity - a saying I attribute to my Mother. So warming the plates and serving dishes keeps the food hotter for longer. A plate-warmer as part of the oven is great - or you can just position the dishes on top of the cooker, or in the grill area, where the heat from the oven and rings will warm them gently. Don't get them too hot, though, or they might break.

Chopping Boards. Buying a couple of good-quality, heavyweight wooden chopping boards is a good investment. (You're a man - you're not worried about lifting a few heavy weights, are you?) These will last forever with a little care - just wipe them down after use (never put them in the dishwasher). Use one for uncooked meat, and everything else on the other, to avoid any unpleasant incidents with bacteria.