Do you know how to poach an egg successfully? Do you know how to tell if an egg is fresh? And a challenge even to the experienced cook: do you know the secrets of making a good souffle? In this first programme of her classic cookery course, Delia Smith tackles eggs - a simple, cheap ingredient that almost everyone has in their cupboard.
Even the most confident cooks will sometimes confess that they can't make bread. In fact, with a bit of know-how, even a complete beginner can bake delicious wholemeal bread which, Delia Smith says, will taste better than most shop-bought loaves. She also shows how to make a classic plain white loaf.
This programme aims to take all the mystery out of making pastry. Do you really need to keep ingredients cool? What kind of fat gives the best results? Delia has the answer to these and other questions as well as demonstratIng several delicious recipes.
As a nation we eat far too little fish, yet fish is nutritious, easily digested and, best of all, quick to cook. In this programme, Delia Smith shows some basic and some more unusual ways of preparing a range of tasty fish dishes.
A roasting joint is an expensive ingredient these days. How can you be sure that the joint you buy will be tender and succulent to eat? Delia Smith has some advice on both choosing and cooking meat for roasting and pot-roasting.
A good sauce can enhance the flavour and texture of food, but how do you make sure you avoid lumps and curdling? In this programme Delia Smith shows how to make both simple and more demanding classic sauces.
Spices will add piquancy and distinction to anyone's cooking, but many of us are afraid of using too much or too little. In this programme Delia takes the mystique out of spices and explains how to use them to produce beautiful food.
We grow some of the best vegetables in the world in Britain. Yet we tend not to treat them with the respect they deserve. In this programme Delia attempts to redress the balance with some basic information on correct cooking plus, as usual, some delicious recipes.
Pulses, the whole family of beans and peas, are cheap, tasty and nutritious yet most of us have very little idea of their culinary possibilities. In this programme Delia shows how to make some unusual and economical meals from a range of pulses.
Britain has a splendid tradition of beautiful puddings which are easy to make and delightful to eat. In this programme, Delia explains the basic technique of steaming and makes several delicious and economical puddings.
