Homes

Question: How can I tell if my eggs are fresh? Are they ok to use if the shells have small cracks? Place an unbroken raw egg in a tall glass of water. If it’s fresh it will sink, if not, it will float. Refrigerating eggs in their cardboard cartons will help keep them fresh. You […]

Question: What’s the best way to cool a cake? Stand the cake for up to 15 minutes before turning it only a wire rack to cool further. Turn the cake, upside-down, onto a wire rack, and then turn the cake top-side up immediately using a second rack (unless directed otherwise), Some wire racks can mark […]

Lemon is one of the most magic scents in the garden. Much as I love roses — especially a cloud of rose perfume on a hot day — lemon scents are often stronger, as they come from the leaves, not the flowers. There are more leaves than blooms, so much more scent. This doesn’t mean […]

The first grapes I fell in love with grew next to a tiny cafe on the shore of Crete: a concrete floor, a goat standing on a chair on a table to reach the grapes over the fence, a small cup of too-sweet coffee and above us the glory of grapes, green leaves and bees […]

Once upon a time lavender was supposed to be the sexiest of scents. Sheets and underclothes were stored with lavender to keep the moths away, and we all know what happens among the sheets. And then Queen Victoria fell in love with lavender oil. She ordered that every room be polished with lavender and beeswax, […]

1. The world is happier with trees: Seriously, areas with trees have a lower crime rate and illness rates. This isn’t just because wealthy areas have brighter gardens and street trees: when trees and greenery are planted in disaffected areas the graffiti and other more serious crimes decrease as the trees grow bigger. It seems […]

Question: What is the best way to store raw meat? Raw meat should be kept separate from cooked food, and stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to avoid juices dripping down and contaminating other food. Always store raw meat in the coldest part of the refrigerator (usually the bottom shelf). Wrapped raw meat […]

Question: Some of my fruit and vegetables seem to wilt rapidly when I put them in the fridge. How do I stop this? Not all vegetables and fruit need to be kept in the fridge; some are cold sensitive, others can lose much of their moisture. If fruit and vegetables are to be refrigerated, cool […]

Pineapple’s background: Prickly on the outside but sweet and juicy on the inside, the pineapple is a member of the Bromeliaceae family and is known as the “king of fruit” — no doubt a name inspired by the pineapple’s crown shaped top. The pineapple is native to South America but most of the pineapple we […]

One of the worst benevolences ever perpetrated on a generation of children was free milk at school — especially in Queensland where I grew up. Every child had to drink their small bottle of milk every morning. All morning we looked out of our classroom and watched the milk getting hotter and hotter under what […]