I like old Australian cookbooks, they not only give a taste of the times but also, with their tips, commentary, and advertising, reflect the lifestyle. I read the recipes and imagine the people preparing the food, most likely the wives, perhaps with daughters. Then the family all sitting together, without the distraction of television or devices, to enjoy the meal and the company. The oldest Australian cookbook is The Art of Living in Australia, which was first published in 1893.
In 1893 food preparation would have factored into the larger part of the cooks day. Her repertoire of go-to meals must have included a great variety of dishes. Not many cheats were available, not even the ubiquitous box cake mixes were invented until the 1930’s. There was no take-away, home delivery, or helpful gadgets to ease the workload. Electricity didn’t start to be rolled out in Australia until the early 1900s. The cook would have begun her preparation hours before the meal needed to be served. So much work to do if you are tending fires, raising dough and baking, making sauces and preserves, and the myriad other tasks that needed to be done if you can’t get your food from a packet or freezer.
I remember visits to my grandparents as a child, they cooked everything on a wood stove. They lived on a small property at the back of Mudgee in a cottage surrounded by beautiful gardens and fruit trees. But they avoided modernisation, specifically electricity, until the 70’s. Their home with it’s kerosene lights, and wood fires, seemed magical to me. Their house smelled amazing; the wood burning, the aroma of food baking and bubbling, tea brewing. We all sat in the kitchen and chatted. Nanna would tell me about her great romance with Pop – I always asked her because it was her favourite story. And Pop told jokes, laughing before the punchline, rubbing the tears from his eyes, and bouncing up and down with mirth. At lunch we drank cups of tea and ate corned beef and tomato sandwiches on thick slices of buttered bread. I miss them and their great romance. Such lovely memories.
The Art of Living in Australia is a cookbook and lifestyle guide (as they all were back in the day). This is probably the cookbook that my great grandmother would have used. The recipes passed through the generations, down to my mother. And then it got too easy… If you are looking for an old Australian recipe that your grandparents (great, great great grandparents…!) would have known, you will probably find it in this book.
The Art of Living in Australia by Philip E. Muskett is in the Public Domain, and as such is available free and online. Go to University of Adelaide library eBooks to view or download. https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/muskett/philip/art/index.html
The book is also available, with over 60,000 other free books, from Project Gutenberg,
http://www.gutenberg.org
This photo would have been taken around the end of the1920’s. The young man on the left is my grandfather, he was born in 1909. The older man is my great grandfather, born in 1883. And suspended between them is a long fat snake.
Recent Comments