Despite what various naysayers may tell you, we live in a golden age of food media. OK, so maybe the television side of things needs a bit of work (I for one will die a happy woman if I never see another twee woman icing cakes in her giant kitchen for example), but when it comes to the online side of things, there’s a cornucopia of culinary wonder at your fingertips.
I fully confess that I’m a total geek when it comes to the world of food blogs. I can happily spend an entire weekend browsing through the hundred or so I have piled up on my Google Reader, swooning over pictures of freshly-prepared pastas and sandwiches groaning with delicious fillings, meticulously cataloguing recipes and taking notes on the best method of making risotto.
But while there’s something wonderful about being able to access a vast array of recipes just by typing the names of three ingredients into Google, there’s also something quite daunting about food websites. Some of them are written because the blogger genuinely loves food and the joy of sharing a good meal with others, while others only exist because the writer is gunning for a free lunch and a book deal. Many appear to be little more than photo galleries detailing the authors’ picture perfect kitchen and family. With so much choice out there, how do you know that the recipe you stumble upon while idly browsing is going to work? And how do you find the best resources for your own personal tastes amid the staggering array of content out there?
Each month, I’m going to choose five of the best food resources on the web for a different style of cooking: from baking to barbecue. Some you may have heard of, and some you won’t, but all of them will contain delicious recipes, high-quality writing and (relatively) little ego-tripping.
To start with, here are five of my favourite all-rounders – the food blogs I turn to repeatedly, regardless of whether I’m looking for serious inspiration or just something quick to make for lunch.
BBC FOOD: OK, so this is a bit of an obvious one to start with, but the BBC Food website is an excellent resource for the beginner cook (if you can successfully avoid the numerous bonkers ‘Ready-Steady-Cook’ concoctions, that is – some of those really aren’t fit for human consumption). If you’re stuck for ideas, you can just type the names of ingredients into a box and it will generate a multitude of different meal suggestions – great when you’re stuck for what you should make for dinner and you’ve only got an onion and half a jar of
capers in your fridge.
SERIOUS EATS: Arguably the Queen of food blogs, Serious Eats is a treasure trove of recipes, methodology (their ‘Food Lab’ column is a must if you’re at all interested in the science of cookery) and pictures of truly amazing, drool-inducing food. This is not a website to peruse when you’re feeling hungry, but it is one you should definitely add to your Google Reader if you ever require culinary inspiration. Need a good place to start? Check out their extensive gallery of sandwiches of the world – although it may make your lunchtime M&S baguette seem slightly underwhelming by comparison.
EAT LIKE A GIRL: Acolyte of bread, butter and all things bacon, Eat Like a Girl is a feast for the senses. Niamh (the ‘Girl’ in question) is a lover of food and travel and her blog is filled with beautiful pictures of all the places she’s visited, as well as recipes for all the various dishes she’s sampled along the way. Make sure you try her Overnight Shoulder of Pork with Spiced Apple Sauce and Blaas (a type of Irish bread roll). It takes a bit of careful planning, but the results are decadent and delicious.
FOOD STORIES: Lover of Peckham, Pies and Pork (especially when it comes in Jerk form), Food Stories is full of fantastic recipes and funny writing. It’s long been one of my favourite food blogs and I’m yet to find a dud dish on there. If you make only one thing from Helen’s site, make sure it’s her Lamb Kofta Curry. Not only does it feed a large crowd of hungry people, but it also produces some of the best-tasting meatballs you’ll ever eat.
SMITTEN KITCHEN: Smitten Kitchen is one of the most popular food blogs out there and, looking through its archives, it’s not difficult to see why. It’s full of simple yet sumptuous looking dishes, many of which you can put together with minimal kitchen equipment and ingredients easily picked up in any supermarket. Author Deb never talks down to you – the whole blog’s full of warm effusive language that makes it feel less like a recipe website and more like a warm chatty email from a friend. Pretty much every cake recipe from here is absolute dynamite, and I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t include a link to her butterscotch sauce (which is so good that I’ve been known to drink batches of the stuff straight out of the saucepan).
Next time I’ll be looking at baking blogs and showing you the best picks for all things doughy and delicious. Until then, do let us know what your favourite all-rounder food blogs are. Is there anything I’ve missed?