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WIN an Edmonds cookbook and baker’s starter pack
Soused Trout is out, Elsie’s Fingers are back and Gingerbread Men have become Gingerbread People in the latest edition of the Edmonds Cookery Book, out this week.
The book, a staple of Kiwi kitchens since its 1908 launch, has undergone its first major overhaul since the 1990s. In this, the 69th edition, just under 300 of the 400 recipes were retained from the previous edition, 68 were new recipes and 66 altered. New trends, such as homemade pasta, gluten-free options and bliss balls, are included.
Traditionalists will be pleased to see the return of 24 old recipes, sourced from previous editions of the book. Marshmallow Shortcake is back from 1976, Arabian Nut Cake from 1952, and Cheese Loaf from 1986. Elsie’s Fingers — simple, shortbread-style biscuits — date from the 1923 edition.
The recipes were compiled by food historian and cook book author Alexa Johnston, who researched and tested them, altered them and chucked in a few of her own, including lemon fried chicken drumsticks. Johnston told the Herald on
Sunday she was approached by Edmonds’ owner Goodman Fielder, who planned to re-launch the book’s website and publish another edition of the book. She said the book needed “a complete rewrite’’.
Recipes needed to be designed for novices, which had always been the book’s aim but needed to be even more prescribed to modern audiences who may not know simple cooking terms and techniques, she said. “You will have success with these recipes and everybody wants to have a success, not waste time, ingredients and money and end up feeling grumpy.” Johnston also weeded out recipes whose time had come. Among them, soused trout. “It’s an old trout preserving recipe. It’s not going to be terribly much use today.’’
The misspelled Crispy Chinese Batter Tempora also got the chop. Somewhere in Edmonds’ Cookery Book history the traditional Japanese dish had become Chinese and the correct spelling of tempura had become tempora.
The 1950s Coconut Bread recipe made the cut in a nod to growing interest in the use of coconut in modern recipes.
Other recipes were adapted, some having fallen victim to ingredients such as butter and sugar falling out of fashion and needed some taste returned. The carrot cake, for example, had too little sugar and too much carrot, Johnston said.
Many favourites remained — the condensed milk dressing, curried sausages and their egg-based equivalent, and mock whitebait patties. Made of potatoes, eggs and cheese, with black sesame seeds added to resemble the delicacy’s eyes, they’ve fooled many Kiwi kids into thinking they were eating the real thing.
The project had at times felt daunting, but she pushed on, buoyed by the delight of re-discovering old favourites and the response of her spoiled sister and brother-in-law, who had the good fortune to be visiting when much of her research was taking place, Johnston said.
“These recipes were not extrava- gant, but they were delicious. None of them are there for curiosity value.’’
The book will be in supermarkets from Tuesday, and booksellers a week later.
Get baking!
Edmonds and the Herald on Sunday have 20 Edmonds starter baking packs to giveaway. Each includes flour, baking powder, baking soda, yeast and cornflour,
and a copy of the new Edmonds
Cookbook. To enter, email your name, address and phone number to news@heraldonsunday.co.nz with ‘‘Edmonds’’ in the subject line. Entries close at 5pm, Tuesday September 20.