Original orange cloth with some marking and fading, slight edge rubbing with small tears at spine ends, otherwise very good. Many of the processes are distinctly old-fashioned; thus, Hartley describes basting, dredging, and frothing, switching between the past and present tenses: "Dredging.

Redcurrant jelly for valley breeds; barberry jelly for upland breeds; rowan jelly for Welsh and mountain mutton.They are short, charming pieces on such subjects as shrimp teas, toffee apples, watercress and Kentish cherry picking. Dorothy Hartley’s love of the infinite variety of English cooking and her knowledge of British culture and history show why our food should never be considered dull or limited. The text switches repeatedly from instructions ("To prepare mutton fat for a mutton piecrust, melt it over a bowl of hot water") to historical asides ("Mutton fat was used in the mountain-sheep districts for the same purposes as suet or goose-grease in the valleys").

It's a sharp and funny compendium of cooking tips and treats, from medieval times to the modern day . Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics. One of the book's most famous passages celebrates a "medieval pressure cooker", made by creating an airtight sealing on a cauldron with flour paste.This book ought to be required reading for every Englishman (and woman), every tourist to England, every Ambassador, visiting Head of State, postgraduate student, et al. Her writing demonstrates the close practical combination of these threads, for example "according to superstition, empty egg-shells should always be broken up - lest witches make boats thereof.

A serviceable English ‘tea’ may be made with blackthorn for bulk, and sage, lemon balm, woodruff (the plant), and black-currant leaves for flavour. For example, chapter V, Meat, discusses "a rather interesting mediaeval miracle" and illustrates a traditional "Colonial Travelling Meat Safe of Mosquito Net". wild, and the type and quality of flour grown in a region all change the cuisine ("We expect the last dish of sucking pig will be served in Gloucestershire"). When I look back at the food of my 1970s childhood, it all seems as brightly coloured as a pair of toe-socks or a brand new Space Hopper. She had travelled widely, particularly in Africa, and saw quite clearly that not everything was best at home.

They are not necessarily fitting 21st century palate, but are nonetheless interesting - not unlike what Heston Blumenthal has done. The middle-class Victorian household 1800-1900 section includes mention of brisk exercise before breakfast, which brought to mind the old ladies I met when I was alumni officer at the boarding-school where Enid Blyton's daughters were educated.