- New research reveals that creative Brits are using clever hacks in the kitchen, like chilling wine with salt water and using bubble wrap to keep ice cream from melting
- With Brits spending over 728 hours a year cooking, Beef Wellington, Paella, and Soufflés are among the most challenging dishes to master
- Dame Prue Leith’s latest cookbook, full of easy recipes and tips, releases as the survey highlights 83% of people are frustrated with how long meal preparation takes
New research has revealed the nation’s most challenging dishes to cook, with Beef Wellington (35%), Soufflé (29%), and Paella (22%) topping the list. Other daunting dishes, such as Risotto, Baked Alaska, and the iconic Sunday roast with all the trimmings, also made the cut.
With Brits spending 728 hours cooking each year, these challenging meals have led to cooking disasters for 89% of Brits, with many resorting to takeaways in the eleventh hour (32%) or even binning the dish (13%). Yet despite the mishaps, a resilient still serve their culinary creations (32%) or salvage what they can (31%).
Dame Prue Leith’s (The Great British Bake-Off) new cookbook, Life’s Too Short To Stuff A Mushroom, releases just as the new survey shows that most of us are now embracing clever cooking hacks (68%) and it makes the process more enjoyable (91%). However, the same research highlights a gap and need for solutions to overcome common kitchen challenges —32% of those polled admitted they don’t know any hacks at all to simplify their time in the kitchen.
To find these shortcuts, many Brits turn to social media (74%), family traditions (48%), celebrity TV shows (35%) or cookbooks (26%) for culinary inspiration, in their quest to make cooking easier. Some of the nation’s favourite cooking methods include using ready-made pastry (47%), making gravy with vegetable water (28%), and cutting pizza with scissors (20%). Other popular tips involve keeping strawberries out of the fridge to preserve their flavour (19%) and using a pizza cutter to chop herbs (9%).
In addition to these, more inventive methods are emerging, such as microwaving lemons before juicing them, chilling wine with salt water, using bubble wrap to prevent ice cream from melting, and pitting cherries with a glass bottle. Yet it’s not all plain sailing for those who master the kitchen, over half of respondents (66%) playfully confess to feeling annoyed if a dish they lovingly prepared was eaten in a few minutes.
Dame Prue Leith commented on the findings: “It’s wonderful to see how inventive people are becoming in the kitchen. My new book is all about making cooking enjoyable and easy. These hacks prove that we can still create fantastic meals, even when time is tight. If a few tricks can take the stress out of cooking and bring back the joy, then I am all for it and you bet some of them are used by the world’s most talented chefs!”
The data reveals that Brits are spending a laborious 36 hours washing up and 24 hours each cutting vegetables, waiting for water to boil, peeling vegetables, and stirring sauces. Unsurprisingly, three-quarters (75%) find cooking stressful, with timing (49%) and cleaning up (33%) among the biggest stressors.
Life’s Too Short To Stuff A Mushroom is available now, promising shortcuts, hacks, and delicious recipes to make cooking a breeze and a joy.
30 MOST USEFUL KITCHEN HACKS, ACCORDING TO BRITS
- Buying ready-made pastry – 47%
- Buying pre-grated cheese – 41%
- Buying quick cook pasta – 41%
- Storing biscuits in airtight containers – 37%
- Rinsing rice before cooking to get rid of the starch – 34%
- Buying garlic and ginger paste – 32%
- Adding salt to pasta to avoid it sticking – 31%
- Adding oil to spaghetti to avoid it sticking – 30%
- Storing cereal in airtight plastic containers – 29%
- Putting a spoon in hot water to easily scoop ice cream – 28%
- Using vegetable water for gravy – 28%
- Chuffing par boiled potatoes before roasting – 27%
- Keeping tomatoes out of the fridge to keep their flavour – 26%
- Storing bananas in the fridge so they last longer – 25%
- Removing the skin of tomatoes with boiling water – 20%
- Using scissors to cut hot pizza – 20%
- Putting eggs in a bowl of water and if they rise to the top, they are bad – 20%
- Keeping strawberries out of the fridge to keep their flavour – 19%
- Using eggshell to remove broken shell – 18%
- Putting avocados next to bananas to ripen faster – 17%
- Cubing butter to soften it faster – 17%
- Warming your knife before cutting dessert – 14%
- Splashing stale bread with water and heating in the oven to freshen it – 13%
- Using a wine bottle as a rolling pin – 11%
- Peeling ginger with a spoon – 11%
- Proving bread in the oven – 10%
- Using an ice cream scoop to portion biscuit dough – 10%
- Putting a spoon in your mouth when cutting onions to stop you crying – 10%
- Removing mango flesh with the hedgehog trick – 9%
- Slicing herbs with a pizza cutter – 9%
TOP 10 MOST DIFFICULT DISHES TO COOK
- Beef Wellington (35%)
- Soufflé (29%)
- Risotto (22%)
- Sushi (17%)
- Baked Alaska (17%)
- Sponge Cake (17%)
- Moroccan Tagine (16%)
- Roast Chicken (16%)
- Toad in the Hole (15%)
- Gnocchi (15%)
DAME PRUE LEITH’S TOP TIPS
- Bring hardened brown sugar back to life for caramelised desserts
- Easily pit cherries using a glass bottle
- Master the perfect simmer for a flawless poached egg
- Achieve restaurant-worthy crispiness with halloumi
- Infuse wine seamlessly into a rich Coq au Vin