It's no secret that I have a book addiction. Always have done. My husband and friends are always having to steer me away from book shops or distract me whenever we're approaching one because they know anytime I enter any establishment that sells the kind of object that has a cover, pages and a spine, then I may never come out of there. And when I do, chances are they'll have to help carry weight of my latest purchases! When I was a kid it was story books: fairy tales; Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl before I branched out young adult fiction series such as Nancy Drew; The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High. I was the easiest person to buy gifts for - and I still am! But these days, there's another genre of reading material I don't believe I can ever have enough of - cook books. And if they're vintage cook books then that's even better!
I grew up in a house where we were constantly surrounded by books, and from an early age I was taught how precious they were. In the living room of our very first house in East London, we had book cases which took up almost half the wall of our flock-wallpapered through-lounge. And you could easily tell which books belonged to whom just by looking at the subject matter:
Dad - economics, accounting, literature, religion, language learning books, classic novels, romantic fiction, thrillers, adventure, horror, history, historical fiction, short stories, detective fiction, user manuals and reference guides.
Kids - fairy tales, children's novels, children's Bible, early learning books
Mum - Cookery books. OK prayer and hymn books too!
My mum was and still is very much a foodie. She loves to cook, watch television cooking shows, and if ever she goes out and hears a recipe book calling out her name - then it just has to come home with her! But don't worry - she always pays for it first! Oh and in her work bag, you can bet your life she'll have a cook book in there which she will read through on her breaks (funnily enough my mother-in-law also carries a cook book with her everywhere she goes. I haven't reached that stage... yet!)
So I get my love of books from my parents, and both of them have influenced the kind of genres I'm interested in. If you come over to my house, you'll find books on a wide array of topics just like my dad had... and also a million and one cook books just like my mum still has!
I's a myth that I don't like modern-day cook books (my bestie's mum tried to dissuade him from giving me a Rachel Ray cook book because "it's not old enough." Well, I guess she does have a point!) I have a real interest in cooking and baking so of course I do like the more current cookery books. But I can't lie - I love, love LOVE vintage recipe books, and even though I'm running very low on shelf space, I just can't say no to buying another to add to my collection. I pick one up and I'm instantly reminded of the cook books Mum had and I'm transported back to my childhood. I love the simplicity of the recipes; the unfussiness of the ingredients, and the homeliness of the accompanying food photos and sketches. It goes without saying that for a nostalgia nut like me, I am completely in my element! In fact I find it very relaxing after a long day to just flick through one when I want to chill (I swear I do have a life!)
It's unfortunate that most of my collection is back home in the UK including my ones by Queen Delia, but I have brought a few back with me - not as many as I would have preferred but let's just say more than my husband would have liked! And after moving State-side, I've also been fortunate to have stumbled across some awesome finds here over here, including a couple of Good Housekeeping cookbooks, one by Better Homes and Gardens, and surprisingly two Sainsbury's cookbooks from the 1980s. I'm guessing there's another ex-pat around here who's been in the States a lot longer than I have! And of course you can't really call yourself a collector of vintage cookbooks unless you have at least one by Julia Childs - and I do!
I have some cookbooks that are absolute favourites. One of them is Good Housekeeping's Hot and Cold Puddings which seems to be very obscure and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of information about it. It used to belong to my mum but now it has pride of place in my own home, and I remember this being on our bookshelves back in the eighties. Right now it is the oldest cook book I have as it was published in the 1950s. Actually I tell a lie, it's the joint oldest cook book I have as I have another one, Quick Snacks, from the same series that was published by Good Housekeeping. I'm also delighted to have a copy of Jenny Bristow's Highdays and Holidays as I used to watch her cooking show in the early nineties. Oh, and let's not forget Farmhouse Kitchen! Any cookery book collector worth her salt (and sugar) who grew up watching the Yorkshire Television's Farmhouse Kitchen would know that a Farmhouse Kitchen cookbook is essential! Before arriving in America, I already owned one which I brought out here with me. But I was lucky enough to have found The Complete Farmhouse Kitchen Cook Book right here in America! The very nice gentleman who sold it to me explained that it was purchased by his wife during their brief time in Britain. The personal stories behind a lot of the vintage items I purchase is just one of the reasons why I like to purchase vintage!
I also have two revisions of Reader's Digest's The Cookery Year, published in the 1970s, which has been hailed as the cook's bible and you'll get no argument from me there! It's full of pretty illustrations, gorgeous photos and if you're someone who likes to use seasonal produce or wants to learn how to make classic dishes, this is the book for you. My Mum has her own copy of The Cookery Year that was given to her by my grandparents on her twenty-first birthday. Yeah, yeah, I hear you - who on earth gives a twenty one year old a cook book, I hear you cry. Well didn't I just explain about my mum and her cook book addiction - which is clearly where I get it from (that's right, I'm blaming Mum!) Plus she was a newlywed with her own home and my grandparents probably thought The Cookery Year was right up her street. They were right. And it was right up mine too! I have very happy memories of poring over the pages of The Cookery Year as a child, learning all about the different types of food and imagining all the dishes I would cook for my fancy dinner parties when I was all grown up!
People are probably wondering if I actually put these cook books to good use by actually trying out the recipes. The truth is I probably haven't put the recipes to use as much as I should but I've definitely tried some of them out. Any recipe that involves making something that is sweet and totally bad for your teeth and waistline are definitely winners with me! My absolute fave recipe was for an orange foam sauce that you served with puddings. My dad loves hot puddings with loads of custard but that night, I found we'd run out of milk so I needed to find a sauce that didn't need milk. And I found it in The Cookery Year. Told you it's fantastic!
One of the advantages of living in America is that I'm finding lots of cool vintage cookbooks to add to my collection that I may not have found if I'd still been living in England. It's interesting to pore over the pages and see what was en vogue food-wise back in the day Stateside, and of course I'm learning about all kinds of old-school American classics that we don't have in the UK. And for those of you who think that a 'casserole' in America is the same as a stew in the UK or Europe, think again! Out here it's a carb-laden baked dish which can be sweet like a bread and butter pudding, or savoury and topped with breadcrumbs or cheese. Thanks for clearing that up, American cookbooks!
It goes without saying that I will definitely be adding to my ever expanding collection of cook books - vintage or otherwise. Much to Mr. D's annoyance!
Photos: Angel Noire
Blog graphics: Angel Noire
Terrific post, Angel! We have, perhaps, too many vintage cookbooks here… despite having pared down our collection several times over the years. 😂 The Farmhouse Kitchen cookbook you mentioned sounds interesting (and the program too). I’ll have to keep my eye out in case there are any copies floating around here in the US. The stories behind vintage items (if they are known) can be so neat to hear. 💗 Happy Cookbooking! Andrea & Kyle