大象传媒

In this week's The Food Programme, we consider what our kitchens reveal about us and the times we live in. Ten years ago new kitchens were designed as showy-offy, minimalist, modernist areas in which there was an almost theatrical attitude to the preparation of food. In the high street the current trend is for traditional-looking kitchens. But the new kitchen isn't frilly. It's not based on the . It's a much more streamlined version of the past. The kitchen is reflecting the kind of cooking we want to do. It's all about integrity and natural ingredients. Our kitchens are trying to be as ruggedly timeless as Rick Stein, or as easygoing as Jamie Oliver.

Kitchens as a design area are a very recent innovation. We only started considering what they should look like when we had to start using them - when we stopped either having servants, or when it stopped being the only room we lived in. We talk in the programme about how George IV (or Prince Regent as he was then) created the first ever show kitchen at the .

Most of our housing stock was built between 1880-1930 and the kitchen was a small - either for the wife or the downstairs maid. There was never anything spoiling about it. By the 1930s it was the first area where modernism started sneaking in - the and the ideas - because it's the most practical space in the house.

Is this your perfect kitchen? Image credit: design*sponge

But it was my parents' generation that really discovered the kitchen. The kitchens that I grew up in - in the late 60s and early 70s - were resplendent, eye-catching, indulgent, designer spaces that were all about undulating, richly saturated wallpaper, avocado tiles and bits and pieces brought back from France. There was a link between that confident attitude and the kind of food that was being cooked in these kitchens. It was nourishing, outward-looking and inspired by travel.

Since then one of the problems we've got with our kitchens is that they've never been so big. We've had extensions, knocked walls through and annexed to create extremely large, unwieldy spaces. The kitchen has become the principle reception room, which is why you should decorate it as a sitting room and not as a machine for cooking.

So does a kitchen need to be clean and practical above all? Of course it needs to be ergonomic, but . I'm a big fan of putting things like table lamps on kitchen surfaces so that you can knock off the overhead lighting when you no longer need it. I like wallpaper, art and mirrors in kitchens, taking good design aesthetics and principles from all around the house. It'll be a while before I start introducing shag-pile carpets into the kitchen, but I'll never say never! My kitchen has been recently pilloried by as looking like an overdose of first thing in the morning. It's certainly very orange and very, very pink - maybe a reflection of my unusual family, and that we like our environment to be personality driven and unique.

Hopefully we're becoming less obsessed with the idea that where we live should be a monetary investment above all else. Maybe we can relax a little. We're stuck with our kitchens for a while and so we can let our hair down a bit. We don't have to worry what an estate agent will think if they come round and see that we've painted our kitchen Berocca and pink. Kitchens are now being created to give the ideal environment to relate to each other as a family unit.

What's your kitchen like and what do you think it says about you and the kind of food you like to eat? What would be your perfect kitchen design?

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is guest presenter on The Food Programme.

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The viewers' pictures section in 大象传媒 Two鈥檚 Something for the Weekend has long been one of our favourite bits of the show. We love checking out the successes and failures that you鈥檝e have had from recipes on the site and hearing Simon鈥檚 comments on the pictures. Here's a tasty selection of pictures that you鈥檝e sent in from recent weeks:

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Top left: Maia Morris from St Albans, Herts made the raspberry freezer cake for dinner with friends. She is pictured here with husband Jamie and says 鈥渋t was really tasty!鈥�

Top right: Alex Payne, pictured here with his girlfriend of six years Jenni Archer, made Simon鈥檚 chicken and apricot tagine. They are from Fallowfield, Manchester.

Second left: Pictured here is Hayley Prescott. Her sister Kelsey baked the blueberry coffee crumble cake. They both live in Onchan, Isle of Man.

Second right: Sharon from Saltash in Cornwall made Simon鈥檚 sweet and sour chicken cups for her boyfriend Alan. She says, 鈥渋t was a great dish that went down really well!鈥�
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Third left: Here are Al, Jen, Beth, Phil and Katy (from left to right) from Stockport. They made the baked paella salad.听
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Third right: Stephanie (on the left) and Ailsa from London made the chocolate berry swirl cake. Ailsa made it for Stephanie before she left to move to Australia. They both say that the show has helped them learn to cook.

Bottom left: James and Joyce Campbell also made the baked paella salad. They are from Edinburgh. Joyce (a radiographer) is a great cook but since James recently retired from the NHS (as an orthopedic consultant) Joyce makes him do some of the cooking.听听

Bottom right: Rachael Port from Southampton (pictured here with her cat Satch) made the cherry chocolate pavlova.

What do you think? Could some of these home cooks give Simon a run for his money? Do send us your pictures to feature on the show in future.

Ramona Andrews is the host of the 大象传媒 Food Q&A blog and messageboard.

We foodies can tend to enjoy a little point-scoring when recalling our holiday adventures, which is the thinking behind this list of some of the best food experiences to be had in the world. It鈥檚 by no means complete. Could it ever be? But go on, have a go ticking off all the foodie fun you鈥檝e ever had by comparing your experiences with the list below and letting us know how you score.

Have you...?

• Eaten a Cornish pasty in Cornwall 鈥� 1 point.
• Feasted on moules in Brussels 鈥� 2 points. (Deduct one point for eating them on Rue des Bouchers.)
• Bought a whole rotisserie chicken from 鈥� 2 points. (An extra point if you cleaned up the bones with your fingers 谩 la Dominique Bretodeau from the movie.)
• Eaten (rotten/fermented herring) outdoors on a summer鈥檚 evening in Sweden 鈥� 2 points (1 extra point per shot of Snapps had; 3 extra points for joining in with the drinking songs).
• Drunk a pint of Guinness at the top of the Guinness factory in Dublin 鈥� 2 points.
• Sat down to a meal in the in Marrakech - 3 points. (Give yourself an extra two points for shunning the tourist stalls and wandering over to the locals鈥� haunts and sampling sheep鈥檚 brains or snail soup.)
• Eaten fish and chips in 鈥檚 Marine Parade 鈥� 2 points. (An extra 1 point if it was out of newspaper; 2 points if it was made with sustainable fish).
• Sampled a single malt whisky (or two) in an 鈥� 2 points. (Deduct one point if you鈥檝e forgotten the name of the whisky).
• Eaten past茅is de natas () with a strong coffee in Portugal 鈥� 2 points. (An extra point if it was in Bel茅m, Lisbon next to the .)
• Eaten Jordan鈥檚 national dish, , from a platter moulding the rice into balls with your right hand while your left is placed behind your back 鈥� 3 points.
• Eaten bobotie in Cape Town with the locals 鈥� 3 points.
• Fought your way through the crowds at and enjoyed a picnic of treats by the river 鈥� 2 points.
• Scoffed a plate of kalamari straight from the sea in a taverna on a Greek island 鈥� 2 points.
• Snacked on at a tacquer铆a in Mexico City 鈥� 2 points. (Five extra points if you persuaded the stall holder to give you the secret recipe.)
• Visited a Welsh tea room and eaten a plate of bara birth slathered in butter with a cup of tea 鈥� 2 points (Two extra points if the tea room was in ).
• Ordered a hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread with pickle in a New York deli 鈥� 2 points.
• Enjoyed a fried fish sandwich in a boat moored off - 4 points. (Didn鈥檛 throw up due to sea sickness? One extra point.)
• Eaten a falafel from an Israeli stand 鈥� 2 points (1 extra point if the stall holder flipped the falafel balls into the air and caught them in the pitta).
• Eaten a in Kyoto, Japan 鈥� 3 points.
• Caught your own fish, gutted it yourself and cooked it over an open fire 鈥� 2 points.
• Eaten curry goat with rice 鈥榥鈥� peas and dumpling in a beach shack restaurant overlooking the Caribbean Sea 鈥� 2 points.
• Snacked from a bag of fried insects from the Khaosan Road in Bangkok - 1 point each for trying grasshoppers, crickets, silk larvae, weevils or the much-prized scorpions.
• Eaten a chicken kebab at , Tulloch Road, Mumbai 鈥� 5 points. (Give yourself an extra two points if you ate off a car bonnet.)

10 points or less 鈥� Your idea of adventurous eating is tucking into your packed lunch before 12 noon on a car ferry. You probably pack supplies of oatcakes and dried fruit on your holiday, just in case the local nosh isn鈥檛 up to scratch. Go on, gamble on a local speciality and venture away from that resort restaurant.

25 points or less 鈥� You part-time foodie. You might like to book the local destination restaurant on your hols, but that reservation isn鈥檛 essential to your overall happiness and the quality of your vacation. So what if the guidebook recommended best-ever sushi/fondue/steak/pizza/currywurst restaurant is closed the weekend you鈥檙e in town, the place next door looks just as buzzing and authentic. You could either acknowledge that it鈥檚 time to take your foodie-ness to another level, or just relax enjoying the fact that gastronomy is still a pleasure and not an obsession.

26 points or more 鈥� You are a gastro tourist, and won鈥檛 order so much as a breadstick before checking recommendations on Twitter. Every hotel pillow mint and take-away coffee is recorded in great detail on your 鈥榯rip report鈥� post on . You need to relax a little, start your next holiday by eating one of those pre-prepared paninis on a budget flight. Remember you can鈥檛 at 20,000 feet.

So now, it鈥檚 over to you. What do you think should go onto the essential 鈥榞astro tour bingo鈥� list?

Ramona Andrews is the host of the 大象传媒 Food Q&A blog and messageboard.

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I really don't have an addictive personality and consider myself a surprise convert to this most compelling and aptly friendly social media. Yet, I confess, it was difficult the other night to tear myself away from tweeting the editor of the UK's top catering magazine what I'd recommend eating at Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social; talking with fellow food and travel journalists about the new Mandarin Oriental Paris and my interview with its outspoken modernist chef Thierry Marx; and gleaning culinary gossip on new London restaurant openings. In a nutshell, this explains what makes a proudly traditional print media journalist such an enthralled advocate of social media and especially . Even though it does mean I often burn the midnight oil finishing deadlines.

True die-hard tweeters were already at it back in 2009. Twitter seemed merely an indulgent and often frivolous way of legitimately eavesdropping on what others were up to, which often turned out to be rather mundane. But like any relationship, it needed working at.

It's clear now that it's a very valuable research and communication tool. As with wider current affairs, it is where most news stories are broken now. Thanks to key tweeters such as of (previously an international print journalist of 16 years) just this week, I heard details about Delauney, London restaurant The Wolseley鈥檚 new opening; Tom Aiken closing to refurbish his Chelsea restaurant and an unrepeatable deal on wine at another top restaurant. Vine says, 鈥渙nce a story is confirmed, I like to tweet within a minute; it's that instant, great for the adrenalin and so democratic.鈥澨� And it is truly intriguing who鈥檚 tweeting now. Only the other week, legendary chef alerted me to a controversial article published in the US on forgotten vegetables.

Essentially, it's all about sharing. As Emma Jane Clark, who runs says, 鈥渢hat's the real buzz, simply write 140 words [characters] and press the share button.鈥澨� For a journalist to be instantly able to share opinions, comment on trends, offer advice and respond directly to those who comment on tweets, and encourage 鈥渇ollowers鈥� to get involved is akin to having a furiously interactive column.

For a food writer, as for a food company, self-editing is important in keeping tweets compelling. Whilst some may have a passing curiosity as to what I've eaten for supper or where I've dined out, I really don't assume anyone wants to know every day of the week. Similarly, a pithy, quizzical comment by on the latest nutritional findings on spelt or announcing that their Cornish neighbour Nathan Outlaw has created a peerless cheese scone recipe is far more interesting and likely to be picked up than a bakery store announcing what's on the menu - unless it is something truly unusual. Canny tweeters, baking guru is one, are encouraging traction and loyalty by tweeting ahead the ingredients to buy for their .

Contrary to what many doomsayer may assume, Twitter is as social in the real world as its name suggests. Tellingly Twitter's greatest density of users is in London. Thanks to Twitter, I've met fascinating 鈥欌�� culinary talents like ex-St. John's Bread & Wine chef and member of , and ex model agent who runs a brilliant first pop-up Thai dinner.

Looking ahead - and I hope it is not wishful thinking - I don't see Twitter and the whole digital world eclipsing print media, merely that the two should become more integrated and continue to complement and, in the best possible sense, feed on each other.

So let us know what you think. Do you think Twitter and other social media have changed the face of food media for the better? Do you use Twitter to market a food business? Or do you think there鈥檚 a point in tweeting what you鈥檝e just eaten? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on .

Sudi Pigott is a food writer and keen tweeter.

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Ask someone overseas which foods and drinks best represent Britain and the list often goes whisky, Stilton, shortbread and salmon. Three of the four are from Scotland, where food and drink exports last year hit over 拢4.5 billion, an all-time record. Scotland鈥檚 image seen through the lens of food has two sides: one is a picture of quality; the other is the food eaten by many of the country鈥檚 5.2 million population - a daily intake of deep-fried everything, with no veg at all. It鈥檚 a diet that鈥檚 played a big part in creating a frightening amount of obesity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes in the old manufacturing areas of West Scotland.

In this week鈥檚 episode of The Food Programme we鈥檝e been looking at the divide between the compared with the poor diet of many Scots. We consider the Scottish government鈥檚 radical food policy of attempting to bridge the divide by connecting health improvement with quality food production, tourism and environmental policy. It鈥檚 a joined-up approach that seems elementary until you look at Whitehall, where the ministries responsible for trade, health and the environment jealously guard their boundaries, and where the ministers in charge seem to change portfolios regularly, long before they鈥檝e mastered their subject.

But once you鈥檝e identified food and drink as key drivers of the economy and as the royal road to good public health. What then?

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On the , there are a large number of food businesses who are hoping the new policy will help develop a network that鈥檚 already working to supply the islands hotels, restaurants and bed and breakfasts, but that has barely touched any of the local supermarkets. When you stay or eat (as producer Maggie Ayre and I did one night) at one of the three MacLeod hotels on Skye, you see the full range and quality of foods produced on the island: salads, vegetables, soft fruit, fudge, chocolates, ranched scallops, farmed mussels, smoked fish, honey, langoustines caught daily in the Minch, mushrooms and oysters. Plus there鈥檚 meat, game and cheese which come over daily from producers on the nearby mainland. The network depends on a daily van. It was bought with a small grant eleven years ago when it carried 拢6,800 worth of produce annually. Now it鈥檚 over 拢90,000.

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But in Scotland鈥檚 鈥榬ust belt鈥� there are few tourists to help kick start a new way of eating or provide a market for small producers. The high streets of the towns that once produced Scotland鈥檚 wealth are now lined with chippies, burger bars, curry houses and fried chicken joints - all of them with long menus of .

But things are changing. We went to , a small town between Edinburgh and Glasgow that was once a centre of the mining industry. Now a lot of people are unemployed and what jobs there are bring in low wages. But at the heart of the town is the , a community run enterprise that鈥檚 less worthy and much livelier than it sounds. Local produce is sold (and charged 10% above wholesale) in the shop attached to a bustling caf茅 where for lunch I had the best lentil soup I鈥檝e eaten in a long time. There aren鈥檛 yet any hard figures on how this local enterprise has changed the dire health statistics, but completely unscientifically we noted a lot of clear-skinned, healthy looking people in the centre. And sales of fruit and veg have been rising month by month.

On the outskirts of Edinburgh we went to meet sister and brother who run Scotland鈥檚 best-known haggis company. They support a government that can educate people on the links between quality food and health, as well help them manoeuvre their way through EU and Whitehall legislation. Right now EU subsidies make it cheaper to turn beef fat into rather than sell it to haggis makers (or other food companies). This is driving up producers鈥� costs at the same time as the supermarkets are attempting to cut the price they pay for the finished product.听听

Macsween, like a lot of companies, are getting help on this from the Department for Rural Affairs and the Environment, run by Cabinet Secretary . Everyone we spoke to while making the programme told us how important it was that the minister with responsibility for food, farming and fishing - and for the joined up food policy being really joined up - was a man who understands the food business and who鈥檚 made it his central interest almost since he became a member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. When I interviewed the cabinet secretary, his grasp of the importance of food to the economy and the way that quality food production can transform public health and the environment gave me hope for Scotland鈥檚 food culture.听听听听

So what do you think? What does Scottish food mean to you? How might government policy encourage Scots to eat more local produce and fewer deep-fried pizzas? And is Scotland's radical policy one that might work for the whole of the UK?

Sheila Dillon is the presenter of Radio 4鈥檚 The Food Programme.

As a nation we鈥檙e very passionate jam makers and terribly polite eaters - not the best combination when you want to raise the bar in the preserving stakes. I dread to think how many tonnes of fragrant colourful fruit are turned into grim overcooked jam, murky looking and caramel flavoured, packed into jars that smell of last year鈥檚 pasta sauce.

Making excellent jam is really achievable at home, and very quick and easy when you get your head around some of the science behind it. Be warned, I鈥檒l shake some of your habits and question some of the laws regarding jam making, but we鈥檒l come out of it better.

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There are two women all wannabe jam pros must know about. Yes, women dominate in the jam-making world and I can鈥檛 see any men threatening that right now. First up is , the founder of Thursday Cottage jams and the author of the River Cottage Preserving book. Pam writes with good sense and is someone I always trust in jam matters. The second guru is , the queen of soft-set fragrant preserves (jam seems too coarse a word here). Her books are great for ideas about combining fruit and maintaining their delicate fragrances.

The best fruit for making firmly set jam is slightly under-ripe, not fully ripe. The setting chemical pectin as a substance that decays as the fruit ripens, even in fruit traditionally rich in it. Under-ripe fruit has the most pectin, but less fragrance and a subtler flavour. You can use fully ripe fruit, but be prepared for the set to be very soft or for there to be no set. The possible set of the jam is primarily determined by three things: the pectin, the sugar level and the acidity:

• Pectin: has a good list of the fruits that are high or low in pectin. If you鈥檙e unsure, assume your fruit is low in pectin and will need some help.
• Sugar: you want enough sugar to give a good set without masking the natural sweetness of the fruit. As the liquid evaporates the percentage of sugar in your jam gets higher, so make sure your cooked fruit contains very little liquid when you add the sugar in order to keep the boiling time short.
• Acidity: adding lemon juice activates the pectin set. Even when fruits are tart and pectin-rich, like blackcurrants and gooseberries, lemon juice or citric acid is often needed to create the set. It鈥檚 usually added with the sugar or later - not when the fruit is first cooked as this will firm the skins and give a coarse texture.

Don鈥檛 be afraid to add pectin if your fruit needs it. Though pectin is a chemical, not all additives are unnatural. The pectin we buy is usually extracted from apples or limes, and it will help you keep the cooking time short which helps the colour stay bright and the flavour clean and sharp. There are other ways to add pectin. I use Pam Corbin鈥檚 tip of grating Bramley apple in with the fruit for a firm set, or pear for a softer set.

Most fruit needs to be cooked once before the bulk of the sugar is added to soften the skins and extract the pectin for a smooth set jam. Even strawberries benefit from slight cooking first. However, some jam makers like Christine Ferber and Sophie Grigson encourage soaking the fruit overnight with some of the sugar so that it releases liquid. This syrup is then precooked. This method is really good for extracting subtle flavours from the fruit and keeping the skins slightly firmer to retain their texture.

Cook the fruit in just enough water so that when the skin or peel is soft there is only a little liquid remaining. This will help your jam to cook quickly to a set, preserving the colour and flavour. Finally, to skim or not to skim? That is the question! I only skim my jam at the end if there is a lot of white foam left, but usually I don鈥檛.

I鈥檝e written a special small batch of jam recipes for 大象传媒 Food, combining some of my favourite flavours. Experiment with these and do swap ingredients to your taste. And let us know your tips, or anything you want to question me on.

Dan Lepard is a food writer for the Guardian and a baking expert.

Filming Rick Stein鈥檚 Spain gave me the opportunity to sample the finest Spanish food around. Here are my favourites.

1. Carabineros

If you find yourself in Seville at lunchtime, then make a bee-line for , the most famous food market in this beautiful, romantic city. Saunter past the wonderful displays of vegetables and cheeses, admire the smoked and cured meats and sausages, and maybe taste a sweet, fatty slice of . Next seek out the little restaurant in the heart of the market 鈥� it鈥檚 called El Pesquero. Order carabineros (massive prawns, nearly the size of a lobster) and a chilled glass of 鈥�. I was going to keep this a secret 鈥� Ooops!

Picture Rick enjoying a plate of Carabi帽eros in Seville

2. Fabada

When I ask someone from in Northern Spain what means to them, their voice often becomes thicker and I鈥檓 sure I can see tears well up as they think of this evocative dish. This is more than a stew of white beans, chorizo, black pudding, pork and saffron: it鈥檚 the stuff of dreams and fabulous lunches - especially with a good glass of . To taste the freshest and best while in Asturias, spot the parked lorries by the transport caf茅 鈥� the more lorries, the better the fabada.

3. Gambas de Palam贸s

The prawns from on the Costa Brava are the finest in the world. We bought them straight off the boats and Rick cooked them in a cast-iron skillet lined with sea salt crystals. Once the salt started to smoke, he gently laid the prawns onto the hot crystals for about a minute or so on each side. They turned from red to pinky gold. We ate them straight from the shells and they were sublime 鈥� sweet, slightly salty and firm with a bit of a bite.

4. Chuletillas

Miguel Merino, who looks the spitting image of Danny de Vito, is one of the best wine-makers in听听and he made us lunch when we visited: chuletillas - tiny sweet cutlets from milk-fed lamb grilled over vine trimmings, fresh crusty bread and a large glass of his Rioja. We then had to film Miguel and Rick and all the time I was thinking 鈥減lease Rick don鈥檛 eat another, you鈥檝e already had three!鈥� Eventually, when the filming was over, I tasted a chuletilla and can honestly say it was the best barbecued meat I鈥檝e ever had. I wish vine trimmings for barbecues were sold here in the UK. There must be tons of them from wine-producing countries like Spain and France just going to waste.

Rick and Miguel sampling chuletillas

5. Sopa de Ajo

If you ever find yourself near the little town of in Southwest Spain, there鈥檚 a restaurant a mile or so outside called Los Angeles (because everyone who works there is called Angel or Angela). Angela, the cook, makes the most fabulous garlic soup of chicken stock infused with garlic and pimenton - that fiery powder made from crushed smoked red chillies. Angela gently lays a slice of stale bread in and then a raw egg, leaving satisfying threads of golden egginess. The bread quickly becomes soft and silky and the soup has to be one of the best recipes in the world.

What are your favourite Spanish dishes? And if you鈥檝e been to Spain, do you have any insider food tips to share?

David Pritchard is the Producer of Rick Stein's Spain.