What cooking tips did you learn from your mum?

As Mother’s Day approaches, we’ve been thinking about all the wonderful tips and tricks our mothers taught us.

From late nights licking the cake mix off the spoon, perfecting the art of crispy skin and learning all their secret family recipes, our Mothers’ passion for home cooking is often what starts us off on our own love affairs with food.

To celebrate the legacy left by the ladies who brought us up, we reached out to our favourite foodies and bloggers to find out what they learnt from their mothers (and what they’re teaching their kids in return):

“Saturday mornings are for baking biscuits” – Lucy (Bake Play Smile)

Bake Play Smile’s founder Lucy is a mum herself to 3-year old Will, and is carrying on the tradition of Saturday morning biscuits and slices:

“When I was growing up, my Mum and I would always bake a big batch of biscuits and a couple of slices every Saturday morning. It was one of my absolute favourite things to do. Now my little 3 year old helps me to do the same! Some of my favourite memories have been those I’ve made in the kitchen with my mum and now my son too.”

Lucy’s sophisticated Caramello Slice recipe is to die for if you’d like to join in the tradition in your own home kitchen this Saturday!

 “Peas can cure heartbreak” – Tania (My Kitchen Stories)

Tania’s mother was not much of a cook. She had 4 children, all very close in age, and worked full time. But she believed with every fibre of her being in her pressure cooker:

“Stew was the lifeblood of our nutrition, along with mashed potato and peas. Peas, and to a lesser extent carrots, were very important. A bag in the freezer means a square meal at any time of the day or night. Peas with butter cover a number of food groups and carrots make a great snack. A bowl of peas can nurse you through heart break and double shifts alike. So if I were to pass on any advice from my Mother, it would be this: Peas smashed, steamed, buttered, souped or stewed can cure any culinary ill.”

Tania’s tomato risotto is packed with these miracle peas.

“Always cool the pavlova in the oven overnight” – Kylie (Kidgredients)

Kylie Archer (founder of kid-friendly Kidgredients blog) shared this hilarious (and helpful) story of parental pavlova disasters: 

“Top tip from my mum: always leave the pavlova in the oven overnight to cool down with the door ajar. But that has meant that I, as a busy mum, have burnt three pavlovas. I slam the oven shut, crank it to 200 to get it ready for a roast… and then I smell burning acrid sugar and remember!

My mum’s pavlova recipe is here on my blog.”

We’ll be trying out Kylie’s tip on our own summer pavlova recipe next time too.

“All hail the packet mix” – Amanda (Lamb’s Ears and Honey)

Amanda’s family ran pubs all their working lives. As they always had a cook on hand, their cooking skills were negligible at best – and “that’s putting it kindly,” she says:

“My sister and I learned to cook in spite of them – not because of them.

Now, my passion is baking – I’ve never met a cake I didn’t like! But it was a skill I had to pick up more or less on my own, and my early efforts began with good old White Wings packet mixes. They are reliable, foolproof and provide a sense of achievement to a novice baker. To this day, I won’t hear a word said against packet cake mix!”

Feeling inspired? Celebrate the mums in your life by treated them to the ultimate Mother’s Day breakfast spread.