We all know that we’re going to spend Christmas day fighting over roast potatoes with our families and that the meat of choice comes after deep consideration but according to one chef, we’re actually missing a trick when it comes to our carrots.
Yes, that’s right, our collective disregard of the humble carrot has led us astray and we’ve been taking their essential spot on our dinner plates for granted, especially around this time of year.
Advertisement
Outrageous, really, since carrots are the ideal snack for reindeers.
Michael Lawson, head chef at Atlantic Brasserie said: “Carrots are great produce to cook with; they’re available year round and are super versatile.
“For Christmas dinner there are countless ways to elevate this humble veggie into the star of the show.”
How to elevate your Christmas carrots
Lawson promises that this recipe can “transform carrots into a stunning holiday centrepiece, that’s as delicious as it is eye-catching.”
Advertisement
All you need is honey, butter, pistachios, orange zest and, if you’re feeling extra fancy — chives.
Lawson says: “I start with glazing carrots with honey and butter, which gives them a rich and sticky finish.
“My secret ingredient is pistachios – they might not be the first garnish you think of when you’re cooking carrots, but they give the dish a nice crunch and a contrasting savoury flavour which is just mouthwatering. You can also add in some chives for colour and a more complex flavour”
Once you’ve done this, roast your carrots in olive oil for 45 minutes until fully cooked. Then, Lawson advises: “Make a glaze with the zest of an orange and around 20 ml of honey, cover the carrots in this and roast for a further ten minutes.
Advertisement
“Sprinkle the pistachios and chopped chives before serving. It’s a super easy way to level up what can be a basic side – and it’s perfect for Christmas dinner.”
I think it’s fair to say I’ll be tucking into this treat throughout the year, too.
More goes into the design of a takeaway coffee cup than most of us realise.
For instance, you might not have known that placing the cover’s drinking spout opposite the paper cup’s “seam” can help prevent leaks.
And if you’re anything like me, you’ll have no idea why there’s often a tiny hole (separate from the main drinking point) in the lid either.
Advertisement
Turns out it’s actually a pretty smart safety feature ― and makes sipping from the container easier too.
How?
According to the Aussie version of the food and drink site Delicious, it’s partly down to steam.
The minute vent helps steam to escape, they say ― though this doesn’t cool it down much.
Instead, it prevents steam from building up in the container, causing pressure to build and potentially leading to burst cups.
Additionally, the presence of another hole than the drinking spout allows coffee to run smoothly when you’re sipping from it ― otherwise, there’d be no airflow in the cup.
They write that the Viora lid’s “deep well and centred hole are designed to concentrate the coffee’s aroma.”
Advertisement
It also helps to prevent spills
Per Delicious, the oft-unnoticed detail design also helps to keep your coffee where it should be (ideally, either in your mouth or in the cup).
It works for the same reason the hold creates a better sip; if there’s a lack of steady airflow, the liquid will move in jumpy, unpredictable ways.
Designer Louise Harpman and architect Scott Specht, who worked together on Coffee Lids: Peel, Pinch, Pucker, Puncture, say that trends, tech, and even legal cases have shaped the design of the mundane invention over the years.
For example, coffee lids became more dome-shaped as foamy, bubbly drinks rose in popularity; after the famous McDonald’s coffee court case, they told Atlas Obscura, brands started including more visible warnings on their lids.
Advertisement
“Coffee lids are modest modern marvels, but we rarely slow down and take the time to consider, admire, or even wonder about these humble masterpieces,” Louise told the publication.
Peter Mandelson is to become the UK’s next ambassador to the United States.
The Labour peer and former cabinet minister is expected to take up the role in the New Year.
He will take over from Dame Karen Pierce, the current ambassador, whose tenure is will come to an end at the start of 2025.
A government source said: “The fact the prime minister has chosen to make a political appointment and send Lord Mandelson to Washington shows just how importantly we see our relationship with the Trump administration.
Advertisement
“We’re sending someone close to the prime minister with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. He’s the ideal candidate to represent the UK’s economic and security interests in the USA.”
Lord Mandelson served in government under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who controversially made him a peer to bring him back into the cabinet as business secretary in 2008.
The former MP for Hartlepool had been the Britain’s European commissioner since 2004.
Last month, the Labour peer told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show last month that he would be “very interested” in giving advice on trade to whoever became the UK’s ambassador to America.
Advertisement
He said: “Can I just make the point if you don’t mind: nobody has spoken to me about this job.
“I read about it in the papers but nobody has actually spoken to me about it, so let’s put it to one side.”
Pushed further on whether he would be interested in the role, the former government minister said: “I would be very interested indeed in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed.”
Lord Mandelson also said last month that the government should consider using Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as a “bridge” to president-elect Trump and Elon Musk.
People, I have been humbled by roast potato facts recently.
I thought my recipe was foolproof until I realised that not only should I be adding Mary Berry-approved semolina to the veggies for an extra crunch, but I should also retire my extra-virgin olive oil additions.
And now, it seems I’ve been making another mistake on my way to crispy, fluffy perfection ― turns out it’s important to cool your parboiled potatoes before cooking them.
We’ve written before about how applying low-moisture semolina to the outside of potatoes can ensure they crisp up as they cook rather than steaming their skins to softness.
Well, the same philosophy applies here. When you parboil your roast potatoes, you infuse them with water (no shockers there). And the steam puffs out from the exterior of your potatoes for a while after removing them from the water.
This can interfere with the potatoes’ interaction with the hot oil you should be adding them to after roughing up their sides and adding seasoning. And if they’re seriously steamy, or even wet, you can get some dangerous splashback.
Advertisement
You should “strain them and wait until the steam stops,” William shared. “You’ll never get a crisp result if they are full of water.”
In fact, Joe White, head chef at 10 Tib Lane in Manchester, even goes so far as to say “For the perfect roasties make sure to steam or boil them the day before and let them air dry overnight in the fridge. It will make the outside extra crispy when you roast them.”
What’s the right method, then?
According to Williams, “To get the perfect potatoes, peel them, add to cold water and bring to boil. Boil for around six minutes until the edges soften.”
Advertisement
Shake them in the colander while hot to provide rough, textured edges, and apply semolina and seasonings while the spuds are still hot. Freshly-boiled potatoes will provide fluffier outer layers, and ingredients stick better to hot food.
Then, strain them and cool them. When you’re ready to cook them, place a fat of your choice ― duck fat if you want to be luxurious, though sunflower and vegetable oils are great options ― in a baking tray to get hot before adding the spuds.
“Roast for around twenty minutes in a hot oven before turning them over; this allows a crust to form underneath, so you won’t leave half the potato stuck to the tray,” Williams recommends.
We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about the three letters you should always look out for on Italian wine bottles to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck.
Well bang is one thing, but what about fizz? After all, ’tis the season for a festive glass of bubbly ― and if you’re anything like me, you have no idea what to look for on a champagne label.
Advertisement
Luckily wine expert Partner In Wine shared a TikTok video revealing how to “read” the drink’s bottle.
Let’s start with “Brut”
I’ll be honest here ― I thought “Brut” was a brand of champagne, but the wine pro says it’s actually to do with its taste.
“Brut is a common name for the sweetness of the wine,” she explained.
“So this bottle says ‘Brut’ on it, which means it’s a dry wine. If you want something bone-dry, look for the words ‘Extra Brut’ or ‘Brut Nature’.”
Advertisement
The “drier” the champagne (or the more Brut force it has ― teehee), the less sweet it is, Champagne de Lozey say on their site.
If you’re after something a little more sugary, Martha Stewart’s site adds, you might want to go for a demi-sec or, for the sweetest sip, doux, variety.
Then, there’s the vintage to consider
“Most champagnes state ‘NV’ on the label,” the wine expert said, meaning they’re not vintage.
“This means it’s been made of a blend of grapes from different years.”
Though I always heard “vintage” matters, Partner In Wine explains that the blending method helps winemakers to produce consistent wine brands that taste the same every time you drink a different bottle.
Advertisement
It’s a smart move because bad grape years spell disaster for your glass of bubbly ― mixing blends together can provide a better product.
With that said, Partner In Wine points out that if a winemaker shows you the year their product is from, that’s usually because its something to brag about.
“If there’s a year on the label, that means it comes form one exceptional year,” she shared. “This means it’s a vintage champagne, and they tend to be more expensive but also, more delicious.”
Advertisement
Don’t let the word “vintage” lead you to think she means “ancient,” though.
Cult Wine Investment writes that 2008 is this century’s standout year, with 2013 and 2014 also yielding pretty great results. 2002 and 2000 went down well too, they add.
February 16, 2021 was meant to be the day that I birthed my newborn son – without drugs, not even gas and air! – into a birthing pool, under the glow of lavender-coloured LED lights, as the sound of ‘cicadas in a field’ gently filled the my private room at the midwife-led birthing unit of my local hospital.
Ideally, this would have been with the aide of a birthing Doula, but as we were deep into another nationwide lockdown, I was lucky to even have my (masked) husband as my birthing partner.
Advertisement
However, somehow nearly three weeks later in early March – instead of the birth I had expected and made a playlist for – I found myself recovering from three excruciating days of induced labour and an emergency c-section, while laying in a pool of blood in a sensory clusterfuck of a maternity ward.
I couldn’t move – partly from exhaustion, mostly from major surgery and a catheter – so I couldn’t even pick up my son when it was time to feed him.
The story of my pandemic pregnancy and my son’s birth is complicated, tender, and generally something I keep very private. My husband lived it alongside me, but only my closest friends and my therapist know why orange Lucozade makes me want to vomit or why the sight of that small, blue suitcase under the guest bed can still make me cry.
Advertisement
What is truly horrifying to me, aside from my own gruesome memories, is that my story is just a drop in the ocean when it comes to how many women in the UK have also had a “negative” or traumatic birth experience.
Because of these unsettling and life-altering numbers, a new campaign called Delivering Better, formed by a group of mothers, is urging Health Secretary Wes Streeting to take urgent action to improve maternity services in the UK.
The group’s new report highlights the need for “better support for women who often suffer, both mentally and physically, years after they have given birth” and shows the horrific impact that traumatic births are have on women, with almost half of all mothers suffering mentally and physically.
Advertisement
They report one in four mothers experience a negative birth in the UK, and that 72% of those women say their experience had left them with long-term mental health impacts.
Of the women who reported a negative birth experience:
almost half (48 per cent) say it had a long-term impact on their relationships,
over a third (37 per cent) say it had a long-term impact on their ability to work,
more than half (54 per cent) said it left them less likely to want to have more children.
More than half of women (58%) of the women who said they had a negative birth experience said they “didn’t feel listened to during delivery” – which, for me, was one of the worst parts of my own experience.
Advertisement
Being in one of the most vulnerable states a human can be in, and then voicing a need, a concern, or asking for help and being denied that help or dismissed by the people who are apparently there to help you can be incredibly damaging for your mental health. Not being listened to can also have incredibly serious, if not life-threatening physical implications, too, as we know from the startling statistics around Black maternal health care.
What can be done differently to help new mothers?
As both a mum and an editor I see a lot of press releases and newsletters targeting mothers and pregnant people. Some of it is helpful, but I’ll never forget an email I was sent about a new campaign to “support maternal mental health” which initially sounded excellent as some big name brands were involved.
However, reading the details, the campaign was meant to support women’s mental health after giving birth via… a meditation app. And some frozen food vouchers. And also a bit of funding for an organisation that has been criticised for its potentially harmful policies and focus on ‘natural births’.
Advertisement
We deserve better than this.
There needs to be much more tangible action taken in both pregnancy and delivery to see any significant changes in maternal mental health.
In my opinion, a lot can be done by addressing the curriculum and policies of prenatal courses that are available to parents – and the cost and accessibility of these services, too. I’ve experienced first hand that women – especially first-time parents – are taught in these courses that we have much more control over exactly how and when our babies will be born. That we can choose a positive birth experience.
We’re told to just watch your favourite films and eat some chocolate to get those oxytocin levels up and then labour shall commence shortly thereafter. If you breathe correctly that baby’s gonna pop right out of you – you’ve been doing your cervical massages, right?
Advertisement
But I can tell you firsthand – as can thousands of other parents – you can do everything “right” and still end up having an emergency c-section.
The Delivering Better campaign is asking for changes to be made in both pregnancy and delivery for mothers, including greater continuity of care throughout pregnancy.
The aftercare new mothers get is nearly comical in its limitations, and the group is also calling on GPs to proactively contact mothers via text message at three months and six months postpartum to check in on their physical and mental health.
Advertisement
According to Delivering Better: “Mothers often report feeling abandoned after the current six-week check, which is often not fit for purpose, with only a couple of questions directed at the mother.
“Some mums say the main question they’re asked is whether they are back on contraception. In the survey, 88% of mothers say they support receiving mental and physical health checks in the months following their birth experience, and 81% say they would have benefited from this themselves if it had been offered.”
Shocking isn’t it?
You can read more of what Delivering Better is asking for on their website, where you can also sign their open letter to Wes Streeting, “urging action for maternity care that is safe, compassionate and evidence-based”.
Advertisement
Help and support:
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
Help and support:
Sands works to support anyone affected by the death of a baby.
Tommy’s fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, and provide pregnancy health information to parents.
Saying Goodbye offers support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.
Labour ministers have been accused of “betrayal” after ruling out compensation for women who lost out when the rules over when they received their state pension were changed.
Keir Starmer was among those who gave their support to the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign when the party was in opposition.
Advertisement
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall told MPs on Tuesday that it would not be “a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money” to pay up to £10.5 billion to those affected.
That was despite the parliamentary and health service ombudsman ruling that the women should be compensated due to mistakes made in the way the changes to their pension age were communicated to them.
Women’s state pension age was increased from 60 to 65 so it was equal with men’s between 2010 and 2018.
Advertisement
But the campaigners insisted they were not adequately informed about the change.
Speaking in 2022, Starmer said the Waspi women were the victims of “a real injustice”, adding: “We need to do something about it.”
Kendall herself was also pictured with a sign saying: “I will work with Waspi to identify and deliver a fair solution for all women affected.”
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, re-posted the picture on X and said: “The Labour secretary of state is currently stating that her government will not provide any financial compensation to the Waspi women. They are shameless.”
Advertisement
This Labour Secretary of State is currently stating that her Government will not provide any financial compensation to the WASPI women.
Waspi chairwoman Angela Madden said: “The government has today made an unprecedented political choice to ignore the clear recommendations of an independent watchdog which ordered ministers urgently to compensate Waspi women nine months ago.
“This is a bizarre and totally unjustified move which will leave everyone asking what the point of an ombudsman is if ministers can simply ignore their decisions.
Advertisement
“It feels like a decision that would make the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump blush.”
These days, it seems like more people are traveling than ever. So it makes sense that many travellers are seeking unique experiences that don’t feel like the same standard vacation everyone else is taking (and posting about on social media).
Fortunately, there are plenty of fresh and fulfilling types of trips you can take ― from “destination dupes” to “mystery travel.” But a particularly meaningful option is “heritage travel.”
Advertisement
Below, travel experts break down this approach to travel and what you should know before you plan a heritage trip.
What is heritage travel?
“Heritage travel is when you explore destinations tied to your ancestry or cultural roots,” said Gabby Beckford, founder of the travel site Packs Light. “It’s about discovering more about yourself, your family stories, and your overall identity by traveling to places where you are, in some part, ‘from.’”
People interested in heritage travel ― which is also known as genealogy tourism, ancestral travel, roots tourism and DNA tourism ― can plan vacations around their family lineage and walk the path of their ancestors. This is all much easier to do in the age of services like 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage.
Advertisement
“It’s been popular for years already, but I think it’s really grown since the advent of at-home DNA testing products,” said Laura Motta, the senior director of content at Lonely Planet. “They can give people a ton of insight into where their families are from.”
For many, these home kits have awakened a desire to connect with their history and experience aspects of their ancestors’ culture firsthand. Now, companies like Ancestry are offering special guided heritage travel opportunities to customers who want to gain a greater understanding of their family’s past. Options include ancestral home visits, genealogy cruises and personal guided tours.
Heritage travel is increasingly common in places that experienced mass emigration or forced removal at some point and therefore have a large diaspora community in other parts of the world. Examples include Ireland, Ghana and Italy (as seen in Season 2 of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” which featured a three-generation Sicilian American family returning to their ancestral roots in Testa dell’Acqua).
Advertisement
“Lots of countries and communities are working to enable and encourage heritage tourism, which makes complete sense. It’s big business,” Motta said. “Tour operators and tourism boards often have information to help you get started.”
Heritage travel can also refer more broadly to any type of tourism that involves visiting historic and cultural sites and immersing yourself in the destination’s past and present way of life. And this certainly applies to ancestry-focused tourism.
“Reconnection to the past is at the central core of heritage travel,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert and spokesperson for the Going travel app. “A type of travel designed to better engage a traveler with the cultural heritage of a place, heritage travel is more about understanding a destination through genuine traditions and experiences rooted in history.
Advertisement
What are the benefits of heritage travel?
There are many reasons why heritage travel might appeal to tourists.
“It can be really fascinating and can help connect people to their ethnic and cultural roots,” Motta said. “Of course, heritage tourism can mean very different things to different people. You might be chasing a complicated paper trail of baptism certificates and immigration records in Ireland, or finding your family’s former home in California, or learning about rituals that your ancestors performed in Ghana.”
Beckford said she personally finds the heritage travel trend to be very exciting.
“As someone who is multiracial, I understand that in a world that likes to put people into neat categories, not fitting perfectly into one can feel alienating,” she noted. “I believe knowledge is power, and traveling back to where your ancestors came from to understand how you became the person you are today can be not only fascinating but healing for many people like me.”
Heritage travel can take many forms and include a wide range of experiences. People may have different goals and approaches to their ancestral journeys.
Advertisement
“I see many families, particularly second and third generations, taking heritage trips to reconnect with rituals, traditions, religions, holidays, or even to honour specific family members who have passed,” Beckford said.
By taking a heritage-focused trip, you have the opportunity to truly immerse yourself in the local culture and history as well.
“Travellers more and more are seeking an authentic travel experience, away from uber-popular tourist traps, traveling more purposefully,” Nastro said. “There is no better way to understand your current surroundings than by walking through its past.”
Advertisement
She added that you don’t necessarily need to design an entire vacation around heritage travel, but can instead incorporate it through specific activities or experiences in your trip.
Gerhard Pettersson / 500px via Getty Images
Travel experts believe the rise of DNA testing services has led to increased interest in heritage trips.
Here’s what else you should know before trying this trip.
Although there are many benefits to these kinds of trips, heritage travel is not an inherently positive experience.
Advertisement
“History is messy. Families are complicated,” Motta said. “There are plenty of reasons why people become estranged from their families and heritage. Chasing your personal history can lead to discoveries that are uncomfortable, unpleasant and even contradictory. For most, the upsides far outweigh this, but it’s something to consider.”
Another downside is the potential for mismanaged expectations.
“Visiting your ancestral lands may or may not provide the healing someone might be seeking,” Beckford said. “These places and their people naturally change and evolve with time, and some travellers might put too much pressure on a destination to be what they need it to be, rather than accepting it for what it is.”
Lily Allen has disclosed that she’s been “not really in a great place mentally” for around three years.
The chart-topping singer opened up about her mental health struggles during the latest edition of her BBC Sounds podcast Miss Me?, which she co-hosts with her friend Miquita Oliver.
Advertisement
“I’ve been going through a tough time over the last few months and my eating has become an issue,” she explained.
“My therapist and I talk about it and she says ‘How long has this been going on?’. And I said, ‘Well, about three years, really’. And she’s like, ‘OK, why haven’t you mentioned it before?’. And it’s not because I’m lying about it. It’s just because it doesn’t seem to be at the top of the list of important things that I need to talk about. But obviously it is.”
Lily said that her ADHD, with which she was diagnosed fairly recently, means she isn’t always good at “talking about the bigger picture” or “linking things”.
Advertisement
“My body and my brain are two very separate things to me. I know a lot of people feel those two things are very connected to each other, but for me it’s very different,” she said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
“I spend a lot of time in my head, and not a lot of time thinking about my body.”
She added: “I’m really not in a great place mentally at the moment, and I’m not eating. I’m not hungry. I obviously am hungry, but my body and brain are so disconnected from each other [that] the messages of hunger are not going through my body to my brain.
Advertisement
“I’m not avoiding food, I’m just not thinking about it because I’m so in my head. My body’s, like, a few steps behind me.”
“I love food. I love eating, but I’m just not very good at remembering to do things,” she claimed. “I get up in the morning and I’m looking after kids and I just forget.”
Kemi Badenoch has been criticised after saying a flat rate of income tax for everyone in the country is an “attractive idea”.
Labour accused the Tory leader of being “a reverse Robin Hood” because the policy would mean “massive” tax cuts for the rich.
Advertisement
They also compared her to former Tory prime minister Liz Truss, who was forced from office after her plans for huge unfunded tax cuts caused economic chaos.
Under the current tax system, workers pay higher rates of income tax as their salaries increase.
Appearing at an event on Monday, Badenoch was asked is she supported replacing that with a flat tax rate, with everyone paying the same regardless of their income.
She replied: “It’s very attractive but if we’re going to get to that sort of scenario there’s a lot of work we will need to do first.
Advertisement
“We cannot afford flat taxes where we are now. We need to make sure we rewire our economy so that we can lighten the burden of tax and of regulation on individuals, and on those businesses that are just starting out in particular.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Kemi’s reverse Robin Hood would mean massive tax cuts for the rich, paid for by everyone else.
“While Labour protects working people with no tax rises on their payslips, the Tories are bringing out the ghost of Christmas past with these Truss-style tax cuts for millionaires.
Advertisement
“They haven’t listened and they haven’t learnt.”
At the same event on Monday, Badenoch also suggested that the UK’s regulatory standards were too high – but that she supported them.
She said: “Where we continue regulating ourselves at very high standards – which we should do – but in a way that other countries don’t follow, which puts us at a disadvantage, which means that there’s no level of playing field if you’re a farmer, for example, and many others. And we need to start thinking differently.”
A senior Labour source told HuffPost UK: “I don’t get how anyone could follow each clause of that sentence and have a clue what she is suggesting.”
