Trustworthy is defined in the dictionary as reliable, dependable, tried and true. Unfortunately a lot of the viral videos tested in this series have been tried and found wanting. Does the publishing of disinformation (deliberate spread of information that you know is false for your own gain) really matter in how-to and cooking videos? ... »
Australia is moving towards easing restrictions, beauticians allowed to reopen, school is returning and groups of 20 can gather again in a weeks time. From the news, conversations with subscribers and patrons I know that some parts of the world are still very much in lock-down with covid-19 numbers out of control. For those ... »
What strange times. In an effort to 'flatten the curve' and not overwhelm hospitals, so we can reduce deaths from covid-19, citizens in every country seem to be in lock-down or isolation. Depending on who you are and what situation you are in isolation seems to be bringing up four main states of mind. ... »
Caramel: 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon glucose syrup or corn syrup Place the sugar, water and glucose syrup into a pan. Stir over high heat until it is boiling and the sugar has dissolved. Wash down the sides of the pan using a wet pastry brush and leave to boil, unstirred over ... »
I learnt a new word this week, disinformation. I had of course heard of misinformation before but there is an important difference between these two words. While both of them communicate something that is not true, misinformation is not done deliberately. For example someone who does not have all the facts ... »
In the video I will show you two ways you can make these chocolate truffles, one if you have molding gel and one if you do not. Either way it will make an impressive gift for your foodie or art loving friends. To make these chocolate truffles you will need: For the chocolate shell: White chocolate ... »
In 2020 the fake cooking videos continue to circulate and are highly successful with the algorithm on youtube and facebook. By rewarding these videos with views and therefore money youtube and facebook are enabling the proliferation of misinformation. On top of that as these ones thrive other channels that strive to make accurate ... »
I introduced you to Hannah Glasse in the last 200 year old video that I made for you, if you missed her life story you can catch up on that here. This week I am making Grand Trifle from the 260 Year old cookbook 'The Complete Confectioner' by Hannah Glasse. Back then you ... »
Are the Netflix "Nailed It' challenges impossible? That's the question I asked myself when I saw this show. The program gave inexperienced or self proclaimed 'bad' bakers just 45 minutes to recreate a princess doll cake. The cakes, shown below, have a high level of detail most of which can not be ... »
Reading old cookbooks gives us an insight into the lives of women who lived long ago. Preparing desserts was a cumbersome and time consuming process. Imagine hand peeling and grating a pound of almonds to get almond meal. Or pounding sugar in a mortar and pestle to make icing sugar. ... »
Vegan Macarons Recipe 100g (3.53 ounces) aqua faba (Take the liquid from 2 tins of and boil until you have 100mL (3.38 fluid ounces) left, cool) 75g (2.65 ounces) caster sugar 1/2 tsp cream of tar tar 150g (5.29 ounces) almond meal 150g (5.29 ounces) icing sugar Whip the aqua faba, caster sugar and cream of tartar on high speed until it resembles egg whites. Sift the almond meal and icing .... »
To make a gingerbread house from scratch that is this detailed from you need to set aside days not hours. If you don't have days then there are a few things you should take from this post. Number one: homemade gingerbread tastes one hundred times better than store bought kits. Number ... »
The artwork on the wall appeared to move, at first I thought it was a video but then I realised it was a clever optical illusion, unlike anything I'd seen before. Patrick Hughes invented reverse perspective, a 3D art form where what is close to you appears in the distance, so it tricks you ... »
How big is the problem? Through these debunking videos I hope to raise awareness of “fake baking and DIY” phenomenon — fabricated how-to's that present as factual, mixed in with real ones which escalated confusion. Inaccurate content on YouTube and Facebook is not new, but the scale and professional level on which they are now being produced ... »
Making a cake for a special occasion is such a lovely gesture. If the cake fails you may be able to laugh it off and just enjoy the taste, despite the looks. But what if you really wanted it to look good? Here are three ideas on how to rescue ... »
Join the conversation, vote in the poll on the video and add to the comments. What is your opinion? If someone follows a how-to tutorial exactly as it is shown in a video and gets hurt who is to blame? Is it the video creator? The platform that hosts the video? ... »
Baking in a 1/12th scale dollhouse kitchen is very tricky. Obviously because everything in the video is to scale it can be hard to convey just how small it really is. The island bench top is only 5cm (1.97 inches) wide. Perhaps the biggest challenge when filming, apart from knocking things off the bench, ... »
To make this surprise inside money cake you will need: 150g (5.29 ounces) white fondant 32 x 45g (1.59 ounces) kitkats 3 x my rich chocolate cake recipe baked in four tins, my trays are 15" x 10" Triple quantity of chocolate buttercream Simple syrup (make using 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water heated in the microwave until the sugar ... »
Meringue recipe for domes and circles (makes 45 domes and bases when piped in 3.5cm (1.38 inches) circles) 300g (10.58 ounces) caster sugar or super fine sugar 6 egg whites Beat on high speed until glossy and thick. Pipe as shown in the video and bake for 90 minutes at 100C (212 degrees Fahrenheit). Crispy meringue for the outside 250g (8.82 ounces) caster sugar or super fine sugar 4 egg wh... »
This week we are looking at baking hacks from my great grandmothers one hundred year old cookbook. Some of these are common sense, others are weird and one is genius. To test the hacks that regarding cakes I used the 100 year old cake recipes from the same book. I have ... »
A recent video by Blossom (First Media) showed all sorts of apparent food adulteration and left people questioning 'is my meat stuck together with meat glue?' ... 'is my salt fake?" ... "is there plastic in rice?" and "is there washing powder in ice-cream?" All these questions and more will be answered in this video. Claim: ... »
Toppled cakes, broken cakes and even a crumbly mess can all be rescued with these three strategies. No one will ever know that there was a cake failure involved. Follow the techniques in the video above to repair broken cakes. Prevention is better than cure, so here's a few tips. Allow yourself more time! I feel ... »
Have you ever wondered if they had cakes and desserts in Ancient Rome? Well back in 79AD Mt Vesuvius erupted burying Pompeii and other villas and areas nearby in ash, debris and lava. Because the remaining people believed the area to be cursed they did not rebuild. Nearly two thousand years ... »
This is one of those projects that was much easier in my head than in reality. However, now that I have the technique figured out, you should be able to recreate your own chocolate balloon dog. Just be prepared for some patience as there is a fair bit of repetition involved in ... »
