A classic handwritten collection of recipes of an Australian housewife of the 1940s.

By Betsy Newman and Graeme Newman

Take a culinary adventure to "the land down under" with Good Food from Australia! From the famous Vegemite Sandwich to grilling on the "barbie," the authors provide a generous collection of over 150 genuine Australian favorites. Start off with Egg and Bacon Pie (what real Australian men eat!), then sample some hearty Pocket Steak Melbourne or Dandenong Rabbit Pie, with a side of Victoria Salad, and top it all off with a slice of Maisie's Chocolate Peppermint Cake. You can even learn to drink a "cuppa tea" and a beer like a real Aussie! Reflecting the great variety and range of Australian cooking, some of the sections included in this cookbook are: "The Australian Melting Pot," "Steaks, Chops, and Snags," "Casseroles and Curries, "Cookies and Slices," and of course, "Outback Cooking." From the exotic and outlandish--Kangaroo Tail Soup and Fried Tiger Snake- to tried and true favorites like Hamburger Hot Pot and Banana Tea Cake, give your cooking some real Australian flavor with these unique recipes, specially adapted for the American kitchen.

NY. Hippocrene Books. 1997. 273p.

By A. G. Payne

A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet.. “The aims of the London Vegetarian Society are to advocate the total disuse of the flesh of animals (fish, flesh, and fowl) as food, and to promote a more extensive use of pulse, grains, fruits, nuts, and other products of the vegetable kingdom, thus propagating a principle tending essentially to true civilisation, to universal humaneness, and to the increase of happiness generally.”

London, Paris and Melbourne (1891) 222 pages.

By W. Carew Hazlitt.

“the English artisan, if he could get a rump-steak or a leg of mutton once a week, was content to starve on the other six days.” One might sum up this book’s essential thesis as “animals don’t cook, humans do.” A wonderful history of cooking.

(London 1902) 150 pages.

By Lydia Maria Gurney.

A collection of old time recipes, some nearly one hundred years old and never published before. Originally published in Suburban Life. New York (1914) 94 pages.

By Marion Harland.

A practical and exhaustive manual of cookery and housekeeping, containing thousands of carefully proved recipes — prepared for the housewife, not for the chef — and many chapters on the care and management of the home — the final expression of her life’s experience. (1903) 948 pages.

“ONE always finds fascination in history, be it the tale of a people or the story of a food. In the story of foods, Davis Gelatine holds a unique place, for in a score of years it has become known in the majority of homes of the chief countries of the British Empire and many lands beyond. It is sought for its usefulness; appreciated for its food value and high protein content, its facilitation of the digestive process, its enrichment of every dish which it helps to fashion and the pleasure and simplicity which it brings to meal preparation. No other food has just those properties which gelatine possesses, and these commend it as an ingredient which aids and adds to the utilization of natural foods. “

Wonderful local recipes from the Gaspe Peninsular. Some editions authored by Ethel Ranouf, “handed down from mother to daughter.” Some recipes will be familiar old favorites, others unique to the locality.

By Maria Willett Howard

A new guide for the housekeeper, especially intended as a full record of delicious dishes sufficient for any well-to-do family, clear enough for the beginner, and complete enough for ambitious providers. Prepared and revised by Maria Willett Howard, one of the most experienced and successful teachers of cooking in the country, offering the latest fruits of practical and scientific knowledge of the art.

Walter M. Lowney co. 486 Hanover street, Boston. Published in 1908

Any Samuel Pegge

Roll of Ancient English Cookery. Compiled about A.D. 1390 by the Master Cooks of King Richard II. Presented afterwards to Queen Elizabeth, by Edward Lord Stafford. And now it is the Publication of Gustavus Brander, Esq. Illustrated with notes, copious index and glossary. A Manuscript of the Editor, of the same age and subject, with other congruous matters, are subjoined.

Printed in London by N. Nichols, Printer to the Society of Antiquaries, 1775.

Foreign and domestic. Receipts for the household. a valuable collection of receipts and hints for the housewife, many of which are not to be found elsewhere. Originally published in 1893.

This is a classic reprint of the 1961 edition of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union of Victoria cookbook. It contains many old favorites, still popular in Aussie kitchens today.

Harrow and Heston Classic Reprint

Edited by Colin Heston

This quaint, but very informative book reveals what home life was like in 1940s Australia. The book, faithfully preserved, represents writing at the local level, offering sage advice for housekeepers, handy men and women, whether in the kitchen, the car, the garden or laundry. Given the time, the middle of World War 2, the upbeat advice conveys an aura of hope and earthiness, a truly “get it done” attitude, much needed in time of war.

In the first half of the 20th century, before fast foods (except for fish and chips) appeared in Australia, home cooking, family dinners and cut lunches ruled the day. Mothers spent their time in the kitchen and, except for a brief period during World War II, they stayed there. They inherited recipes from their own mothers, and shared them as well with relatives and friends. Although many of the recipes and cooking practices were typically English, many came from the Irish, the Chinese who tried their luck in the gold fields in the 1850s, and after World War II, from European immigrants, especially Italian and Greek. Pub lunches led the way in the latter part of the 20th century, followed by take-out restaurants, coffee shops, and restaurants of almost any cultural origin. Today in the 21st century, mothers and fathers go out to work, there are ready made meals available in supermarkets, and going out to a pub for lunch or dinner is no big deal. This cookbook revives the old recipes of the past, the simple tastes of the home made meat pie or sausage roll, the wonderful pastries, cookies, slices and cakes that no modern restaurant or bakery can ever match. For those older readers who no longer cook for themselves, this book will help resurrect for your children or grandchildren what home cooking was all about. The true joys of cooking!