How to cook like a pro
From shucking oysters and de-pipping pomegranates to sharpening a knife faster than
Gordon Ramsay can say the F-word, the Taste team will show you how to master the
finer tricks of the chef's trade. Want to know how to do something?
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An SA first: Free-from-lactose dairy products
In a first for South Africa, Woolworths has introduced a new fresh free-from-lactose range of milk and yoghurt products
Blanch
Blanching is a technique by which food is plunged into boiling water and then into iced water to halt the cooking process.
Chef Thandi Maphai, a lecturer at the HTA Culinary School of Art in Johnnesburg, shares her five top blanching tips:
1. Add plenty of salt to your water – this will not only season your vegetables evenly, but will also help maintain the brightness of chlorophyll in them.
2 Trim the vegetables just before cooking so that they don’t oxidise and dehydrate.
3 Add the vegetables to the boiling water in small batches so that the water doesn’t “lose its boil”.
4 Remove the vegetables from the boiling water as quickly as possible and plunge into an ice bath (a medium-sized bowl filled with ice and cold water).
5 Drain and serve immediately.
PRACTISE YOUR BLANCHING WITH THESE RECIPES