Cookery

If a white sauces is needed quickly, warm a small carton of natural yoghurt in a pan over a low heat. Beat in two egg yolks and cook, stirring all the time for three minutes. Season to taste just before serving. This is ideal for freshly cooked vegetables. Read more......

We cannot afford to waste food these days, so when you come on stale buns or bread in the cupboard here is a way of making them as good as new. Brush the buns with milk and heat in the oven. Dip a loaf of stale bread in water and place on a baking tray and warm in the oven. This should be done just before serving. Read more......

I stir in two tablespoons of porridge oats into my mince. This thickens it and makes it go further. Mrs Catherine Inkster, Kalliness Weisdale, Shetland. Read more......

To remove fat from hot roast juices, add a few ice cubes. The fat quickly forms to the ice and is easily lifted off. Read more......

Peel and boil the potatoes. Now allow for every 1lb of potatoes a wine glassful of absolutely boiling milk, and a bit of butter about the size of a medium walnut. When the potatoes are quite dry, add the boiling milk, butter and salt and pepper to taste and beat up with a fork until white and light. Send to the table at once. No one who has not tried it can realise the difference the hot milk makes. Read more......

A good method of keeping butter cool where ice is not obtainable is to place it in a dish inside an old, clean flowerpot. The pot should stand in a basin of water and clean damp thrown over it. The ends of the cloth resting in the water keeps it always full of moisture and the butter will be found as firm as if it were presented on ice. Read more......

To remove the odour of cooking cabbage, boil a stalk or two of celery with it. This also gives a delicious flavour.

Add a few drops of lemon juice when you boil a cauliflower. This takes away the smell and keeps the vegetable white. Read more......

If egg shells are cracked and you want to boil them, use an oven bag to hold them in the water. Fasten the bag and cook the usual way. Read more......

Before scraping new potatoes, soak them for half an hour in cold water which has been salted. Not only do the skins peel off easily but the hands are not stained.