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See the The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

The thing is is the "average" medium onion varies enormously. The average here much larger than I was used to in England, say. But my use of onion was just an example. Of course, I judge for myself how much onion to include in a dish. The fact remains that half an onion is an unknown quantity, which in a recipe which is microscopically precise about other ingredients becomes absurd. But my entire post was partly in jest.

That is the problem. The recipe writer knows what they mean by half an onion but fails to convey that information to the reader.

I seldom cook from recipes although I read a lot of them. Today I was looking at one which went into meticulous detail to the nearest milliliter about how much vinegar to add then suggested I use half a red onion. The colour of the onion is irrelevant. What I want I know is "how much onion is half an onion?" Which onion? Here are three red onions found today in a local store. Which one should I use half of? Do recipe writers ever read their recipes? Or do their editors? This is far from an isolated example. I see such absurdities all the time. 27 milligrams of this and a pinch of salt? Whose pinch? What is a large pinch? A thumb of ginger. Whose thumb? I've even been advised to add a tickle of spice to a dish! My reply to that is not publishable on a family friendly site such as this. Grrr!

Chicken breast marinated with garlic, capers and white wine. Stir fried, finished with basil and served with orzo and tomato. Dressed with sesame and chilli paste.

Yes, generally, but when I said "round here" I was referring to my part of China - Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan. Definitely garlic, ginger and chillies, except when it's chillies, chillies and chillies. Guangdong and Beijing can do what they like! 😂

Not in China!

Yes, you are right. "Banger" was originally simply slang for a sausage of any description. But today, at least in the UK, it is only really used when it refers to the component in "Bangers and Mash", which is nearly always a sausage of the short fat type. The long skinny ones are known as chipolatas as mentioned above.

Wontons in chicken broth with garlic and lettuce.

It's 35ºC / 95ºF here. Has been for weeks and will remain so through September - may get higher on the way. But cooking continues. Thank god, Chinese cooking is generally very rapid so I melt for a few minutes and life goes on. I have no air-con.

Simple dinner for one. Shrimp with black garlic and garlic scapes with spaghetti.

Thanks for the link. Ireland has wonderful food. I spent a lot of time there 40 years ago and still miss it a lot. I don't know the writer but I'll be reading the article in a minute!

No. The etymology of "bangers" is well documented. It dates from World War I and referred to the cheap sausages given to the miitary, which often exploded during frying, due to the high fat and bread content used. The term is first recorded is 1919, but it was in WW2 that the expression became common. Today, sausages are only called bangers in the context of the dish "bangers and mash".

Yes, please. With seconds!

Most commercial food photography is faked. Dishes are only half cooked; sometimes painted; propped up by hidden struts etc. Then there is the post-processing including Photoshop etc. Creative plating and commercial food photography are two different things.

British bangers are not so miserly as just ½" in diameter! Those pictured look fine to me.

Brined chicken breast cooked 1-10-10 and dressed with sesame and chilli paste. Tomato and balcony basil salad. Orzo.

Looking at your first link it does say "The best chicken to poach for this white cut chicken recipe is a high quality, smaller, free-range chicken." The image in the second link looks like no white cut chicken I've ever seen in a quarter of century of eating the dish. It doesn't even match the article's descripton. They posted the wrong picture. Nonsense. These are some of the most prized parts.

I'll take anyone's reject cured yolks anytime! Delicious!

Grilled pineapple isn't unusual. Watermelon works very well, too.

I just returned from my daily grocery hunt. I made a point of checking out the weight of chickens. They ranged from 1.2 to just under 1.5 kg. That is, I believe, 2lb 10oz to 3lb 5oz. The only chickens larger than that were what @Katie Meadowrefers to above, but even these came nowhere near 5lb - just over 4lb. They are old layers which no one would ever use for white cut chicken. It would be inedible. They are sold for making stocks and broth, although most are used industrially to make chicken bouillon and fertilizer.

As far as I am aware, free range and organic does not preclude selective breeding. 5lb chickens aren't normal.

I wouldn't know where to find a 5lb chicken. We don't get those artificially fattened birds here.

Seems to me that rather defeats the point. It is normally partially poached, then left to finish in the residual heat of the cooling poaching medium. Also, until very recently, few domestic kitchens and many commercial kitchens wouldn't have had the ice for an ice bath.

I've never seen it cooled in an ice water bath. It is usually served at room temperature. I've only ever had it made on the day it's served.