In the year of her 90th birthday, Mary Berry has offered more insight into her life than ever before.
She’s given fans a look inside her very traditional marriage, and spoken at length about what she believes are her secrets to living longer.
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While Mary has shared her thoughts on not feeling confident with judging bread, she is a believer in “cheating” if there are areas in the kitchen people are not particularly self-assured with.
Speaking to Cressida Bonas and Isabella Branson on their Lessons From our Mothers podcast, Mary offered her perspective.
“I’m a great one for cheating,” she says, continuing, “if it’s the one thing that you don’t like doing, go and buy it. If you can’t peel a butternut squash, you can buy it all in pieces,” she says.
“If you enjoy making bread, make your own bread,” she adds. These sentiments echo those she previously made in conversation with The Telegraph, where the baking star advocated for plenty of corner-cutting measures.
If you’re having guests over, Mary has no qualms about people buying all the food in from the supermarket. “It’s more important to spend time with you family, with your grandchildren, so if you’re not used to it, if it’s going to stress you, go and buy it,” she says of the food prep that occurs when having people over.
“Buy in your gravy,” she adds, saying, “Just throw away the packaging so nobody knows you’ve done it. The people are more important than the food.” Although for those who do like to make their own, she recommends adding “red wine, red currant jelly and a dash of Worcester Sauce” to homemade gravy.
The star might feel she lacks confidence when it comes to bread, but she definitely enjoys eating it. Revealing her favourite varieties, she says, “I love seeded, sourdough, and olive bread is very nice, too.”
