US cookbooks a recipe for disaster

Different measurements will confuse chefs, say publishers as potential copyright changes loom

AN INFLUX of cheap American cookbooks could cause confusion in British kitchens, leading to recipes being ruined as people struggle to get to grips with unfamiliar units such as “cups”, according to publishers.

Proposed changes to copyright laws could allow cheap foreign editions of cookbooks by chefs such as Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver to be imported into the UK, the industry body has said, along with their confusing foreign measurements.

Readers could also be confused by the different names for ingredients, as polling conducted by Yougov reveals that terms like “cilantro” for coriander and “arugula” for rocket are largely unknown to people in the UK.

Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association, said that British cooks “deserve books that will help them create showstoppers to be proud of, not confusing American imports that risk leaving them with soggy bottoms and dry biscuits”.

“The measurements and terms used in cookbooks need to be understandable to their readers,” he said.

Some ingredients may have to be entirely replaced because they are actually banned in the UK, including bleached “cake flour”, a finely milled flour used in US baking for treats like cupcakes.

EU copyright rules allow price controls on books and prevent the sale of foreign editions of works by British writers sold in the UK, but these laws are being reviewed by the Intellectual Property Office following Brexit.

Industry experts fear that books made for a foreign market – and priced lower to target that market – could be imported directly into the UK if these rules are relaxed, potentially undercutting British publishing. This could not only harm the revenues of authors and booksellers, Mr Lotinga warned, but also the culinary efforts of consumers who have opted to buy cheaper cookbooks containing foreign measurements.

A Yougov survey for the Publishers Association found that more than half of respondents in the UK would be uncomfortable working with American measurements, with 66 per cent usually working in grams and kilograms.

US cookbooks may also call for foodstuffs difficult to buy in the UK, with recipes requiring “molasses” rather than the more British ingredient, golden syrup.

Mr Lotinga and the Publishers Association are calling on the Government to step in and retain EU copyright laws to prevent “a flood of foreign editions into the UK”, and stop reforms that “could leave kitchens in chaos”.

Mr Lotinga said: “We’re asking the Government to listen to the UK’S home cooks and Save Our Books [the Publishers Association campaign] by maintaining our current laws.”

A decision is expected before Christmas. The Intellectual Property Office was contacted for comment.