Whether you love him or think he’s a loose cannon, there’s no way Heston Blumenthal could've crafted the elaborate, mind-bogglingly unusual dishes he’s renowned for, without first having mastered the basics. Up until now, he's showered us with spam fritters and edible dirt in Heston's Feasts. Now, he's ready to divulge cooking knowledge we can actually use.
Rather than a step-by-step on how to turn sardines into sorbet, a new show, How To Cook Like Heston, has the Michelin-star chef breakdown basic recipes and techniques most of us assume we long ago mastered.
Each episode of the six-part series hones in on a single ingredient, giving Heston ample reign to explore, explain and enhance the way we cook at home. In the potato episode, for example, he highlights the differences between floury and waxy types, and the starch factor of each (big potato = lots of starch, small potato = not so much). He also offers a simple technique for trapping the starch, resulting in a creamier, fluffier, less-gluggy mash than we’ve thus far brought to our lips.
In the egg episode, Heston dispels the myths of poaching eggs, namely that 1) you must create a whirlpool in which to drop your egg, and 2) That vinegar must be added to the water. Instead, Heston stresses the importance of a fresh egg, and offers his fool-proof (and embarrassingly simple) method involving a plate in the bottom of your saucepan, a slotted spoon and a cooking thermometer.
Heston’s indisputable expertise, imagination and sense of fun will radically change the way you cook beef, chocolate, eggs, chicken, cheese and potatoes forever.
How To Cook Like Heston starts 8pm Thursday, 29 March on SBS ONE.
What would you like to see Heston cook?
