Guides

Short, practical pieces about the parts of cooking that quietly go wrong — and what to do instead. No listicles, no life story before the recipe.

• Why a cup of flour isn't a cup of flour

  The same recipe, measured twice, can differ by a quarter of its flour. What a measuring cup actually measures, why baking notices and stew doesn't, and the fifteen-dollar fix.

• What your ingredients are called elsewhere

  Aubergine and eggplant, coriander and cilantro, bicarbonate of soda and baking soda. The names the same ingredient goes by across English and eight other languages.

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