Florence White was such an interesting woman. She worked as a governess, teacher, ladies companion while also writing articles for a very genteel magazine. Six years were spent working as a cook-housekeeper, possibly the happiest years of her life.
She was a founder of the English Folk Cookery Society, concerned that traditional English cookery was being lost as popularity for foreign foods increased. I have one of her other books, mentioned in the earlier post - Flowers as Food.
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| Image from persephone books |
Then again, what about The Amateur Cook, illustrated by none other than Mabel Lucie Attwell? My copy may be at the lower end of the value scale, it is foxed and has copious handwritten notes from a previous owner, but the illustrations are perfect and anyway, I love finding old notes and recipes from a previous owner.
Or what about this charming children's cook book?
Children's cookery books are not a genre I collect, yet I do seem to have acquired one or two - the covers are so irresistible!
The core of the books I am taking to the group meeting, are those I showed a few days ago, but there have been a couple of additions.
The cake is made - a Lincolnshire Dripping Cake - a recipe I haven't made before. As the name suggests, it requires the use of dripping, rather than butter. Sounds weird, I know. My husband - also known as my guinea pig - has sampled it and found it light and delicious. Those old cooks knew a thing or two.
I used a medieval recipe to make a batch of shortbread... which simply means that honey is used instead of sugar. The result is that the shortbread tastes a little less sweet than normal, but is still very moreish, I will take some of that, too.
My books may bore them, but at least they can nibble the time away!
A decade or two ago I didn't collect recipe books or leaflets and had anyone suggested that I would be doing so now, I would have laughed.
Yet here I am.
My shelves are almost groaning under the weight of them. I suppose that initially I had a bit of a scatter gun approach to collecting them.
These days I am
That cover on the children's cook book.. I have seen a very similar one before. The art work, I mean. I wonder if the art work I have seen (on the net), is the same? Will try to find a link to it.
ReplyDeleteOh lovely, now you have set me off on a Quest! thank you.
Florence White looks like a person, who could write about such topics! She looks warm and comfy and quite delightful.
Best of luck with deciding what books to bring!!!!
Cake, using drippings, rather than butter... Very interesting. But actually, they both "do" the same thing, in a recipe. :-) Same with the honey instead of sugar. Both are sweet.
One thing, is your collection. And even more interesting thing, is that you actually make, many of the recipes! That's the best part!!!!
Hello Luna, I posted the cover on IG, several months ago, the artwork, or very similar, minus colour, has also been used on a recipe book 'Homemade Cookies'...perhaps that could be it.
DeleteFlorence White's books are excellent. I need to do more research on her. It was an interesting exercise, selecting just a few, it made me realise just how much I enjoy dipping in and out of those book. More about the cakes in a post. It was a really good meeting, lots of interesting snippets to share.
I am very familiar with cakes made with dripping - and know them as Lardy Cakes. I can remember them from my childhood. I think it hails from Wiltshire/West Country generally. Mum tried her hand once and must have done something very wrong as the oven was discovered with melted fat pouring out of the bottom of the door!!
ReplyDeleteHello Bovey Belle, The Lincolnshire Dripping cake was a big success. Your poor mum! I can imagine her horror and disappointment. I think we have all had the odd culinary disaster, I know I have. That was a messy/smelly one though!
DeleteFlorence White, also wrote "Easy Dressmaking" in 1891. I would love to read her autobiography, "A Fire in the Kitchen." Interesting lady and definitely one to include in your presentation. Wish I could be there, at Village Hall, for it's sure to be fun...especially the food!!!
ReplyDeleteHello Chip, That is so interesting - I've checked out the price of her autobiography - I fainted - picked myself up and then checked out a couple more sites. Very expensive, but certainly a book I shall save hard to buy. Many thanks for telling me about it! I wish you could have been there, too. In fact, I wish you could have been there as a guest speaker, we would have been riveted to our seats.
DeleteI hope the talk goes well for you, sounds like youhave sorted out the books to take and the goodies. BTW the Oxford canal does still exsit and is in use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Canal
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, It went really well, the cake and biscuits disappeared and we all had fun, despite the very wet and dreary weather. If the canal still exists, I wonder whether those impoverished women still get an annual gift from the estate's shares in the company!!!
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