How to Tell When It's Done: A Practical Guide to Doneness

Recipe times are estimates, not guarantees. Your oven runs hot, your chicken breast is thicker than the one the recipe writer used, your pan holds heat differently. That's why the cooks who never serve dry chicken or gummy pasta don't rely on the clock - they rely on the signs of doneness. Here's how to read them.

Meat and poultry: temperature is king

The single best upgrade you can make to your cooking is an instant-read thermometer. Colour and firmness are unreliable; internal temperature is not. As a guide:

• Chicken and other poultry: 74°C / 165°F in the thickest part. No pink juices, but don't rely on juice colour alone.
• Beef and lamb (whole cuts): about 52-55°C for medium-rare, 60-65°C for medium. These cuts are safe to eat pink.
• Pork: 63°C / 145°F with a short rest - modern pork is safe slightly pink and far juicier than the well-done pork of decades past.
• Burgers, sausages and anything minced: cook all the way through, 71-74°C, because surface bacteria get mixed throughout.

Always rest meat after cooking - five minutes for a steak, longer for a roast. Resting lets the juices redistribute so they stay in the meat instead of running out onto the board, and the temperature rises a few more degrees as it sits.

Fish: it flakes and turns opaque

Fish is done when the flesh turns from translucent to opaque and just flakes when you press it gently with a fork. It keeps cooking off the heat, so pull it a touch early - a moment too long is the difference between silky and rubbery. Salmon is lovely left slightly translucent in the centre.

Vegetables: cook to the texture you want

There's no single rule - it depends on the dish:

• Crisp-tender (most stir-fries and quick sautés): bright in colour, tender but with a little bite.
• Fully soft (soups, braises, mash): a knife slides in with no resistance.
• Roasted: caramelised and golden at the edges, tender within. Give them space on the tray so they roast rather than steam.

Green vegetables are at their best the moment they turn vivid green; past that they dull and go mushy.

Pasta: bite it

Ignore the packet time by a minute and start tasting early. You want al dente - cooked through but with a slight firmness when you bite. Remember it'll cook a little more when tossed with hot sauce, and always save a mug of starchy pasta water to loosen and bind the sauce.

Baking: the tests that work

Baking is chemistry, so the signs matter:

• Cakes: a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs; the sponge springs back when lightly pressed and is just pulling away from the tin's edges.
• Bread: deep golden, and it sounds hollow when you tap the base. For an exact result, the inside reaches around 90-96°C.
• Cookies: pull them when the edges are set but the centres still look slightly underdone - they firm up dramatically as they cool on the tray.

The meta-skill: stop trusting the timer

Set the timer for a few minutes less than the recipe says, then check, and check again. Learn what "done" looks, smells and feels like for the foods you cook most, and you'll stop guessing. Pair these checks with a thermometer for anything that matters, and overcooked dinners become a thing of the past.

Put it into practice tonight on any of our recipes - trust the signs over the stopwatch, and you'll taste the difference.