Air Fryers and Modern Cooking
In October 2023, we bought an air fryer. Specifically the Ninja Foodi Max which was on special offer on QVC UK. We were intrigued by the possibilities and the convenience the device was alleged to offer. Fortunately, most of the hype proved correct and air fryers are quick and convenient. It takes awhile to determine cooking times but eventually you become as familiar and comfortable cooking with an air fryer, as you would using a conventional oven. They are also easy to clean. The baskets can be wiped down with hot, soapy water and the drip trays can be put in the dishwasher. Over a year later, we have grown attached to our air fryer due to its versatility and quick cooking times. Having one has substantially changed our cooking habits and the traditional oven is used far less.
In October 2023, we bought an air fryer. Specifically the Ninja Foodi Max which was on special offer on QVC UK. We were intrigued by the possibilities and the convenience the device was alleged to offer. Fortunately, most of the hype proved correct and air fryers are quick and convenient. It takes awhile to determine cooking times but eventually you become as familiar and comfortable cooking with an air fryer, as you would using a conventional oven. They are also easy to clean. The baskets can be wiped down with hot, soapy water and the drip trays can be put in the dishwasher. Over a year later, we have grown attached to our air fryer due to its versatility and quick cooking times. Having one has substantially changed our cooking habits and the traditional oven is used far less.
Just before Christmas 2024, we decided to buy a Ninja Combi Multi-Cooker. This purchase was again prompted by a promotion on QVC UK. This device can cook in 14 different ways, such as roasting, baking and steaming. At the flick of a switch it can also provide additional air frying services. Again its major selling points are speed and efficiency. A small chicken, cooked using the Combi Crisp setting, which steams and roasts simultaneously, takes about 30 minutes. The meat is thoroughly cooked but remains moist. If used in conjunction with our air fryer, a full roast dinner with three additional vegetables can be cooked in less than an hour (including the preparation time). Again, the mess is minimal and clearing up afterwards is straightforward. All of which makes cooking per se a lot easier.
During the course of my lifetime there have been several cultural shifts around home cooking. Our national diet in the UK has changed substantially with some traditional meals falling out of favour. Overall a broader continental approach to cooking has become prevalent. The other change being a move away from the exclusive use of ovens and hobs to cook. Microwaves ovens have become ubiquitous and can do a lot more than people think. Slow cookers are also a practical means to time-manage cooking. Air fryers and combi-ovens further contribute to this social change. Naturally there are a percentage of people who are happy to cook in a traditional fashion but I think this is becoming a smaller demographic group.
Despite the rise of modern cooking devices and techniques, convenience foods, ready meals and ultra processed products have sadly quelled a lot of peoples home cooking aspirations. Time is such an important factor in people’s decision making these days. With the modern work-life balance the way it is, a lot of people just don’t have the stamina to come home from work and cook, even if there are easier options than the traditional approach. It’s difficult to compete with a meal that is superficially tasty and ready in a matter of minutes. Cooking used to be a skill that was often passed down from parent to child. However, that is not necessarily the case nowadays, although the internet can provide an alternative source of information. Modern food products have made cooking skills non-essential.
That being said, there is a growing culture of trying to live a healthier lifestyle these days. For those who want to cook more themselves the air fryer does offer a practical stepping stone. Even if you’re not interested in cooking meals entirely from scratch, they can cook convenience food as quickly and easily as whole foods. In fact air fryers cooking times are now becoming quite common on food packaging along with standard instructions. Simply put, cooking today does not have to be the same as it was 30 years ago. The entire process can be approached in a far more casual manner and it is a lot easier to experiment. For those that are already enthused by “modern cooking” there are gadgets for everything. If you are looking to make a change and have simpler aspirations then I would recommend an air fryer as your first step.
Dining and Table Manners
I saw a post on social media recently which featured a picture of a plate with three slices of cake, along with a cake fork (also known as a pastry fork or dessert fork). I made a comment about using the right tool for the job and then thought how unusual it was to see this particular piece of cutlery these days. I then remembered that my American friends refer to cutlery as silverware, which then got me thinking about table manners and the associated social etiquette around dining. The internet does an excellent job of making the world smaller and because international English and US pop culture are so ubiquitous, you can be fooled into thinking that we’re all somewhat homogeneous in our habits and customs. That, however, is not the case and I have always found these minor differences fascinating. Hence I thought it would be a good subject to explore.
I saw a post on social media recently which featured a picture of a plate with three slices of cake, along with a cake fork (also known as a pastry fork or dessert fork). I made a comment about using the right tool for the job and then thought how unusual it was to see this particular piece of cutlery these days. I then remembered that my American friends refer to cutlery as silverware, which then got me thinking about table manners and the associated social etiquette around dining. The internet does an excellent job of making the world smaller and because international English and US pop culture are so ubiquitous, you can be fooled into thinking that we’re all somewhat homogeneous in our habits and customs. That, however, is not the case and I have always found these minor differences fascinating. Hence I thought it would be a good subject to explore.
My Grandson, is three years old. He has recently discovered that when he comes to stay with myself and Mrs P, we have quite a lot of rules. Particularly at dinner time. During which, we all sit at the table and the TV goes off. We use our cutlery primarily to eat and our hands when appropriate. Everyone stays at the table while eating and you don’t get to wonder off. If you need to go to the toilet, then you politely excuse yourself from the table. We all remain seated until everyone has finished their meal. Finally, the most controversial rule is, if you don’t eat your dinner, then you don’t get dessert. However, these rules are tempered by common sense. Therefore, we will not serve things that are obviously unpleasant to a three year olds palette. I also see no sense in bullying a child into eating something they don’t enjoy. However, I won’t let our grandchildren dine exclusively just on the things they want.
These rules are a variation of those I learned from my parents. However, ours are far more equitable compared to theirs. My mother and father grew up during World War II and endured rationing. Hence they adopted a scorched earth policy with regard to wasting food or any kind of food fad. To their generation, table manners and indeed manners per se were a direct reflection of your personal character. Hence you used the right cutlery in the correct manner. You didn’t chew with your mouth open, nor eat noisily. Although such codes have good intentions, I do feel that ultimately much of the Edwardian culture surrounding manners that endured in the UK until the seventies, was more about reinforcing class division than just promoting politeness. Hence I take a more flexible approach to such things.
Returning to the specifics of dining etiquette, here are a few differences between the UK, Europe, and the US. Let us start with knife and fork usage. In the UK and Europe, the fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right. The fork is kept in the left hand even when eating, and food is either pushed onto the back of the fork with the knife, or impaled on the fork. Americans often use the “zigzag” method. They cut food with the fork in the left hand and knife in the right, then switch the fork to the right hand to eat, setting the knife down. With regard to starting a meal, in the UK it is customary to wait for everyone to be served before starting the meal. In countries like Italy and Spain, it’s polite to wait for the host to say “Buon appetito” or something similar before beginning. In the US, while it’s polite to wait for others to be served, in casual settings, it's common to start eating as soon as your food arrives. Naturally none of these rules are set in stone and practices vary.
Modern life is very different from that of the seventies, or the early nineteen hundreds. Dining, although an important aspect of family life and social interaction, is far less formal. However, I do feel it plays a vital role in bringing people together and learning social dynamics. I also believe that dining together is the quickest way to get to know someone, especially those from a different background. However, not everyone has the same relationship with food as I do. Nor do all enjoy the social dynamic of dining with company. I can fully appreciate how people of an introverted nature and the neural divergent can find the various conventions associated with social dining to be smothering and frustrating. Hence, if you prefer to dine on your own in a casual fashion, free from rules and spoon draining people with big personalities, then so be it.
I however enjoy social dining, mainly due to my love of food and because I do believe in its virtues. I am comfortable eating informally, be it at a drive-through or barbeque, or at formal dinner parties or restaurant. I like meals that are leisurely paced, with an emphasis on enjoying conversation and good company. On my few trips to Europe, I have especially liked that dinner often started late in the evening and was a lengthy process. As for the rules relating to salad forks or fish knives, if you’re not sure then just ask. I was at a fancy restaurant once and ordered snails in garlic sauce as a starter. I asked one of the waiters how one tackled such a delicacy and he happily instructed me in the use of the “tools” that I was presented with.
Inevitably, the subject of dining and table manners, segues into other tangential matters such as napkins (and folding them into swans and gibbons), what condiments you prefer, as well as what drinks you serve with a meal. I will quickly make the following points regarding these. If you’re dining with children, then napkins, kitchen towel, or some sort of moist cleaning wipe are essential. Condiments are so much more than salt and pepper these days. Hence have whatever chutneys, sauces, relish or garnish you see fit. If you want ketchup on your steak, damn everyone else, you go for it. Same goes for what you drink with a meal. If you want red wine with fish, fine. It’s your meal after all. The only advice I’d ever give freely is watchout for grapefruit spoons. And if I were to pick one rule associated with table manners that I think should be set in stone, it’s to thank your host or whoever has prepared the meal.
The Full English Breakfast
One of the pleasures I enjoy in life, especially when I’m dining out or staying in a hotel, is having a Full English Breakfast. I like the fact that each one is unique, with potential additional ingredients and regional variations. But then there is the comfort of the familiar and knowing that key aspects of the dish will be present. It is also nice when elements are locally sourced which often means that they stand out. In Norfolk recently, the sausages included in my Full English Breakfast were exceptional. When in Hampshire, I find that the bacon is thicker cut and cured in a manner unique to the county. It is these aspects that make the Full English Breakfast such a pleasant and interesting dish. I also find that having such a robust and substantive breakfast is a great way to start the day and keeps me energised until mid-afternoon.
The Crown, Lyndhurst
One of the pleasures I enjoy in life, especially when I’m dining out or staying in a hotel, is having a Full English Breakfast. I like the fact that each one is unique, with potential additional ingredients and regional variations. But then there is the comfort of the familiar and knowing that key aspects of the dish will be present. It is also nice when elements are locally sourced which often means that they stand out. In Norfolk recently, the sausages included in my Full English Breakfast were exceptional. When in Hampshire, I find that the bacon is thicker cut and cured in a manner unique to the county. It is these aspects that make the Full English Breakfast such a pleasant and interesting dish. I also find that having such a robust and substantive breakfast is a great way to start the day and keeps me energised until mid-afternoon.
The "traditional" Full English Breakfast, if there is such a thing, is more of a dish than a specific meal. It includes fried bacon (traditionally back bacon but streaky is acceptable), poached, fried or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, and sausages. Black pudding, baked beans and “bubble and squeak” are also often included. Sauté potatoes or Hash browns and even chips have been added in recent years. Fried bread or toast is served as well. In the North of England, fried or grilled oatcakes sometimes replace fried bread. The breakfast is usually served with tea or coffee, as well as fruit juices. Breakfast cereals are an optional entrée, as are croissants. In the past, alternative main dishes such as kippers, kedgeree and devilled kidneys were often included. Like many popular dishes, there are many variations, however the core elements remain constant.
The Old Railway Station, Petworth
The Full English Breakfast is a mainstay of British cuisine. The fried and substantive nature of the dish has not always found favour internationally where lighter breakfasts are often favoured. However, in the UK, this “fry-up” has grown in popularity and is viewed with cultural pride, similar to fish and chips and curry. It can be found almost anywhere in the country, from the humblest of local cafés to high end hotels and restaurants. It is that ubiquity that has rehabilitated its reputation. The roots of the dish date back to at least the 18th century and the essential elements have been consumed one way or another further back than then. However, the Full English Breakfast only began to gain traction as a popular start to the day, in the 20th century.
Some of its constituent elements found in the Full English Breakfast date back to the Bronze Age. Bread, for example, was a staple in Egypt and Sumeria as well as ancient Greece and Rome. However, tomatoes and potatoes were only introduced to the UK, from the New World, in the 1500s. By the mid 1700s hot bacon and eggs was established as a breakfast staple among the middle classes. Travel writer Patrick Brydone first referred to eating “an English breakfast at his lordship’s” while visiting a peer of the realm. Sir Kenelm Digby mentions in a recipe how “two poached eggs with a few fine dry-fryed collops of pure Bacon, are not bad for break-fast”. At the time, eggs were regarded as luxury items on a par with chicken itself. It was not until the early 20th century when animal farming increased that eggs became part of Victorians breakfast. The eating of eggs and bacon grew in popularity as the urban population sought to imitate the lifestyle of a country estate.
The Crab and Lobster, Bembridge
The spread of the Full English Breakfast after World War I may be due to the increase in popularity in cookery columns in newspapers and in books. Contrary to modern dietary advice, the Full English Breakfast was advocated as “healthy eating”.The actual name became popular after World War II as British Army general Bernard Montgomery was said to have started every day with such a dish during the campaign in North Africa. By the late 1950s, after the end of rationing in the UK, it became the basic breakfast on offer in most UK hotels. Over the following decades additional elements were added such as leftover potatoes, which were fried. Mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans and black pudding similarly became regular additions. A few items such as kidneys as well as gravy, fell out of favour over time and have vanished from the dish.
The Full English Breakfast is now perceived not only as an essential aspect of British cuisine but part of the UK’s culture. It is one of the few British meals to have found favour with non-Brits and as a nation, we are proud and protective of it. It was once a meal reserved for the affluent but is now a dish accessible and enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Furthermore it continues to evolve, as Hash browns are now a regular addition to the existing classic elements. There are also vegan and vegetarian variants served, however contradictory that may seem. In many ways, the Full English Breakfast is a microcosm of the UK itself and a reflection of its diverse identity. As the nation continues to change, so does the dish. Hence, the Full English Breakfast of the next century may be very different from the one we enjoy now.
The Problem with “Adaptable” Recipes
It’s curious how some things that you think are simple and mundane, can turn into complex and time consuming problems. They go on to haunt you for years to come. In many ways such a scenario is a variation of the old idiom that “no good deed goes unpunished. So let me begin this story back in 2001 around Easter. A chance conversation arose about how people tend to buy cakes from the supermarket as opposed to making their own. This was just before baking shows became popular on TV. I subsequently referenced how my Mother used to make bread pudding back in the seventies. Needless to say, no sooner had I uttered those words, then I immediately desired the aforementioned dessert and it has been an albatross around my neck ever since. The problem isn’t that bread pudding is as rare as Tanzanite or rocking horse droppings. There are plenty of recipes available. Therein lies the rub. There are numerous regional and international variations. Too many in fact.
It’s curious how some things that you think are simple and mundane, can turn into complex and time consuming problems. They go on to haunt you for years to come. In many ways such a scenario is a variation of the old idiom that “no good deed goes unpunished. So let me begin this story back in 2001 around Easter. A chance conversation arose about how people tend to buy cakes from the supermarket as opposed to making their own. This was just before baking shows became popular on TV. I subsequently referenced how my Mother used to make Bread Pudding back in the seventies. Needless to say, no sooner had I uttered those words, then I immediately desired the aforementioned dessert and it has been an albatross around my neck ever since. The problem isn’t that Bread Pudding is as rare as Tanzanite or rocking horse droppings. There are plenty of recipes available. Therein lies the rub. There are numerous regional and international variations. Too many in fact.
So for those who are not familiar with the aforementioned “delicacy”, Wikipedia describes it thus. “Bread Pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines, made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet, and depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, or vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked”. They go on to mention a savoury version but that’s just crazy talk and the spawn of Beelzebub. So now that everyone’s au fait with bread pudding, I have spent the last twenty years trying to find a recipe that is close to how my Mother used to make it. Obviously, I asked her back in 2001 but she had mislaid the recipe. Subsequently interrogations have yielded less data as she is now in her nineties.
Now you may well be asking yourself, what exactly is the point I am trying to make here. Am I advocating that all family recipes should be committed to text and filed away for future reference. Well yes, but that is not my primary concern. I find that the sort of recipes that lend themselves to be “adapted” can be both a boon and a bane. Being able to easily expunge an ingredient that you don’t like and replace it with one that you do, without radically altering the dish, is a godsend. But some recipes have a tendency to be too flexible. Even nebulous. For example, Spaghetti Bolognese has many permutations. Chicken Tikka Masala is another. You could theoretically dine at a different Indian restaurant every day of the year, ordering the aforementioned dish and potentially have 365 meals of incredible diversity. Some may vary greatly from your expectations rendering them unpalatable. Conversely, a dish such as Beef Wellington is quite specific and doesn’t lend itself to radical augmentations.
Often one gains a liking for a particular meal either through dining together as a family or via a specific restaurant. Thus your perception and preferences for that meal are determined by the unique recipe of a family member or local chef. It can be confusing and sometimes even awkward, when you encounter somebody else’s version, especially if you don’t like their culinary interpretation. They might have removed the mushrooms or used shallots instead of regular onions. People can’t even agree as to the best way to make an omelette or even poach an egg. This is one of the reasons why fast food chains are so popular because they offer a homogeneous experience. A quarter pounder with cheese is virtually identical irrespective of whether you buy it from a McDonald’s in Kent or Aberdeenshire. It is comforting to know that you are going to have the same experience as last time, free from any “surprises”.
And so we return to the subject of Bread Pudding. I am finally reconciled to the fact that I shall never be able to recreate this dessert exactly as I experienced it in my youth. My Mother’s recipe has gone and so is my Mother in-law’s which came a very close second. I have however, discovered several variations that I do find quite palatable and the local Baker’s does one that is quite passable. I have even gone so far as to experiment myself and feel that using brown sugar and nutmeg are essential. As for the wider issues regarding “adaptable” recipes, I do tend to ask a lot more questions before ordering a meal in a restaurant. Most of the time, staff are happy to discuss what makes their version of a classic dish “different”. This often proves invaluable. Like many other things in life it’s best not to assume anything. Certainly don’t think, “I’ll order the Shepherd’s Pie. They can’t get that wrong”, because you’ll be surprised how they can.
