Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Blog, page 5

Curd instinct: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's summer preserve recipes

Jam-making's not just for winter. Whenever there's a glut of anything, out comes my preserving pan.

Some think of jam-making as a cold-weather activity, one for the autumn and winter. But preserving is all about avoiding wastage and grabbing a glut: whenever there's plenty of something about, my preserving pan comes out.

You might think June's a bit early for a glut – but it depends what's on the go in the garden, or what's to be had for a keen price at the grocer's. There are some gorgeous ing...

Berry peculiar: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's strawberry recipes

There's always something new you can do with a strawberry, and not just in puddings, either

I made a strawberry pizza the other night, on a whim, and it was surprisingly good. It wasn't a puddingy, jammy-sweet pseudo-pizza, but a thin-crusted, charred-edged, savoury one. Besides strawbs, it had cherry tomatoes (their flavour profile is on the same spectrum as the strawberry's, a little more towards the savoury/umami end of it, so the two go well together), sweated-down onions (which...

Smooth operator: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's mayonnaise recipes

Homemade mayo is not just better than the stuff you can buy in a jar, it's also completely different

Homemade mayonnaise is so different from anything you can buy in a jar that it's worth making at least once – even if only to see what all the fuss is about. I've got plenty of time for ready-made mayo – I keep a decent organic variety in my fridge, which I dispense freely for greedy sandwiches and impromptu sauces – but the homemade stuff is something else altogether. Try a batch and you'll se...

Super bowl: scrumptious soup recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Warming and hearty or chilled and refreshing, there's a soup to suit every season

Soup is always in season. In winter, warming and hearty; in high summer, chilled and refreshing (or, should the weather let you down, heated up to be warming and hearty again). Whatever the season, making soup is always worthwhile. And at this time of year it's particularly flexible and fun – a melting pot for the very best early-summer produce.

Proportions needn't – shouldn't – be exact. Just grab plenty of what'...

Hit the sweet spot: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's caramel recipes

I don't know who discovered that seriously burning sugar was a good idea, but I take my hat off to them

There are certain foods that exert an almost narcotic pull, things so tempting that the urge to keep going back for more is nigh on irresistible. For many, it's chocolate. I can take a lot of chocolate, with great pleasure, but I can also leave it. Caramel, however… caramel hooks me deep and keeps me close.

I don't know who discovered that seriously burning sugar was a good idea, but I t...

Get fresh: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's asparagus, new potato and lettuce recipes

We've had a long wait, so let's make the most of the new season's produce

Every cloud has a silver lining. And every interminable winter has a sunny green ending that, when it comes, seems all the more uplifting, inspiring and welcome for the wait. As the brutal season of late 2012/early 2013 is finally consigned to history, how wonderful it is to see stuff growing again – particularly edible stuff.

Let's grab it now. Fill your boots with the best fresh, local produce you can find. If you're no...

Bread with character: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipes for sourdough

It isn't just sourdough's superb flavour that will reward your patience; its texture will, too

A sourdough loaf is very different from what mostly passes as bread these days. In fact, it is the antithesis of the industrial factory loaf – that soft, structureless, flavour-lite bread that is produced in such huge quantities in this country. Sustain, whose Real Bread Maker Week starts today, reckons that well in excess of 90% of our bread is mass-produced either by the bi...

This is the EU's best chance in a decade to reduce fish discards | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Europe now has a great opportunity to reduce waste at sea. Britain must take the lead in ensuring its success

I've often given our fisheries minister, Richard Benyon, a hard time in my Fish Fight programmes. And what I've found – and what most other people confirm – is that he is a Very Nice Guy. He stayed charming at Billingsgate market where I tested his knowledge of our most common commercial fish species, and remained polite and courteous while I hassled him in his constituency office...

Rise to the occasion: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipes for yeasted breads

Even if you've never baked with yeast, don't feel intimidated by any of this week's recipes. They're yours for the baking

Last week, I brought you some yeast-free breads. Now I'm moving on to the yeasted variety, the kind of well-risen, soft-crumbed, crusty items that most of us think of when we hear the word "bread".

Yeast is magical stuff, lying dormant in the kitchen cupboard until you choose to wake it up. All you need do is feed it, which takes nothing more than mixing it with flour and wa...

Go flat out: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's yeast-free bread recipes

Unlike conventional breads, these beauties are quick and easy to make, and are just the thing for feeding a crowd

This week, I'm beginning a bready build-up. To mark the Real Bread Campaign's Real Bread Maker Week (11-17 May), I thought I'd celebrate some of the loaves, buns and baked items that I rely on as "bread" in the broadest sense. Next week, I'll look at treats made with yeasty doughs, and the week after I'll bring you my all-time favourite family bread – homemade, wild-yeast...