A new survey has revealed that more than a quarter of UK adults have somehow never boiled an egg in their lives.
As unfathomable as it may sound to the remaining 75% of people who have stuck an egg in a pan of water and boiled it on countless occasions in their time, according to new research carried out by Waitrose, some 27% of the 4,000 UK adults surveyed just can’t relate.
And while that’s probably the hardest finding from the survey for most people to wrap their heads around, it’s not the only bizarre revelation on the list, as apparently, fewer than a fifth of people (18%) surveyed have made a salad dressing to take their greens to the next level, and less than half (45%) have ever baked a Victoria Sponge cake.
New survey reveals more than a quarter of UK adults have never boiled an egg / Credit: cook_inspire (via Depositphotos) | ccnull
On top of this, nearly half (46%) of the people surveyed admitted that they often get distracted in the kitchen and let pans boil over, while 38% revealed they have burnt something so badly the smoke alarm went off, and 23% have undercooked or overcooked a dish so bad that it’s actually inedible.
ADVERTISEMENT
46% of people say they ignore the sell-by dates on packaging, 38% use the ‘five-second rule’ for picking up food they’ve dropped on the floor, and 16% say they are happy to scrape the mould off food to eat or cook with it.
But despite all this, 35% of people surveyed still rate themselves as “very good” or “excellent” cooks.
ADVERTISEMENT
Aside from shocking stats, the supermarket‘s 2023 Cooking Report also took a closer look at how the nation’s kitchen habits have altered post-COVID and amid the rising cost of living crisis.
The shocking statistic was revealed as part of Waitrose’s annual Cooking Report / Credit: Pxfuel
The survey found that 20% of respondents say they are entertaining more at home due to the cost of living crisis, while four in 10 (40%) are happy to choose cheaper cuts of meat and more affordable ingredients to economise when entertaining, and 7% will ask friends to bring a dish or course along with them.
When it comes to how our cooking methods have changed, 32% of people said they couldn’t live without their microwave, and 12% said the same about airfryers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Waitrose said searches for “microwave meals” were up 71% on waitrose.com, when compared with the same time last year, while sales of microwaves were up by 13% at partner John Lewis.
Speaking on the findings of this year’s Cooking Report, Martyn Lee – Executive Chef for Waitrose – said: “Food is a daily joy and the cost of living crisis has hastened a change in how we cook [but] for too long we’ve been looking down on microwaves.
“You can do so much more in them than heat a cup of coffee.”
Sir David Jason set for TV return in Only Fools and Horses documentary Christmas special
Danny Jones
In a surprise bit of festive news, the only and only Sir David Jason is returning for an Only Fools and Horses Christmas special this December. Lovely jubbly!
The best-loved and most-watched British comedy of all time will be back on our screens in documentary form this festive season, with Del Boy himself David Jason revisiting the iconic comedy character after 20 years he last played him on screen.
While the legendary sitcom was broadcast on BBC back in the day, the highly-anticipated Only Fools doc will be airing on Channel 5 right before Christmas as a special one-off programme.
Looking back on the show’s incredible run on UK screens over seven series and the several ‘Christmas Cracker’ specials, specifically, the latest Only Fools and Horses documentary will see Jason and a number of other guests appearing to chat about the legendary show.
The release date of the Only Fools special Christmas documentary is yet to be announced.
While it’s still unclear how many of the original cast will be appearing, Jason’s on-screen wife Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel) is confirmed to be appearing along with other special guests including newscaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Bendiorm‘s Sherrie Hewson.
Sadly, a full theatrical reunion just isn’t on the cards following the deaths of Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger), Kenneth MacDonald (Mike the Landlord) and Buster Merryfield (Uncle Albert) in the 30 years since the show ended its run.
Only Fools writer John Sullivan also sadly passed away aged 64 in 2011 and fellow co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, a.k.a. Rodney Trotter, told Metro: “We can’t. John is no longer with us. John was the driving force of the show and we have also lost quite a few cast members now.
“I don’t think I could do it without them and I certainly couldn’t do it without John. At the risk of depressing everyone, I think the last two times I’ve seen David has been at funerals.”
Simply entitled, ‘The Story Of Only Fools And Horses At Christmas’, the 90-minute special is yet to have its broadcast date fully confirmed but you best keep your eyes peeled on the TV guide — we’ll let you know as soon we do.
Jason, 81, has only just recovered from hip surgery earlier this year, so it’ll be nice to see his familiar grin back on our screens.
Right, we’re off to binge a whole series on UK Gold.
Scott McTominay jokes he’s ‘fuming’ he didn’t score a hat-trick against Chelsea as he reflects on Man United’s mentality
Danny Jones
Scott McTominay has joked he’s “fuming” with himself after failing to score a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday nightand shed some light on the mentality around Old Trafford.
McTominay starred in the Red Devils’ win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side on a cold night at home, managing to bag a brace with a goal in the first and second half to get his squad over the line, but he himself said he could have had more.
Speaking to MUTV after the game, the 26-year-old said he and the squad knew they needed to drum up a reaction after the Newcastle disappointment, adding that contributing more goals is something he wants to keep working on and insisting that plenty of people back him to do so.
Confessing that his mum, dad and grandad have all been encouraging him to “get in the box” and that he just needs to “believe in [him]self and go for it”, the Scotsman did go on to quip he was “fuming” to not grab a third as he shook his head went on to shake and reveal a wry smile.
Scott McTominay was the match-winner against Chelsea.
Commentator and presenter Stewart Gardner went on to list McTominay’s impressive stats this season, having now scored 14 goals in his last 33 appearances for club and country. A seriously good rate from a midfielder typically entrusted to help link play and break things up in the middle of the park.
Now boasting half a dozen goals and an assist across all competitions so far this campaign, he sits as the club’s leading goalscorer in the Premier League with five finishes to his name — with only Bruno Fernandes having contributed more (five goals and five assists) — he’s genuinely become one of Man United’s main goal threats.
While he recently rubbished talk that he played as a striker regularly coming up through the youth academy, simply having been deployed for the odd game in reality, he has always had a shot on him and it isn’t the first time he’s bagged a winner or a big goal for the Reds. This wasn’t a bad one either:
Chatting with the pundits on Amazon Prime Sport, he reiterated that he could have had “one or two more” on another night and agreed that the performance against Newcastle in the previous fixture was “pretty abysmal”, holding his hands up to admit that it was “no way near good enough”.
Reflecting on the later chance he had to seal the hat-trick towards the end of the game, he said he simply needed to “calm down on the last one”.
As for the mentality to get the result during a difficult period where the club remained under a lot of scrutiny from pundits and fans alike, McTominay went on to say that the manager is responsible for the way they played and some “lighter training sessions to keep energy levels up” definitely helped.
Regardless, he was sure to not get ahead of himself and assured ten Hag‘s team were still taking things a game at a time. You can watch the full highlights from Manchester United vs Chelsea down below:
Emily Sergeant -
6th July 2023 
