Britain's oldest identical twins Doris Hobday and Lil Cox always put smiles on faces with their cheery outlook on life – and now they're lending a hand in the kitchen by passing on their tried and tested cooking tips.
They've teamed up with us as research shows that 76% of us would prefer to get recipes from our grandparents than from a cookbook or social media. Doris and Lil, the 96-year-old Tipton Twins, are regular customers at our Great Bridge store and have always created classic recipes on a budget.
They said: “The younger members of our family have been after our cooking tips for years. After living through a world war, and juggling all that life throws at you, we also know a thing or two about stretching a budget and feeding a family. We’re so excited to share our top tips with Asda customers to help get the most out of their weekly shop."
Their timeless tips include using an uncooked potato if you’ve over-salted a sauce or soup, adding a pinch of flour to make bacon extra crispy and stop it shrinking, and popping a teaspoon of butter into boiling water to stop pasta sticking to the pan.
Our researchers surveyed 2,000 people and found that 70% learnt cooking skills from their grandparents and have the fondest memories of eating a roast (46%), homemade cakes (28%), cottage pie (21%) cooked by their grandparents.
The survey found that 66% of people said they missed out on recipes or tips from their grandparents – and that 80% want to teach and pass down their recipes to their grandchildren when the time comes.
Here are Doris and Lil's favourite timeless cooking tips:
Don’t be Salty: If you’ve over-salted a sauce or soup – the humble uncooked potato can save you! Cut it in half, throw it in your pot and it’ll help suck out the salt.
Bacon Me Crazy: To enhance an English breakfast staple, add a pinch of flour. It makes it extra crispy and stops it shrinking.
Butter me up: To avoid pasta sticking to the pan, pop a teaspoon of butter into the boiling water. The spaghetti won’t stick.
Bready, steady, go!: If your bread - even a baguette – has gone a little tough, sprinkle a few tablespoons of water over it then pop it in the oven. You’ll re-hydrate the bread and have a good-as-new loaf in minutes.
Smart Cookie: To avoid fresh cookies going stale, put them in a container with a slice of fresh bread. The cookies will stay fresh and soft and the bread will go hard instead.
The Tipton Twins' Timeless Tips form part of our ‘Tap Tap Talks’ series, launched in celebration of the return of our famous ‘pocket tap’. Designed to arm the nation with money-saving tips and food tricks in collaboration with experts across food, fashion and home, customers can tune into the series throughout October by following @Asda on Instagram.
