Curious Question: How did the Victoria Sponge get its name?
Our most beloved sponge cake carries a grandly regal name: the Victoria Sponge. But how did it come to be called that? Ahead of National Cake Day on November 26, Martin Fone investigates.
Food and Drink
Discover the latest in food and drink news, try our delicious and easy recipes using fresh seasonal produce and read our pub and restaurant reviews.
Here at Country Life we love to cook and we love to eat. Seasonality is important, whether you’re growing your own or visiting the farmers’ market for your ingredients – but we love to cook seasonally. Whether it’s our brilliant collection of elderflower recipes in the summertime, our ultimate sloe gin recipe in autumn or gorgeous roast goose recipes in the winter, we have collected the best seasonal recipes by ingredient on dedicated pages
-
-
Sumptuous Christmas gifts for foodies, from a chocolate library to a £6,000 hamper
After something special for a person who really appreciates their food? Our suggestions are certain to have something that's just right.
-
How to make Butternut shakshuka, a wonderful, hearty one-pot dish that's ideal autumnal comfort food
Melanie Johnson shares a recipe for butternut squash that's simple, tasty and exotic.
-
Jonathan Self: Was Eve's apple really a pear? Because I'm pretty sure it was
Jonathan Self points out that the Good Book doesn't actually specify what fruit Eve plucked from the Tree of Knowledge. Among other things.
-
Britain's best bacon: Tom Parker Bowles picks seven of the nation's best producers
Last week, Tom Parker Bowles waxed lyrical about the joys of bacon, and the perfect bacon sandwich. But where to get your bacon? Here he picks out some of his favourite sources.
-
Curious Questions: Where do conference pears get their name?
Conference pears bear one of the oddest and most incongruous names in the world of fruit and veg. Martin Fone, author of More Curious Questions, delves deeper to see how they came to be called what they are.
-
Brilliant bonfire night recipes
Across the country Bonfire Night celebrations will be taking place this weekend – whether you're heading to a fireworks display or burning your own effigy of Guy Fawkes, these recipes will help your night go with a bang.
-
Tom Parker Bowles on the perfect bacon sandwich
Sizzling, crispy and irresistibly pork-scented bacon all starts with a well-reared traditional breed of pig and a slow, careful curing process, says Tom Parker Bowles.
-
Foraging for sloes: 'Are we not actually closest to Nature, valuing it most, when we pick it — when we are inside the food chain ourselves?'
On his annual October sloe-picking harvest, John Lewis-Stempel admires redwings, greenfinches and wood mice gathering their haul of autumn’s bountiful berries.
-
How to make Isle of Wight doughnuts, the spiced plum treat unique to this corner of Britain
On the Isle of Wight, the humble doughnut takes a rather different — if no less delicious — form than it does in the rest of Britain. Author James Rayner explains more, and shares his recipe for this spicy plum treat.
-
Curious Questions: Why doesn't Stilton cheese come from Stilton?
Britain's most famous blue cheese takes its name from a picturesque Cambridgeshire village — yet it's made nowhere near the place, and not even in the same county. Martin Fone investigates this strange culinary anomaly.
-
How to make gnudi — the feather-light cousin of gnocchi — with wild mushrooms and chorizo
Wild mushroom season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with this delectable concoction of ingredients.
-
What to do with sweet chestnuts, from roasting over an open fire to adding zip to burgers and brownies
Mark Diacono says that autumn is synonymous with sweet chestnuts — and he has all sorts of ways to make the most of a seasonal treat.
-
The traditional Gloucestershire cider producers keeping a great Cotswolds tradition alive
Cider will be forever associated with the Cotswolds thanks to Rosie. Jane Wheatley meets the makers keeping the tradition alive; photographs by Mark Williamson.
-
Recipe: How to make The Ivy's Shepherd's pie, perhaps the ultimate comfort food
The nights are drawing in, the weather is dreich and it's time for comfort food. That means that it's the ideal time for shepherd’s pie, which has long been one of the most-requested items on the menu at The Ivy. Here's how they do it.
-
The nine ladies growing tea in Scotland: 'We liked the idea of doing something that hadn’t been done before'
A group of Scottish growers is defying the weather to produce Britain’s favourite drink, finds Nick Hammond/
-
A classic apple and cinnamon cake recipe with a punchy extra twist
This mouthwatering German apple and cinnamon cake is dished up with a sauce that blends sweet and savoury in style, thanks to the mix of caramel and miso.
-
How to make chocolate loaf with raspberries, chocolate chips... and a surprise ingredient
With its fresh fruity twist, this decadent chocolate load is a perfect afternoon pick-me-up.
-
How to make Baingan Bharta, spiced smoky aubergines
With gleaming skin and a plump, elongated shape, the versatile aubergine offers subtle, yet luscious succour in this Indian dish, says Tom Parker Bowles.
-
How to make scallops with sweetcorn cream and bacon
Ideal for a fancy lunch or a special supper, this dish makes the most of some lovely ingredients you might not have seen together before. Popcorn and scallops, together at last!
