I got my Ebay books on Sunday - all fifty of them (yippee). I buy from a Coffs seller (charliejodesigns) who lets me pick them up (thus I spend my postage costs on more books) and, because I have been doing this for so long, I often get the occasional bonus book thrown in.
Anyway, I was a little perturbed when I first saw this one, it appeared to be a bible which is out of character for my bonus books. Then I opened the front page and realised that this was not a holy book. The title page revealed an absolute treasure - The American Woman's Cookbook from 1952. Oh was I in heaven!
This book is similar to our own CWA or Golden Wattle cookbooks but oh so much more.
Aside from the recipes that are easy to laugh at - all offal and anything "under glass" are just easy starters for me but there are some other classics here : Peanut Butter and Onion Sandwiches, Salmon Wiggle, Turtle Ragout, Planked Steak, Headcheese (using a pigs head, tongue and seasonings), Pigeon Pie and Roast Squirrels (or Opossum).
But once I stop laughing at the dated nature of some things (which I personally think are sociological gems) this book is just incredible. It has a whole section on cooking terms and their definitions (scallop, scramble, stew etc), it has a complete range of nutritional information, a chapter on table settings, how to buy and store food, identifying meat cuts, variations on basic sauce and bread recipes. It just goes on and is a true bevy of information - including hints and tips you learn by attrition but no one ever thinks to actually teach you - that is as relevant now as it was then. And it does make the CWA books look a little thin (did I really say that).
Aside from, perhaps, a couple of technical cook books I have (for catering students) or, maybe, the Stephanie Alexander collections, I have never seen anything this comprehensive. And neither of those examples come close, nor are they aimed at the same market, or available for a similar price (these books would have sold in the $25 - $30 price range - our money - the technical books are $50 +++ and Stephanie's start at $120). I know I have thrown something similar together a couple of times (one book for students who have just moved out of home, and another for a friend that was just learning to cook) but these were singular issue, photocopied productions that I gave away.
I love cookbooks and delight in just reading them as I would any other book, but this one has definitely set a new standard for me for the depth of knowledge it imparts, the ease of the recipes and the simplicity of the presentation.
7 comments:
Well having grown up on the Commonsense cookbook, The Anglican Guilds Cookbook & Margret Fulton... I so appreciate the little gem you hold in your hands...does it smell old? ...
My mum had a simialar one she learnt to cook from (it didnt help!) called 52 Weeks...each page had a breakfast, lunch dinner and dessert for every day...
Mainly use the commensence cookbook myself, with a bit of help from " the Womans Weekly Cookbook" for some more exotic fare ( both editions pre metric )
Had a lot of recipes that were saved by my mother - they have disappeared now-
Oh this one ahs the exotic too - a whole section on French cooking for a start :-)
I will smell it when I get home Miss A and let you know :-)
Gee, even being an American, I've never heard of that one. Most kitchens have the ol' standard Betty Crocker Cookbook with the red/white cover.
I've got several c/b's also, but the ones I regularly collect are the 1/2 size booklets published monthly by Pillsbury and some others, but I usually only get the ones geared towards casseroles or slow-cookers (my two favorite ways of cooking!).
ps,
I did a similar thing for some of my girlfriends & younger kinfolk... when they got married, I got a small binder and typed up a bunch of my favorite recipes and created a cookbook for them.
how lovely for you my dear, i can imagine you sitting there, excitedly flicking from page to page, i love your passion for cooking xo
Excitedly flicking - that was days ago! Now I am savoring each page, trying to smell each of the dishes as I read each recipe while conjuring up images of the woman that may have cooked it :-)
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