Why grandma was right: unforgettable tips for everyday cooking

Grandma DOES know best

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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 classic tips that prove grandma always knows best.

Make cheese straws with leftover pastry

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Grandmas are genius 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 and serve cheese straws with soup or as a snack.

Make soda bread if you need something speedy

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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.

Get the recipe for soda bread here

Use cheese ends in mac ‘n’ cheese

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Grandma never throws out a thing and you can be sure this applies to the brie and Parmesan rinds you’d usually bin. Here’s an idea: crumble them into a mac ‘n’ cheese for extra flavour and less waste.

Check out more genius ways to reduce food waste

Cook bruised apples in pies

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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.

Save chicken bones for stock

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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.

Check out these genius cooking tips from our favourite TV chefs

Make your own jam and chutney

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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. They will taste far better and make wonderful gifts for friends and family too.

Here's a recipe for carrot and almond chutney to get you started

Top dishes with crushed crisps

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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.

Keep butter in a butter dish

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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.

Transfer sugar into airtight containers

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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.

Bake with room-temperature eggs

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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.

Sift air into cakes

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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.

Check out our best-ever baking hacks for perfect cakes every time

Line cake tins to prevent sticking

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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.

Let cheesecake cool in the oven

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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.

Find more cheesecake hacks and recipes here

Melt chocolate over a pan of water

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Melting chocolate can be tricky, but if we’ve learned one thing from our grans it’s that patience is key. Heat chocolate 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.

Grow your own herbs, tomatoes and chillies

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Back in the day, growing your own fruit and veg was the ultimate money-saver. 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.

Roll lemons before squeezing

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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.

Add more of what you need

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“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.

Thicken sauces with cornflour

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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.

Get some colour on meat

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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.

Feeling inspired? Check out these slow cooker wonders for cold evenings

Slice sprouting stems from garlic

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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.

Add veg towards the end of a stew

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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 leave some bite.

Never boil stew, soup or stock

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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.

Skim fat off the top

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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. Alternatively, prevent it happening by trimming some of the fat from your meat before you start cooking.

Don't cook fresh herbs

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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.

Dry chicken to help it brown

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Ever seen your gran patting chicken dry? She hasn’t gone crazy. This is a vital step to remove excess moisture on the skin so it browns and crisps up rather than steams.

Roast potatoes in hot fat

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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 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.

Use juices from meat to make gravy

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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.

Take a look at Julia Child's tips for cooking perfect chicken

Keep food warm in the oven

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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.

Serve food on hot plates

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Another way to ensure hot food stays 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°C to 90°C (140°F to 190°F) or in a sink of very hot water. The latter is best for delicate plates that can’t go in the oven.

Next read how to revive stale bread and other genius food hacks

Make more than you need

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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 use them in sandwiches, risottos, pasta dishes and more. A roast chicken could provide enough for lunch the next day and, of course, save the bones for stock.

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