Welcome to Helpwithcooking.com, part of the 'helpwith' series of websites. This site is for all those people who love to mess about and experiment in the kitchen.

Within this site you will find some great cooking tips and advice.

Recent Updates and Additions...

Below is a summary of the different sections within helpwithcooking.com:

Metric Converter

Metric Conversion is a subject that can come up regularly when using international recipes. For this reason we have included a guide to metric conversion along with automatic imperial & metric convertors for weight and capacity.

Temperature Chart

Our quick check temperature chart gives different comparisons between the different units used to indicate temperature settings. There is also a temperature calculator in the metric conversions section.

Poultry Cooking Guides

Inside this section you will find a whole host of topics, with information on just about everything you need to know about poultry. The guide starts with tips on choosing the best poultry products available in your local supermarket and goes on to inform you of how to refrigerate or freeze your poultry products once you arrive home.

For those of you who are more adept or particularly daring in the kitchen, there are a number of sections that will take you step by step through the processes of cutting up and dividing (boning and jointing) a whole chicken or turkey.

The following sections are all to do with roasting poultry, starting with stuffing and trussing your chosen bird and then leading on to the various stages of roasting, carving and serving the cooked poultry.

If you are wondering what to do with all of the poultry leftovers, carcass and bones, read our sections on how to make a poultry gravy or stock.

Finally, we have added several sections that include a number of popular and mouth-watering recipes for you to try out in the kitchen.

Seafood and Shellfish Guides

The seafood and shellfish guide gives you all the necessary information on how to choose, store and cook various types of seafood and shellfish.

Each section starts with an introduction, which includes information on their different species, where they can be found in the world, the major importers and exporters and their nutritional value.

Next we inform you of how to check whether the seafood is fresh and healthy and then on how to store the seafood once you have brought it home. You may think that this will be quite tricky, as most seafood must be bought live, however, after reading our guide and seeing how simple it really is, you might be tempted to cook your own fresh seafood at home. Why not try some of our delicious recipes?

Most seafood can be cooked by using a variety of different cooking techniques, for example, boiling, steaming or grilling and our guide will take you step by step through each cooking method.

Egg Cooking Guides

Our guide to eggs offers some excellent information on all sorts of egg related topics. You can find out about the different types of eggs available on the market, how to buy and store eggs and also some interesting information on the nutritional value of eggs. Did you know that eggs are not as bad for you as doctors once thought?

Within this section you will learn how to tell if an egg is fresh or not, how to separate the egg white from the egg yolk and we provide you with loads of information on how to cook eggs, whether its frying, boiling, or preparing scrambled eggs.

Pastry Cooking Guides

Although our pastry guide section looks small, it is deceivingly so, as it is packed full of useful information on just about everything related to making pastry, the utensils and techniques required and baking delicious pies.

In the introduction to pastry you will find details on the standard ingredients needed to make all types of pastry plus a section on the best tips to make a perfect pastry.

The pastry techniques section covers all details and instructions on how to cover a pie dish, making a two-crust pie, lining a flan tin with pastry and baking blind.

The shortcrust pastry and pie section is the best section, as it contains all the mouth-watering recipes for some of your favourite sweet and savoury pies including apple pie, cherry pie, strawberry pie and sweet potato pie.

Not only this, but you will also find exact details and instructions plus the best methods and tips on how to make a perfect shortcrust and rich shortcrust pastry.

Guide to Sauces

Many people are not too keen on preparing sauces and what's more they don't even know how. Our introduction to sauces gives you basic information about the different types of sauces, the base ingredients needed to make a sauce and the various methods that you can use to prepare one.

After realizing that it is not so difficult after all to make a homemade sauce from scratch, why not try some of our recipes for the most popular sauces, such as barbeque sauce, béchamel sauce, pesto and even mayonnaise. Each sauce-related page contains general information on the history and method of preparing the sauce plus a selection of different recipes for you to try.

Nutritional Guide

This section is all about the food we eat and the foods that we should be eating in order to stay healthy.

We focus on each of the five nutritional groups in turn and have also added a section on fibre, which is also an important component of our diet.

The introduction to nutrition gives a brief outline of each of the major food groups and explains why learning about nutrition is so important.

The following sections take a more detailed look at the five food types: carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals and water, and give interesting information on their function in the body, in which foods they can be found, the amounts that we should be eating and the effect that too much or too little can have on our health.

Food Storage Guides

The food storage guides look at ways to help preserve food, including amongst other topics, a guide to the shelf life of different foods, ideal temperatures, home refrigeration & freezing tips.