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30 Oddly Useful British Cooking Tricks That Actually Work

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This video was produced exclusively for British Nostalgia. We’ve dedicated this channel to preserving the heart of British domestic history—from the clever “Nan-approved” hacks that saved every penny to the forgotten recipes that defined a generation. Our goal is to provide a warm, immersive journey into the resilient spirit and unique traditions of the British Isles throughout the 20th century.

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45 Comments

  1. When you're saving money you don't have sugar cubes. They were for the upper class.
    A spoonful of super would have been more correct.

  2. You actually can add a minced or shredded/grated SMALL carrot to spaghetti sauce instead of sugar. it won't affect the taste and in today's world no one needs more sugar. Even if you bought cheap tomatoes, sugar is not an answer.

  3. I love my metal cracker tin!! I add a little baking soda to the water when I boil eggs, helps them peel easy. I have a wood bread 💰 n like the one you showed and I use it!! I put a bay leaves in my corn mill also.

  4. [Ohh Heston!] Raised around British people or adult children of them, on Vancouver Island, BC and I do all of these still. I have tin containers, not plastic or glass. [Freeze leftover gravy or freeze stock in ice cube trays] Store crisps in freezer take out a few as needed. My breadbin is tin, with a wooden cuttingboard for the lid. Some of the NA Baking Soda is not 100% pure anymore. Shop around. Also NA eggs are smaller.

  5. Don’t boil corn, microwave it for 4 minutes in the husks. Hot pad it out of the microwave, cut the end off, and slide the corn right out of the husks

  6. My mom used to do a special salaf Sunday's onions,cucumber and tomatoes soaked in a vinegar mixture (but lve never managed to the recipe right) it had to stand for a few hours 🎉and was refreshing in summer. Some old recipes are good but you dont need bicarbonate soda for roast potatoes just the right technique, my dad taught me how to cook Sunday dinner just by my watching every Sunday (his dad was a Chef at a well known London hotel).l taught my daughter to cook perfect roast potatoes, you always par boil potatoes,lalways sliced potatoes in half long side so no chunky (like you get in public eating places especially pubs) pieces, made sure sure fat(goose or duck but still works with healthier oils vegetable or corn oil,not tried olive) then turn down temperature to continue cooking and when nice and soft turn up heat to brown off. Im 76 so lm not a novice although lm not bothered about food and to be honest can't be bothered to cook so eat ready meals and simple meals consisting of just meat, sometimes with mushrooms or my favourite bread and butter with Bass which my dog 3B gets the skin on bread and butter.

  7. What is "number 20 second"? You can make hard or soft boiled eggs in a kettle. Put the eggs in cold water a plastic bag in a kettle. Turn it on and after it turns off wait 7 minutes for soft boiled or a couple more minutes for hard. That may vary a little depending on your kettle and how much water you use.

  8. I use a tablespoon of lamb fat,drained from frying lamb chops or roasting a rack of lamb, for roasting potatoes. Crispy and delicious with a light herb flavour from the lamb fat.
    Also run some water over bacon rashers and then drop into a tiny amount of oil. The water droplets heat up, explode and crisps the fat molecules. Absolutely delicious crispy and non greasy bacon.

  9. My mother in wartime rationing used to serve up baby parsnips (or turnips), cooked in banana essence, with custard, and no-one questioned it! (Why would we, no-one had seen a banana since 1939!)

  10. I go through so much coriander and parsley I think I'd need to hedge my property with the stuff. Small pot on the windowsil would last me 1 salad.

  11. I was always told if my pasta is going to have sauce to NOT oil it, the sauce wont stick to the pasta.

  12. My mum is 84 , she made a good Son out of me iam in my 50s. If a Food shortage comes,, i make good from my home grown food, simple
    Ingredients, Taste comforting made with Wholesome love and care . I just need a girlfriend to spoil lol . Just messing iam fine single ❤ This is awesome advice, some i never knew ❤ New sub all day long. 😊 ps i worked at Mcvites in the 90s
    They took care of the recipe. My last bit , my scrambled Eggs i just add a bit of water. Whoosh them up job done with some salt ❤

  13. So-called never known tips, have been talked about over and over again. It does depend on tastebuds, I like the tartness of tomatoes without sugar. And will never add it.

  14. We have always heated our plates for hot hot meals and I get fed up that so few restaurants do this, I ask the waiter to ensure thry do it.

  15. We also put a drop of vinegar in the water for doing hard boiled eggs too just in case the shell cracks when they come to the boil . Same as poaching you mentioned that the white sets immediately.

  16. Used cold pan bacon all my life, why bother with oil or butter, put the bacon rind-side close to the middle, medium heat and the rind crisps beautifully

  17. Aubergines now no longer need salting. You don't need tye bicarb trick on potatoes. Boil for 5 minutes or so, drain in a colander and shake to roughen the edges, and you'll get crispy roast potatoes.

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