0:00:02 > 0:00:06Every day, we face a huge number of choices about food.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Everything from what we buy...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12To whether it's good for us...
0:00:12 > 0:00:14And how to cook it.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Beautiful.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23In this series, we're going to use our expertise
0:00:23 > 0:00:25to help you make the best food choices.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29We want to improve your cooking...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32- Well done, girl.- Looks delicious. - High five that!
0:00:32 > 0:00:33..your health...
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Even if I've washed my hands, my forearms are still contaminated.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38..and your bank balance.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41What are you getting when you spend extra money?
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I'm scientist Alice Roberts.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I'll be looking at the latest research into nutrition
0:00:47 > 0:00:51to find out what's good for us and what's not.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I'm journalist Sean Fletcher.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I'll investigate which everyday products are value for money
0:00:58 > 0:01:00and which are a rip-off.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03And I'm chef Tom Kerridge.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06I'll be sharing my tricks of the trade that
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I guarantee will fire up your taste buds.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Wow, that looks great.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14We're going to dish up the plain facts
0:01:14 > 0:01:18- so we can all enjoy our food more. - Cheers.- Cheers.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38When it comes to food, there's more choice out there than ever before
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and it can be overwhelming.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44We want to make your lives simpler,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47so we're going to cut through the conflicting advice
0:01:47 > 0:01:49to reveal what you really need to know about food.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56To start the series, I'll investigate a major health risk
0:01:56 > 0:01:58that most of us are unaware of...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Three quarters of shoppers are taking home a food poisoning
0:02:01 > 0:02:04bacterium with them from the supermarket.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06..and find out what we can do to avoid getting sick.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10If you think how few organisms you need to make you ill...
0:02:10 > 0:02:13And look at that. It's even on the baby's cup.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Sean pulls apart everyday foods to discover
0:02:16 > 0:02:18if expensive is always better...
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Looking at these, there's not much difference, is there,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23in terms of the ingredients?
0:02:24 > 0:02:28..and Tom reveals his easy-to-follow professional techniques to
0:02:28 > 0:02:30help transform our cooking.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It hasn't shrunk up too much because of that brining process.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38And I promise you now, beautiful, crispy, crackling skin.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43First up...
0:02:43 > 0:02:48What do you think is the biggest cause of food poisoning in Britain?
0:02:48 > 0:02:53Maybe undercooked sausages, or seafood from a restaurant, perhaps?
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Well, no, it's chicken, and the shocking fact is that most
0:02:57 > 0:03:02of the chicken in our supermarkets is contaminated with bacteria
0:03:02 > 0:03:04that can make you seriously ill.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08So with potentially such a big public health scandal,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11wouldn't you expect everyone to know about it?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14We're interested in food poisoning
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and whether you could name any bugs which might cause it.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- Salmonella.- Salmonella.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- Salmonella.- Salmonella, that's the only one I know.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28- Salmonella.- Yes.- Listeria.- Yes. All of those, all of those.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- Campylobacter?- I haven't heard of that one.- No.- No.- No.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34No. Never heard of that.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Campylobacter is responsible for a quarter of a million
0:03:37 > 0:03:40cases of food poisoning in the UK every year.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42If you've had an upset stomach recently,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45it may well have been the cause.
0:03:45 > 0:03:46You may not have heard of campylobacter
0:03:46 > 0:03:50but the supermarkets know all about it.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54A report by the Food Standards Agency in May 2015 found that,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58incredibly, more than 70% of fresh chickens sold in supermarkets
0:03:58 > 0:04:01were contaminated with this food poisoning bug.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07To find out more about it, I've come to
0:04:07 > 0:04:09the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15I'm meeting Professor Mark Stevens, an expert in foodborne illness.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20- Hello, Mark.- Hello.- Is that actually campylobacter that you've got there?
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Yes, it is. Growing on the surface of this jelly medium
0:04:24 > 0:04:26are colonies of campylobacter.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30You can perhaps just make them out as these small circular colonies
0:04:30 > 0:04:31about a millimetre wide.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Are the bacteria in that dish enough to make me ill?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Oh, my goodness, there's much more there than would make you ill.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Each one of those colonies contains maybe 100 million bacterial cells
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and perhaps just 500 bacterial cells are thought to be
0:04:43 > 0:04:45sufficient to cause infection.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51In the UK, tens of thousands of people require hospital
0:04:51 > 0:04:52treatment as a result of this bug
0:04:52 > 0:04:56and every year it claims the lives of over 100 people.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03The main source of contamination can be traced to the supermarkets.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Of the seven major stores tested by the FSA between 2014 and '15,
0:05:07 > 0:05:14Asda was the worst performer with a contamination rate of around 80%.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Even the best-rated supermarket, Tesco,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20had a contamination rate of 67%.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24To us, this bug can prove fatal,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26but to the chicken, it's relatively harmless.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31The chicken intestine just seems to be the perfect
0:05:31 > 0:05:33home for campylobacter.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36How is it getting out of the gut onto the meat that we're eating?
0:05:36 > 0:05:39The process by which birds are slaughtered
0:05:39 > 0:05:41is actually rather mechanical.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44It can involve mechanical gutting of the birds
0:05:44 > 0:05:49and some of that gut content can contaminate the surface of the bird.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Spending more on a free-range organic chicken won't keep you safe.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Most poultry is slaughtered in exactly the same way.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Here's a whole range of supermarket chickens and it's a bit of a lottery
0:06:06 > 0:06:09to know which ones might be contaminated and which ones aren't.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14But since the Food Standards Agency report, both supermarkets and
0:06:14 > 0:06:18the poultry farmers have promised to try to clean up their act.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Now, we want to know if that's happening,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23so we've commissioned our own survey.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27We asked a public health laboratory to test
0:06:27 > 0:06:31chickens from a range of different supermarkets and butchers.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Tests were carried out on 58 birds.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39We'll be back later to find out the results
0:06:39 > 0:06:44and to see what simple steps we need to take to avoid getting sick.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47It's really quite simple. Just a little bit of pre-organisation
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and a definite no-no on the washing of the chicken.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01We're on a mission to improve home cooking one dish at a time.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It doesn't matter if you're an accomplished cook or
0:07:04 > 0:07:08a kitchen rookie, Tom's tips could transform your cooking.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15I put a shoutout on social media for your kitchen fails.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It's clear there's a lot of you struggling with dishes
0:07:17 > 0:07:19that always go wrong.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21But don't despair. I can help.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30When training as a chef, I had my fair share of kitchen fails,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33but fortunately, I was surrounded by people that could put me
0:07:33 > 0:07:34on the right track.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38As a result, I have an escape route for pretty much
0:07:38 > 0:07:40every kitchen nightmare.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45This time, I want to help Suzanne Rock with her kitchen fail -
0:07:45 > 0:07:46salmon fillets.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Oh, no!
0:07:48 > 0:07:52It seems to be going from one disaster to another.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54I don't know what I'm doing.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I need help.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58We're ditching and we're starting again.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Suzanne, who works in events, lives in Poole in Dorset.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09She loves fish but she just can't seem to cook it.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14She's asked for my help, so I'm on my way to see what I can do.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19- Suzanne.- Hi, Tom. - Tom, really nice to meet you.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- Shall we go on in and find out what's going on?- Yeah.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Suzanne's going to show me how she normally cooks
0:08:28 > 0:08:31her salmon fillets so that I can see where she's going wrong.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37I put my pan on to heat. Coat my salmon skin in olive oil.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40- Straight away? Just like that? - Yeah.- OK.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42This is where I get a bit...
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I press it down to get the skin to crisp up.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50The thing is, as well, the pan, it's not sizzling and it's on full.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52It's not heating up very well.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- Then, lemon.- Now?- Yes.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00You're quite nervous, you're not quite sure about anything
0:09:00 > 0:09:02- that's going on...- No. - So you're playing around with it,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04turning it up. Prodding it.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07It's like having all the notes to an amazing song
0:09:07 > 0:09:09but played in the wrong way!
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Ah, it's separated away from the skin.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15It has, indeed!
0:09:15 > 0:09:19- It doesn't look very appetising. - It's soft.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21- There.- I just don't know if the middle's cooked.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24OK, the middle is raw.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26There's a difference between nice and pink
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and almost being revivable so that it can swim back off!
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- This, this is pretty raw. - That looks bad.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39Suzanne has somehow managed to overcook and undercook her salmon.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40She's making a few common mistakes,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44but hopefully with my help she'll never make them again.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Now, I'm going to show her a fail-safe way to cook
0:09:50 > 0:09:51this fish perfectly.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53You're going to be cooking this.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55What I want you to do is score it.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Scoring the skin prevents it curling up.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Freshest salmon you can get. That's exactly what you need.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06And I've just salted it in rock salt for ten minutes.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08It draws out moisture,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12because moisture is going to be your enemy in getting a crispy skin.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13Right.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16And the next thing, skin side down into the flour.
0:10:16 > 0:10:17It acts as a barrier from the pan
0:10:17 > 0:10:21- and it'll also mean that it doesn't stick to the pan.- OK.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23- So, we're ready for cooking.- Right!
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- Get rid of this!- Wrong pan? - Wrong pan. This is good for steaks.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33For getting a nice, crispy, even skin on a fish, no good.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36We put a nonstick pan on.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Heat on, my friend.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42- At this point, you actually put the salmon into the pan.- Yes.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The pan wasn't hot.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48When you cook fish at too low a heat, it causes the protein
0:10:48 > 0:10:50to break down slowly.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53This forms a strong bond between the fish and the pan.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58So unless you want it to stick like glue, make sure your pan is hot.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01So I was doing it too slow to start with, with a cold pan.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03And then when the heat came through, it was too hot.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And you create steam. How else did you create steam, as well?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Put in the lemon juice.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Putting the lemon juice in. So you put the lemon juice in right
0:11:10 > 0:11:13at the beginning, so straight away you're making your skin
0:11:13 > 0:11:15that you want to be crispy go soggy.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21Now, we're going to cook it 85% to 90% of the time skin side down.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- So nice and slowly. - So don't turn it at all before then.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26- Don't turn it at all. - Leave it alone, essentially.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29- Leave it alone. Can you smell anything?- No.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32And that comes from it being very, very fresh fish.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35When fish smells, it means that it's old.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Fish tissue contains an odourless compound,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41but when the fish dies, bacteria
0:11:41 > 0:11:46and enzymes quickly break this down into chemicals like ammonia.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49This is what makes it smell bad and, more importantly, taste bad.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- At this point, this is where you've got to be brave.- OK.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56You're going to flip the salmon over
0:11:56 > 0:11:59and this is the point where we're going to use the steaming process.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Put a couple of little knobs of butter into the pan.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06And then squeeze that lemon juice. That's enough.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09All that bubbling, that's the steam.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Baste the top of the salmon.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13That looks delicious.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Wow.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17OK, Suzanne, the final test.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Cocktail stick. Stick that in the middle.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22If it goes in and out without any resistance,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24you know it's cooked perfectly.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25- No resistance.- Perfect.- Great.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29There you are. You've just cooked a perfect bit of fish.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31- Well done, girl.- Looks delicious! - High five that.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35The perfect accompaniment,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38the classic French sauce beurre noisette -
0:12:38 > 0:12:44melted butter, lemon juice, capers and some chopped dill and parsley.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Suzanne's produced a great plate of fish
0:12:49 > 0:12:51and husband Paul's well impressed.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Perhaps next time he could give it a go.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56That's fantastic.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00If you need help with your kitchen fail, then share it on
0:13:00 > 0:13:01social media using...
0:13:05 > 0:13:08I'll pick a few and tell you where you're going wrong.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17A red pepper contains more vitamin C than an orange.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20The answer is true.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26A red bell pepper contains nearly three times more vitamin C
0:13:26 > 0:13:27than an orange.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36We Brits love supermarket own-label items.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41In fact, they make up more than half of what's in our trolleys.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Supermarkets offer different ranges of their own-brand products
0:13:44 > 0:13:46at different price points -
0:13:46 > 0:13:48basic, standard and premium.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51But when is it worth spending extra on premium,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and when can we get away with a money-saving basic?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Many of us are unsure of whether the basic ranges
0:13:58 > 0:13:59really are value for money.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04So we're going to find out by putting these everyday
0:14:04 > 0:14:06products through rigorous tests.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11We're going to pull apart own-brand products across the price ranges
0:14:11 > 0:14:14to see what they're made of, what they taste like
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and whether there are any nutritional differences.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24We're going to dissect own-brand products
0:14:24 > 0:14:27here at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31This time it's that store cupboard staple - pasta.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38Premium pasta can be over £1 more expensive than budget,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41so I want to find out what we're paying for.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46To help me is nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50She's going to take me through the ingredients.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Looking at these, there's not much difference, is there,
0:14:53 > 0:14:54in terms of the ingredients?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57No. In fact, pasta usually has just one ingredient,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59which is durum wheat semolina.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02It makes a very pliable dough that's easy to make
0:15:02 > 0:15:03into these pasta shapes.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Some of the cheaper pastas contain soft wheat.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12This ingredient has less protein than pasta made with only
0:15:12 > 0:15:15durum wheat, so it can lack that al dente bite.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20We've got all these different shapes here and what you'll find
0:15:20 > 0:15:24is that the premium tends to be this pennoni regati.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Pennoni means a wider quill.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Then, in these other pastas,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32they're much more narrow and they're called just penne.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36What that means is that these nice big quills with the ridges on them
0:15:36 > 0:15:39are much better at holding your delicious sauce
0:15:39 > 0:15:40as opposed to these narrow ones.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Now, I had a sneaky look at these pastas
0:15:43 > 0:15:44and they're all made in Italy.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Yes, they're all made in Italy, but they're not necessarily eaten by
0:15:47 > 0:15:52the Italians because in Italy, there is a law that says you can't sell
0:15:52 > 0:15:57something as pasta unless it only contains the durum wheat semolina.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00So while the Italians might make this budget pasta that
0:16:00 > 0:16:05contains the soft wheat flour, they only sell it outside of Italy.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08That's the ingredients, but what about the taste?
0:16:10 > 0:16:15We've invited a group of volunteers to help us carry out a taste test.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18First, what would they normally choose?
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Who here would buy budget pasta?
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Sometimes I think it's as good as one of the others.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25And what about those who would buy premium?
0:16:25 > 0:16:30I would buy premium. The cat would never eat any budget stuff.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34So if the cat would never eat it, I don't eat it.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Our volunteers will try ten different pasta samples from four of
0:16:39 > 0:16:44the UK's major supermarkets, ranging from budget, standard to premium.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48It's a blind taste test, so nobody knows
0:16:48 > 0:16:52if they're eating the cheap or expensive kind.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54They'll sample the pasta without sauce
0:16:54 > 0:16:57so it's just the taste of the pasta being tested.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Dr Laura Wyness is carrying out the test.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05What we'd like you to do is rank in terms of overall likeness
0:17:05 > 0:17:08each sample, so one being "extremely dislike"
0:17:08 > 0:17:12to nine being "extremely like".
0:17:12 > 0:17:14# Hey mambo, mambo Italiano
0:17:14 > 0:17:18# Hey, hey mambo, mambo Italiano
0:17:18 > 0:17:19# Go, go Jo... #
0:17:19 > 0:17:21So, what are the results?
0:17:22 > 0:17:24It was actually the standard that came out on top -
0:17:24 > 0:17:28it had an average score of 6.1 out of a possible 9 -
0:17:28 > 0:17:30followed closely by the budget with 6.0,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and then the premium which scored 4.9.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Oh, poor old premium!
0:17:36 > 0:17:39So in our taste test, standard was just a fraction
0:17:39 > 0:17:44ahead of budget with premium lagging well behind.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46And it's interesting when we look at the price.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51The budget is around about 30 pence, the standard is between 50
0:17:51 > 0:17:57and 80 pence and the premium is between £1.25 and £1.70.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00So that's more than £1 per pack for the premium
0:18:00 > 0:18:02and it may not necessarily taste any better.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Well, according to our panel, it tastes worse.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08I'm just glad I don't spend the money on the premium.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Earlier, I found out that a report from 2015 showed that
0:18:23 > 0:18:27most supermarket chicken was contaminated
0:18:27 > 0:18:30with the food poising bug campylobacter.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Now, the Food Standards Agency took the rather unusual measure
0:18:33 > 0:18:38of naming and shaming supermarkets who promised to clean up their act.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42So, is there any evidence that that's happened?
0:18:42 > 0:18:47To find out, we asked a public health laboratory to analyse
0:18:47 > 0:18:5058 chickens bought from the major supermarkets
0:18:50 > 0:18:53and some independent butchers.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56So will our tests show an improvement on the FSA figures?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Professor Mark Stevens has the results.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05So in the recent BBC survey, the total number of birds that
0:19:05 > 0:19:10were positive for campylobacter were 74%, and that compares nearly
0:19:10 > 0:19:15identically with the 73% of birds in the Food Standards Agency report.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Compared to the Food Standards Agency survey, ours was on a much
0:19:19 > 0:19:24smaller scale, but even so, clearly there's still a major problem.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28For me, the most important finding is that still three quarters
0:19:28 > 0:19:31of shoppers are taking home a food poisoning bacterium
0:19:31 > 0:19:33with them from the supermarket.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38We put the findings of our survey to the British Poultry Council.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39They told us...
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Asda told us...
0:20:05 > 0:20:06And Tesco said...
0:20:16 > 0:20:19The efforts to cut campylobacter infection in chicken flocks
0:20:19 > 0:20:22aren't going to fix the problem overnight,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24so for a while at least,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28the chicken that you buy does pose an infection risk.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30But if you're sitting at home thinking,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34"That's it, I'm going to stop eating chicken," don't panic,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38because even heavily-contaminated chicken can be completely
0:20:38 > 0:20:42safe to eat if you follow a few simple rules.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley is helping me work out
0:20:49 > 0:20:50what those rules are.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52In one half of this kitchen,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Lisa will prepare chicken the correct way,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59and I'll show what can happen if you're a little less careful.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02We do have another trick up our sleeves -
0:21:02 > 0:21:07that is that our chickens have been laced with a dye which is only
0:21:07 > 0:21:10visible under ultraviolet light.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12This should allow us to see
0:21:12 > 0:21:17how quickly campylobacter could spread around your kitchen.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Right, then. Chicken for dinner tonight, then.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26Let's get this bird out. I'm going to give it a wash.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Oh, my God.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Alice, I'm doing my salad first.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Oh, I see. Well, look, I want to get my bird in the oven because
0:21:35 > 0:21:37I'm in a rush and once that's cooking,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39then I can get on with the salad.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Mine is ready to go in the oven.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44My dinner is going to ready long before yours.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47I think it is, yes. It's not going to take you long to do the salad.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49I do recycle my plastics, so I'm going to give that
0:21:49 > 0:21:51a bit of a wash off.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54OK, salad time. So I am going to clean up a little bit now.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- Looks like you need to.- I think so.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I'm just flipping the board over to make the salad on the other side,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03so I'm not getting the salad in contact with the fresh meat.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Alice, I'm catching up with you. You are, aren't you?
0:22:08 > 0:22:12I really thought that doing the chicken first I was going to save
0:22:12 > 0:22:15a lot of time, but I'm not saving that much time, actually.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Oh, Lisa, before you tidy up completely,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I'd quite like to see what's going on at both our stations now.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25That'll be interesting, won't it?
0:22:25 > 0:22:28So let's see just how much we've spread the UV campylobacter around.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Please could you kill the lights?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34THEY GASP
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Any potential bacteria that we've spread around show up
0:22:38 > 0:22:41as bright spots under the UV light.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44The reason that most of this is like this, I've touched this
0:22:44 > 0:22:47with my hands, I haven't been fastidious about washing my hands.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I've got it up my arms as well, my forearms,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52so even if I've washed my hands, my forearms are still contaminated.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Look at this chopping board. You turned that over, didn't you?
0:22:55 > 0:23:00What about over here? Oh, my goodness.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02It looks like a crime scene. That's disgusting.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06That just shows how important it is not to wash your chicken,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10and if you think how few organisms you need to make you ill...
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And look at that. It's even on the baby's cup.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Although it looks horrendous,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18by following Lisa's advice, you can avoid getting sick.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21It's really quite simple. It's just a little bit of pre-organisation
0:23:21 > 0:23:24and a definite no-no on the washing of the chicken,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26and don't forget the packaging as well.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28A lot of people are washing packaging.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29Get that straight in the bin.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32So I've done really badly over here.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35How about you, Lisa? How have you done?
0:23:35 > 0:23:36Let's have a look.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- That's it. Three tiny spots.- Yeah.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41You were about to clean up, as well,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- so I think you would remove those. - Oh, yeah.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50To stay safe, cook your chicken thoroughly.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Bin the packaging, don't recycle it. Never wash your chicken,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57use separate chopping boards for meat and veg
0:23:57 > 0:24:00and try to touch the chicken as little as possible.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12To deliver great-tasting food,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15chefs develop a range of clever techniques.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20I want to let you in on a few of my personal favourites.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Now, I've been in professional kitchens for over 20 years
0:24:22 > 0:24:26and in that time, I've learnt plenty of tricks and tips.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30And I'd like to share with you some of my trade secrets to help
0:24:30 > 0:24:32you improve the cooking in your home.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Here's a top trick of the trade.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It's how restaurants produce meat that melts in the mouth
0:24:45 > 0:24:48and tastes so much better than if you cooked it at home.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50This tip is all about a process called brining.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55It helps deliver moisture and flavour to a dish.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Follow this trade secret and you can transform a simple cut of meat
0:24:58 > 0:25:01into something amazing.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Now, this pork belly takes quite a long time to cook.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06It's got a lot of sinew and a lot of muscle that needs to break down
0:25:06 > 0:25:08and to help that process, we're going to put it in a brine.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10That brine will give it flavour.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14That's where we'll season it as well, get it right into the meat.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18When most people think of a brine, they think of the salty water that
0:25:18 > 0:25:23tuna comes in, but a professional brine does a slightly different job.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28This brining process starts with one litre of water.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33Add 200g of salt, some herbs and spices for flavouring,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37and then some sugar to balance out the salt.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I'm just going to put it onto the heat, bring it to the boil
0:25:40 > 0:25:42so that the salt and sugar dissolves.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Now, once it's come up to the boil and everything's dissolved,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52turn the heat off and you have this beautiful, salty brine mixture
0:25:52 > 0:25:56just gone cold here, and this brine is going to go on top of the pork.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Pour the brine over the meat and pop it into the fridge overnight.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09OK.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Little secret that you lot might not know is that in the cooking process
0:26:13 > 0:26:17it can lose up to 30% of its weight in moisture,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21just in evaporation in that tray whilst it's in the oven.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Now, what happens with the brining process is it helps to
0:26:23 > 0:26:26lock in a lot of that moisture. It can reduce that
0:26:26 > 0:26:28figure down to around about 15%.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34The dissolved salt causes the cells of the meat to absorb
0:26:34 > 0:26:35the water in the brine.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39This water binds with the proteins of the meat,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42locking the moisture inside.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45So this pork belly is now ready to go in the oven.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Just going to pop it onto a roasting tray just slightly
0:26:49 > 0:26:51lifted from the bottom with a rack.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Into an oven now. Preheated, 150 degrees centigrade,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00and I'm going to cook it for about two and a half to three hours.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03MUSIC: At Last by Etta James
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Look at that.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09The smell is fantastic.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13It hasn't shrunk up too much because of that brining process.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16And I promise you now...
0:27:19 > 0:27:21..beautiful, crispy, crackling skin.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27This is what transforms an average piece of meat into something
0:27:27 > 0:27:30any professional chef would be proud of.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34And you can try it with other meats, such as chicken or turkey.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39If you look at how beautiful that pork is.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Really moist, full of flavour.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46That is the best pork ever.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52You can find this trade secret and more on the website.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01Next time...
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Should we all be going gluten free?
0:28:04 > 0:28:06We carry out an experiment to find out.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Do you think it might be a bit of a fad?
0:28:08 > 0:28:09I do, yeah.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Sean reveals how to make huge savings by using new tricks
0:28:14 > 0:28:16to buy your favourite foods...
0:28:16 > 0:28:21With a little time and effort, there are serious savings to be made.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25..and Tom rides to the rescue of another kitchen disaster.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27There's definitely white and a yolk,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29they're just in two separate parts of the pan.