Food prep, kitchen knives and preserving

• Versatile
• Come with a wide range accessories and attachments
• Prices range from around £100 to £800
• Well-loved brands include KitchenAid and Kenwood

• Small and convenient for light mixing
• Great for anything from cakes and biscuits to meringue
• Start at as little as £16 and go up to £200
  

• Much larger than most food preparation gadgets
• The choice of serious bakers
• Lots of attachments and capabilities
• Great for anything from cakes and biscuits to scones and bread
• Some include a spiralizer for healthy eating
• Others might have an ice cream bowl for homemade ice cream 
• Most supplied with a whisk, dough hook and beater as standard
• Other tools usually need to be purchased separately
  

• More compact than stand mixers, and very versatile
• Basic models have a series, belt-driven motor
• Higher priced ones are fitted with induction motors
• Supplied with a series of attachments for multi-tasking 
• Ideal for soup, smoothies, dips, baby food, sauces, bread and whipping up meringues and cakes
• Price reflects which attachments they are supplied with
• Most models are calibrated for easy measuring
• Many are supplied with a handy storage unit for the attachments
• Favoured brands include Magimix, Kenwood, KitchenAid and Tefal
  

• More expensive that regular food processors
• Prepare and cook ingredients in one
• Most will do everything from chopping to cooking and steaming
• Usually come with a LCD screen for easy operation
  

• Some designs are simple and can be hand-operated
• Others are ‘use the whole fruit’ machines
• Some can only handle citrus fruits
• Centrifugal juice extractors can handle a wide variety of fruit and vegetables
• Some even have a ‘coulis’ function
  

• Hand and stick blenders can whisk, purée and crush
• Price tends to be dictated by capacity, speed and power
• For instance, more powerful blenders can crush ice easily
• Usually have a choice of speeds 
• Some have a built-in speed sensor
  

• Blend straight into the takeaway cup
• Perfect for smoothies on the go

If you simply want to purchase a few basics for everyday use we recommend:

Paring knife

A small knife for the preparation of small vegetables or fruit. The blade is 7-10cm long and is firm with a sharply pointed end for picking out pips.Cook's knives, 1 large 1 smallCook's knives are good all-purpose knives which help you tackle larger scale chopping jobs

Bread knife

Bread knives have rigid serrated or scalloped edges which cut through a hard crust on a loaf without tearing or squashing the softer centre – this also makes it the best knife for slicing tomatoes!

Carving knife

A carving knife has a 20-26cm flexible blade with a sharply pointed tip to help free meat from the bone - it can be plain or serrated.

In addition to the basics recommended above, you can create a full collection capable of any task with these additions:

Utility knife

A general purpose knife with a serrated edge and blade about 13cm long - use it to cut meat, larger vegetables and prepare sandwiches.

Boning knife

Designed for prepping raw meat and poultry, this knife has a narrow, rigid blade which curves upwards, making it easy to work the blade around the bones.

Cleaver

A cleaver has a strong, thick heavy blade with a slightly curved edge and is used to chop meat and sever and prepare joints but should not be used to chop through large bones. Use a saw instead.

Making jam uses surprisingly little equipment - we recommend the following to ensure your jam looks and tastes delicious:

Jam pan

Large and deep with wide sides that provide better heat distribution and allow you to boil the contents safely

Filling funnel

Fill jars quickly and easily with minimal mess

Straining funnel

A smaller funnel that removes pips and seeds or to fill smaller jars

Jar tongs

Remove sterilised jars from boiling water without burning your hands

Clip-top jar/bottle

Ideal for clear pickles and home brews

Jam thermometer

Essential when making jams or preserves that require a certain setting temperature

Muslin cloth

Use for straining jellies and wiping jars

Preserve jar

A disc and metal band vacuum seal the contents inside

Long-handled spoon

For mixing very hot liquids safely

Sterilising

One of the keys to preserving success is a sterilised jam jar – without it, fermentation and mould could ruin all your hard work. There are a number of methods that remove bacteria from the jar:

Oven

• Wash your jars in hot, soapy water and rinse well to ensure all the suds have gone
• Remove any rubber seals before placing in the oven and boil them sterile instead
• Heat the oven to maximum 140°C/120°C Fan/Gas 1 and put the jars on to a baking sheet in the oven to dry completely (no hotter, or the glass may crack)

Dishwasher

• Remove any lids and rubber seals from the jars and put everything in the top rack of the dishwasher
• Put on a hot wash without any detergent
• Keep the jars, lids and seals inside the dishwasher to keep them warm until you’re ready to fill them

Water bath

• Remove any lids and rubber seals and put them into a separate saucepan to simmer for 10 minutes
• Place the jars into a large pan of water and boil at maximum temperature for 10 minutes
• When you’re finished sterilising the jars, lids and seals, cover the pans to keep them warm until you’re ready to use them

 

Setting

The magic temperature for making jam is between 104°C and 105°C, which is where it sets.

To test, place a spoonful of hot jam onto a cold plate (preferably one that has been in the freezer for 10-15 minutes) and push it around the plate with your finger. If the surface wrinkles, it has set. If it doesn’t and acts more like liquid, test again after another 3-5 minutes.

Start testing early and, if you suspect it is getting close to the setting point, remove the pan from the heat so it doesn’t overcook.

1. Jam not setting

This can be for a wide range of reasons:Too much or too little sugarToo little pectin, or using fruit with naturally low pectin levels without supplementUsing fruit that is over or under-ripeOvercookedSolution: Tip the jam back into the pan and bring it to the boil again, stirring continuously. If this doesn’t work, add in some more pectin gradually to ensure it doesn’t set hard.

2. Jams with different consistencies

Fruits have their own individual natural pectin levels, making some thicker and some needing a bit of helpSolution: Try adding extra pectin

3. Cloudy jam

This is usually the result of:

• Under-ripe fruit
• Juice that wasn’t strained properly, allowing pulp through
• Too high in pectin, leading to it setting too fast
• Jelly cooled before being poured into the jars

Solution: Tip the jam back into the pan and bring it to the boil again, stirring continuously. If this doesn’t work, add in some more pectin gradually to ensure it doesn’t set hard.

4. Crystallised jam

This usually happens because there is too much sugar or it hasn’t dissolved fully before boilingSolution: Although the jam is still perfectly edible, you can try reheating it to dissolve the excess sugar