Random Writings

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with a friend and noticed on her bookshelf a copy of the “Dairy Book of Home Cookery” which looks like this:

It caught my eye immediately – my Mum has exactly the same edition, and I remembered it well for its comprehensive selection of classic British recipes, and also for the now cringeworthy recipe ideas and photography from the late 1970s! It was published originally by the Milk Marketing Board (a now-defunct UK government agency which regulated the price of milk and promoted the use of dairy products) and consequently contained a lot of rather blatant marketing material. However, the authors included the basic recipe for pretty much every classic British dish, including a huge range of puddings, cakes and home-made confectionery.

I thought I’d get a copy, and searching the internets I found that they have just this year published a new edition! I’m now the satisfied owner of the 2012 edition, which has been revised and updated but is still clearly the same cookbook with the same heritage. A lot of the recipes are clearly still written in Imperial and translated to metric, and it still contains big chapters on cakes, desserts, preserves and confectionery. Queen of Puddings? Bath buns? Treacle tart? Oh yes…