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The best hot cross buns in Britain: Nine top-end bakeries on test
You can buy them all-year round these days (and a good thing too) yet this is still the time of year to celebrate and enjoy hot cross buns. The Country Life team put some of the fanciest on the market to the test. All in the name of consumer research, naturally...
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How to make creamy chicken and spring-onion cobbler
Spring onions are for more than merely salads, says our Kitchen Garden Cook Melanie Johnson.
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A superb salmon dish to bring out the best in the new crop of Jersey Royals
Melanie Johnson shares a salmon recipe ideal to go with 'perfect' Jersey Royals.
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Tom Parker Bowles: All hail the glory of the gratin
A no-nonsense feast to gird the belly and quicken the heart, the gratin — whether it be slathered over meat, fish or vegetables — is all about an indulgent excess of cream topped by crispy cheese, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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Michel Roux Jr: My eight favourite dishes of a lifetime
The award-winning chef and broadcaster Michel Roux Jr chooses the eight dishes he couldn't live without.
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How to eat seasonally in March: Tom Parker Bowles shares tips and recipes
Eating seasonally in March is a real treat, as Tom Parker Bowles explains.
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Chef Mike Robinson on everything you need to know about venison — plus a superb wild venison recipe
Chef, restaurateur and deerstalker Mike Robinson talks venison, and shares one of his favourite recipes using this superb meat.
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How to use oranges to brighten up your February food, by Tom Parker Bowles
It may look a little dull compared with other fruit, but the zingy orange was once the preserve of kings and nothing beats its sweet and sharp magic when it comes to brightening up a dreary winter day, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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Curious Questions: Can you trust expiry dates on food?
Best before and use-by dates claim to show us when our food is likely to have gone off — but how are they figured out, how did we do without them, and do we really need them? Martin Fone investigates and finds a tale of dodgy food, dodgier dates, and an unlikely side-hustle run by the legendary gangster Al Capone.
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Curious Questions: Who invented the fork?
Once viewed with suspicion, forks remained the preserve of royalty until nearly 200 years ago. Matthew Dennison takes a stab at the king of cutlery, which changed the way we eat.
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Six weird and wonderful vegetables you should be growing in your garden
Whether you are looking for new flavours to tickle your tastebuds or something different to grow in your garden, little beats obscure — and sometimes strange-looking — vegetables, says Mark Diacono.
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How to make butter chicken with broccoli
‘Broccoli is an exciting green at a time of year when the kitchen garden feels a little sparse,' says our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson as she shares this recipe.
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Curious Questions: Do Brussels sprouts come from Brussels in Belgium?
As healthy as they are divisive, Martin Fone takes a look at the humble Brussels sprout. Why do we eat them at Christmas? Does anybody eat them during the rest of the year? And do they really come from Brussels?
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Soup: The universally-adored comfort food, offering reassurance, consolation, succour and delight
Whether it’s a laborious bouillabaisse, a sophisticated French consommé or a citrusy avgolemono, no dish is as comforting or democratic as soup, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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Seven of the best non-alcoholic spirits to help get you through Dry January
Whether you’re doing it for health reasons or simply for a New Year’s challenge, giving up alcohol isn’t necessarily all that easy. To help you on your way, the Country Life office put a variety of non-alcoholic spirits to the test. Here’s what we found.
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Tom Parker Bowles on how to eat seasonally in January
Throughout the year, Tom Parker Bowles will be sharing his advice on how to eat seasonlly, month-by-month. We kick things off with his tips on January — which include an outstandingly enticing recipe for blood orange sorbet.
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Hangover cures from some of Britain's greatest writers
From Hemingway to Wodehouse, we reveal the hangover remedies of literary greats.
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How to cook a goose if you're having one for Christmas, by Tom Parker Bowles
They may be notoriously vicious and loud, but, once cooked, geese promise succulent dark meat and delectably tasty fat, especially at Christmas, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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The best Christmas food in Britain — including 'the Rolls-Royce of turkey' — as chosen by Tom Parker Bowles
Christmas offers a chance to celebrate all those great food producers who work so passionately to ensure that our feast is as ethical as it is delicious. Tom Parker Bowles applauds some of the very best.
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Curious Questions: Is there a 'right' way up to use aluminium foil?
As we prepare to embark upon the season of wrapping leftover foodstuffs, Martin Fone answers a question that's been bugging us for years: is it dull side up and shiny side down, or the other way around?
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Perfect roast goose recipe from Mark Hix
Cooking the perfect Christmas goose, with delicious gravy, is a fantastic way to celebrate Christmas. Mark Hix explains how it's done.
