KIT
FOOD
NEWS
CALAMITOUS COOKS
Roast dinner, lasagne and a traditional
fry up are amongst the dishes Brits
can't cook properly, according to a new
study. Researchers have revealed the
top 20 dishes Brits regularly fail to serve
perfectly on every occasion - because
they are burnt, undercooked or hard to
deliver to the table at the same time. Eggs
prove particularly baffling, as omelette,
scrambled eggs and poached eggs are
all often served up too runny, stuck to the
pan, undercooked or over-boiled. Other
dishes Brits regularly cremate or serve
raw are pizza, Yorkshire puddings and
Victoria sponge.
The poll of 2,000 adults shows the
average person will endure a cooking
disaster at least three times a month
(36 meals ruined across the course of
one year). Speaking on behalf of Sharp
Home Appliances which conducted the
research,
The company's UK Sales and
Marketing Director, Andy Warren says,
"Our researchers discovered many adults
are suffering mishaps in the kitchen on
a regular basis, often because they're
rushing things and don't have the
time to spend poring over recipes or
getting the correct settings on the oven.
Distractions such as the children, the
television, work and even the pet dog can
make concentrating on the one matter
in hand difficult. And this is why we can
understand why many adults stick to the
same meals day in and day out for ease
and speed."
Time pressure being such a factor in
home life, it's often the reason meals get
mangled before they get to the table, so
folk tend to stick to dishes they can rely on.
Six meals on rotation
The study shows six in 10 British adults
rarely deviate from their repertoire of
familiar dishes because they usually go
wrong if they try to cook anything else.
This means the average family will eat
approximately six meals on rotation, to
lower the number of cooking disasters in
the home.
Three in 10 cooks will often serve
up mushy pasta or rice, while one in
six will often burn the edges of a dish
but discover it is still raw in the middle.
Adding too much salt, sugar or spice are
other common mistakes, as are serving
something raw or soggy by accident
leaving 15% of respondents to burst
into tears as a result of the dinner being
inedible, and 26% resorting to getting a
takeaway.
Warren says, "We understand that
most people don't have time to learn all
of the settings on their kitchen appliances,
and need to be able to knock up healthy
and nutritious meals in minutes. Our aim
at Sharp is to make cooking easy, fun and
enjoyable for everyone. This is why all of
our major domestic appliances are easy
to use and maintain."
www.sharphomeappliances.com
Top 10 disaster dishes:
1. Soufflé
2. Yorkshire puddings
3. Roast dinner
4. Omelette
5. Scrambled eggs
6. Poached eggs
7. Victoria sponge
8. Toad in the hole
9. Lasagne
10. Pasta carbonara
11. Crème Brule
12. Pancakes
13. Curry
14. Meringues
15. Pork chops
16. Dauphinoise potatoes
17. Risotto
18. Traditional fry up
19. Spaghetti Bolognese
20. Beef stew