Delia Smith told Radio 4 she was thrilled to be taking a break from making Christmas dinner this yea (Image: Getty)
told Radio 4 listeners she will be taking a year off from cooking Christmas dinner for the first time in 52 years, the Guardian has reported.
Smith, who is 83, famously started her catering career to impress a boyfriend. She became a food journalist then later secured her own TV series Family Fare and later Delia Smith’s Cookery Course on BBC1.
Her ability to create recipes that worked help her popularity soar and her books including Delia Smith’s Christmas, were bestsellers.
She was credtied with the ‘Delia effect’ which meant when she mentioned an ingredient it often sold out and her recipes have led to shortages of sea salt, eggs and even tomatoes.
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It will also be the first Christmas since leaving Norwich City where she was a majority shareholder until earlier this year.
Smith was speaking to Radio 4’s This Natural Life.” I’m so excited. I’m going to my nephew and his wife for Christmas lunch, they live in Norfolk, so I’m really happy about that.”
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How to boil an egg – Delia Smith’s foolproof method
1. Don’t ever boil eggs that have come straight from the refrigerator, because very cold eggs plunged straight into hot water are likely to crack.
2. Always use a timer. Trying to guess the timing or even remembering to look at your watch can be hazardous.
3. Allow for air pockets. During the boiling, pressure can build up and cause cracking. A simple way to deal with this is to make a pinprick in the rounded end of the shell, as left, which will allow the steam to escape.
4. Always use a small saucepan. Eggs with too much space to career around in and crash into one another while they cook are, again, likely to crack.
5. Never have the water fast-boiling: a gentle simmer is all they need.
6. Never overboil eggs (you won’t if you have a timer). This is the cardinal sin because the yolks will turn black and the texture will be like rubber.
7. If the eggs are very fresh (less than four days old), allow an extra 30 seconds on each timing.