English Provincial Cooking

A culinary history of England, from wild Celtic times to the present, with recipes from each major area of the country, as depicted in a lovely culinary map. Gorgeous photographs of arrays of dishes from each area. Each recipe is accompanied by a small paragraph or two describing its place in the history. "The first quality cookbook on the regional cookery of England ... a revival of all that was great in English cooking. Not only a celebration of past glories, it is also destined to become the standard modern work." The standard notion that English cooking is inferior is thoroughly examined - it evidently *was* inferior for a time during the 19th century until after World War II, which Ayrton attributes to the rise of the merchant classes, allowing wives to leave kitchens to ill-trained servants whose solution was to blanket the dinner plate with white sauce. But she presents more than enough flavorful regional dishes from before and after that dismal time to support the idea of England as having a cuisine worth savoring. Authentic recipes for such familiar dishes as Cornish Pasties, Shepherd's Pie, Spring Lamb, Port Wine Jelly, and Damask Cream as well as many more lesser known in the west - like Mutton and Turnip Pie, Veal and Oysters, Melton Mowbray Pie, Bedfordshire Clangers, Marigold Pudding, and Christmas Spiced Beef. An authoritative book about an under-explored and misunderstood cuisine and an important addition to a cookbook collection.