We could all take a leaf out of grandma’s cookbook from time to time. Generations that survived wartime rationing, and previous cost of living crises, are likely to have some stellar cooking advice to share, whether it’s on avoiding food waste, whipping up exceptional loaves of bread and cakes, or feeding a crowd for less. Here, we round up some old-school tips and handy hacks that prove grandma always knows best. 

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This old adage really holds true: seasonal ingredients that ripen at the same time tend to taste great together. Think fresh peaches and ripe tomatoes in the summer, or fresh asparagus and new potatoes in the spring. It’s a simple idea, but our grandparents instinctively knew the benefits of seasonal eating.

There are plenty of good reasons why grandma always stirred her cooking with a wooden spoon. Not only are they gentle on your cookware compared to metal utensils, they’re also suitable for a wide range of tasks, from stirring and scraping to serving. Wooden spoons also don’t react with acidic foods like metal ones can, and are extremely durable, lasting many years with proper care.

It’s tempting to throw away the fat that renders from bacon, pork or duck when cooking, but don’t – this precious liquid is a veritable flavour bomb. Back in the day, this fat or dripping was served as a spread and, in the UK, ‘bread and dripping’ was considered a real treat after a traditional Sunday roast. It's amazing for adding an extra savoury hit to roast potatoes, or to fry pretty much anything. Don’t be afraid to spread it on toast, too. Store meat dripping in a covered container; it will last in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer for about six months.

Did your grandma ever task you with sifting the dry ingredients or folding the cake mix when you were growing up? There’s a good reason she taught you young: these steps are essential for incorporating air into cakes, so that they're light and dreamy. Sifting is also essential for removing any clumps in your dry ingredients.

Grandmas are experts at using up leftover food. If you’ve made a pie, don’t throw out the pastry scraps. Instead, gather the dough together, roll it out, sprinkle it with cheese, give it another roll, then cut it into fancy shapes. Bake until golden, and serve your cheese straws with soup or as a snack. You could also use up leftover pastry by making a small batch of jam tarts, or for a savoury turnover.

Need bread that’s ready in a flash? Why not try Irish soda bread? Made by many a grandma, it’s super quick as there's no yeast: it's just flour, buttermilk and baking soda. It's best to make it on the day you want it – however leftovers make perfect toast. Best served with lashings of proper butter.

Grandma never throws out a thing, and you can be sure this applies to random bits of cheese. Here’s an idea: crumble them all into a mac ‘n’ cheese for extra flavour and less waste. You can also use cheese rinds to enrich cheese sauces, risottos or stews.

We’re all guilty of throwing out fruit from time to time – except for our grandmas, who are experts at avoiding food waste. Think: what would grandma do? Probably bake it into something exciting. When they're whipped into a golden pie or fluffy muffins, old apples (or berries, or bananas) will take on a new lease of life. Don't have enough to make a whole pie? You could always store scraps in the freezer until you have plenty.

You know you’ve turned into your grandma when you start storing leftover chicken bones in the freezer to turn into stock later. They have far too much flavour and nutrients to go in the bin. Use them to make a base for soups, stews and curries, so you don’t have to use shop-bought stock cubes.

A homely, comforting fish pie, mac 'n' cheese or casserole isn’t complete without grandma’s finishing touch: sprinkling crushed crisps on top. This extra layer of crunch nearly always improves a dish and works with pretty much anything containing cheese, potato or served in a casserole dish.

Sure, they might seem a little old-fashioned but these little dishes help ensure your butter is always spreadable. Keeping butter at room temperature will mean it glides smoothly onto bread and other baked goods without any unwanted lumps and bumps. While it’s perfectly safe to store butter in a covered dish on a worktop for a few days, you also don’t want it to melt or go off, so make sure the dish is kept somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight, especially in hot weather.

Fed up with your sugar turning clumpy and hard? This never happens to grandma, because she keeps it in an airtight container. Brown sugar clumps when it has been exposed to too much air and has dried out. For white sugar, too much moisture causes the same reaction. Store sugar in a tightly sealed mason jar to solve the problem.

You might have ignored this piece of wisdom, but it’s surprisingly important. Before you begin baking, make sure eggs and butter stored in the fridge have come up to room temperature. Just as warm butter is better to mix, room-temperature eggs blend into batter more easily and make for lighter, more consistent bakes.

Do you remember your grandma using parchment paper to line cake tins before she started baking? While it may have seemed like needless fussing, it actually served a purpose. Firstly, it prevents the cake from sticking, so it's easier to get out the tin. Secondly, lining the sides of the tin prevents the cake from becoming too dark.

Ever wonder how grandma’s baked cheesecake always looked so smooth and perfect? It’s almost guaranteed that she cooked it in a bain marie (a tray of water), so that it baked evenly, then left it to cool slowly in the oven with the door ajar.

Melting chocolate can be tricky, but if we’ve learned one thing from our grans it’s that patience is key. While it’s tempting to just blast it in the microwave, that often results in burnt chocolate. Instead, heat it slowly over a pan of simmering water, stirring it as you go, and remember to turn the hob off early as it will continue to melt over the residual heat. If it gets too hot or you rush the job, your delicious chocolate will go lumpy.

Back in the day, growing your own fruit and veg was the ultimate money-saver. In tougher times, it was also a necessity. Make like your grandparents and have a go – it might not be cheaper, but we guarantee it will taste better than what you get in the supermarket. Begin with a plant you can keep on your windowsill such as tomato, chilli, basil or lettuce.

These days you’re much more likely to look for a recipe online, but there’s something so special about finding a hand-written recipe card or note scribbled in the margins of an old cookery book. We’re all used to keeping notes digitally, but it pays to keep it old-school and have a notepad and pen handy to note down interesting ideas and recipes while you’re cooking. That way, you have something unique that can be handed down to future generations.

The best part about grandma’s cooking is you always know what ingredients have gone in. Take inspiration and make your own jams and chutneys instead of buying them from a shop – it's also a great way of using up a seasonal glut of any berries, fruit or vegetables you might have. They will taste far better and make wonderful gifts for friends and family, too.

You may have witnessed your grandma elegantly rolling a lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange underneath her palm before juicing it, and there’s a nifty reason she did this. Rolling the citrus fruit on a hard surface breaks down the cells on the inside, so when you cut it you can squeeze out more juice.

'Just a touch more' is a phrase often heard at home and a useful tip when making informal meals. Let go of the need to always follow a recipe and, instead, taste as you go. Add a little more salt, a little more stock, a little more water – whatever you feel the dish needs. It'll soon become second nature.

There’s nothing worse than a curry sauce that’s too thin or a gravy that’s too watery. But there’s no need to despair; grandma would fix this with a spoon of cornflour. It’s a great way to thicken both sweet and savoury sauces. Just remember to mix it with cold water first – otherwise the dish will go lumpy. 

Slow-cooked meals are grandma’s speciality. They always have the best flavour, and that’s because she browns the meat first. Do it in batches or make sure there’s lots of space in the pan, before adding your other ingredients and turning the heat low. If you’re using a modern slow cooker it may have a browning function built in.

So many useful cooking tips came from our grandmas, such as removing green stems (a sign of sprouting) from garlic. If you’re eating it raw, for example in a salad dressing, it will taste bitter. However, if you’re cooking it in a stew, you shouldn’t notice the difference.

Have you ever had a soggy stew? It’s not the worst, but ideally your veg should still keep its shape. As carrots, potatoes, peas and pumpkin all take less time to cook than meat, add them towards the end to prevent overcooking. Around half an hour should be sufficient to soften them but still leave some bite.

One thing you’d never catch granny doing is letting stew bubble aggressively on the hob. While the dish is relatively hands-off, you still need to check back every now and again to give it a stir and make sure it's simmering and the bottom isn’t scorching.

If you have a large slick of oil on the surface of your finished dish, there are a couple of things you can do. Let the dish cool and skim it off with a spoon once it has turned hard. You could also blot it off with a few pieces of kitchen paper. Alternatively, prevent it happening at all by trimming some of the fat from your meat before you start cooking. 

If you add fresh herbs to a bubbling pot they'll lose their delicate, aromatic flavour. Instead wait until the dish is cooked then sprinkle them on top. The only exception to this is if your recipe asks for a bouquet garni – a bunch of bay leaves, thyme and parsley with stalks, tied up and cooked in the sauce to add more flavour, and removed at the end.

Ever seen your gran patting chicken dry? It might seem like a strange thing to do, but this is a vital step to remove excess moisture on the skin so it browns and crisps up rather than steams. Simply blot the raw chicken with kitchen paper until it’s nice and dry, then cook as normal.

Grandma’s tip for making crispy, fluffy roast potatoes is to heat a dish containing fat in the oven first and allowing it to get incredibly hot before the potatoes go in. Goose or duck fat works well as it gives the spuds a more luxurious flavour and crispy finish than oil. Then drop the parboiled potatoes in – the sizzle means it's working.

You wouldn’t have found your grandma crumbling up a stock cube or whisking gravy granules back in her day. There’s all the flavour you need in the juice from the cooked meat, the water used to cook veg and from deglazing your pots and pans. Plus, it's more cost effective and tastes much better than anything you’ll get in a packet.

If you’re making several dishes, keep the ones that are ready in the oven until the rest are done. This way the whole meal can be served hot and you don’t have to stress about timings. Just be sure the oven temperature is set very low to prevent food from continuing to cook.

Another way to ensure your food stays piping hot until it reaches the table is to warm the plates. You can do this by putting them in the oven for 10 minutes at 60-90°C (140-190°F) or placing in a sink of very hot water for a few minutes. The latter is best for delicate plates that can’t go in the oven.

If you’re going to cook a roast or make a braised dish, granny would always suggest choosing a large cut of meat. Firstly, it’s better to have a bit too much than too little, as you can’t quickly make more if people want second servings. And, if you have leftovers, you can (and should) use them in sandwiches, risottos, pasta dishes and more. A roast chicken could provide enough for lunch the next day and, of course, you can save the bones for stock.

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