Christmas Cooking
At Home
Christmas Cooking At Home
The countdown has started and Christmas is upon us, but just what do we have planned? HelloFresh has analysed Google searches to reveal what the UK’s Christmas dinner will be like this year.
The countdown has started and Christmas is upon us, but just what do we have planned? HelloFresh has analysed Google searches to reveal what the UK’s Christmas dinner will be like this year.
Searches for ‘Christmas Dinner For One’ Spiked in the First Week of November
Despite Brits hoping for a return to normality by Christmastime, it seems we have accepted that a big family Christmas may be off the cards this year.
A Growing Appetite For Christmas Dinner Delivery
Instead of dining out this year, some Brits want to enjoy their Christmas dinner at home but without cooking it themselves!
So far in 2020, searches for ‘Christmas dinner takeaway’ are up 250%, while delivery searches are also on the rise:
- Christmas dinner delivered +200%
- Christmas dinner deliver +170%
- Christmas dinner delivered to your home +140%
More People Will Cook Christmas Dinner At Home This Year
With searches for ‘how to prepare a Christmas dinner’ up 170%, more Brits will cook Christmas dinner at home this year - and potentially for the very first time too! As a result, we can expect even more ‘how to’ searches come December, as confused Brits turn to Google for cooking advice come December 25th. The list below shows the trickiest parts of a Christmas dinner to cook, based on the number of ‘how to’ searches each received in December 2019.
The Most Difficult Parts of a Christmas Dinner To Cook According To December 2019 'How To' Searches
The Most Popular Search Queries By Food Type
Turkey
Turkey takes the title of the most difficult part of a Christmas dinner to cook, with how to searches surging in December. 165,000 Brits Googled ‘how to cook a turkey’ in December 2019, with searches up a staggering 1,015% on the query’s 14,800 average monthly searches. Likewise, ‘how to cook a turkey crown’ sees a similar increase of 1,011% around Christmastime, rising from an average of 9,900 queries to a huge 110,000 searches!
Gammon
Brits need a little help when cooking gammon and ham at Christmas. In December 2019, searches for ‘how to cook gammon’ climbed from an average of 9,900 to 33,100, increasing 234%. ‘How to cook ham’ saw an even larger increase, up 410% to 14,800 searches in December 2019. And it seems slow-cooked gammon is on Britain’s Christmas Day menu; with an increase of 179%, 8,100 people looked up ‘how to cook gammon in a slow cooker’ last year.
Roast Potatoes
In December 2019, searches for ‘how to roast potatoes’ and ‘how to cook roast potatoes’ increased by 124% each, racking up 12,100 and 14,800 searches respectively. But what is Britain’s perfect roastie? 8,100 Brits looked up ‘how to make crispy roast potatoes’ last December, an increase of 125% on the monthly average. With 2,900 Brits looking for ‘how to make the best roast potatoes’ and ‘how to make perfect roast potatoes’ each, mediocre roasties just won't cut it!
Turkey
Turkey takes the title of the most difficult part of a Christmas dinner to cook, with how to searches surging in December. 165,000 Brits Googled ‘how to cook a turkey’ in December 2019, with searches up a staggering 1,015% on the query’s 14,800 average monthly searches. Likewise, ‘how to cook a turkey crown’ sees a similar increase of 1,011% around Christmastime, rising from an average of 9,900 queries to a huge 110,000 searches!
Gammon
Brits need a little help when cooking gammon and ham at Christmas. In December 2019, searches for ‘how to cook gammon’ climbed from an average of 9,900 to 33,100, increasing 234%. ‘How to cook ham’ saw an even larger increase, up 410% to 14,800 searches in December 2019. And it seems slow-cooked gammon is on Britain’s Christmas Day menu; with an increase of 179%, 8,100 people looked up ‘how to cook gammon in a slow cooker’ last year.
Roast Potatoes
In December 2019, searches for ‘how to roast potatoes’ and ‘how to cook roast potatoes’ increased by 124% each, racking up 12,100 and 14,800 searches respectively. But what is Britain’s perfect roastie? 8,100 Brits looked up ‘how to make crispy roast potatoes’ last December, an increase of 125% on the monthly average. With 2,900 Brits looking for ‘how to make the best roast potatoes’ and ‘how to make perfect roast potatoes’ each, mediocre roasties just won't cut it!
Top Tips From Our Expert Chefs
Whether you want to cook a perfectly moist turkey or crispy, delicious roast potatoes, we’ve asked our expert chefs to share their top tips for cooking the perfect Christmas dinner.
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Perfectly Crisp Roast Potatoes
After you’ve boiled them for around 5 minutes, drain your potatoes in a colander, making sure to give them a good shake. This will help ‘fluff up’ your potatoes and increase their surface area, which will help them crisp up more in the oven.
Carefully add your potatoes to the hot baking tray, season with salt and cook in the top shelf of your oven for 25-30 minutes. Perfect!
Juicy & Delicious Turkey
Before cooking, make sure your turkey is dry. If it isn’t, the skin won’t dry out and crisp up, so you’ll lose that must-have golden shine.
You can lock in some extra moisture by stuffing butter or olive oil under the skin. If you find the bird is browning too quickly, gently cover it with foil which will prevent it from burning.