News — HomesAndGardens

Even the most mundane task, such as chopping onions, can become pleasurable when you have the right kit. We took a selection of sets and blocks into our testers’ kitchens (ranging from amateur chefs to first-time cooks) and asked them to spend a couple of weeks trying each set. There were surprises along the way, low-budget blades became essentials – for example the serrated ‘tomato and sausage’ knife from Victorinox’s block – and stylish knives like the Japanese trio made everyday prep just that little bit more enjoyable. When choosing knives, you need to consider whether you’re willing to take...

But aside from altering what you eat, you may also want to alter how you cook it. Air fryers are one such gadget that claims to cook the food you love, but in a much healthier way. Requiring little or no oil, the counter-top ‘fryers’ are convection ovens that circulate heat to cook your food. Cooking items often much quicker than a regular oven, giving them a crispy texture, the results are similar to frying, but with significantly less fat. They’re also less messy than frying and easy to keep clean. And they’re versatile, able to cope with anything from...

So hard wearing! So utilitarian. Turns out I’d been fooled – concrete might be a bog-standard ingredient in the building industry, but it’s a prima donna when you want to turn it into a countertop. I quickly discover that the primary ballast mix can be bought cheaply enough but that getting something that looks good is anything but straightforward. There is almost limitless online guides to what type of concrete you can use for different effects, the methods of pouring, how you make shuttering to hold it in place when it is wet and how to reinforce it. It’s information...