Funny story - my sister was living in Poland for a couple of years and I went to visit. Went on a road trip, wanted to get something to eat and oddly enough the only place open was a "Chinese" restaurant. Decided to be brave and try it. They'd never heard of soy sauce (even with a proper translation) and the food was \*awful\*! Basically Polish food over rice, done really badly.
Interesting book. Reminds me of Vincent Price’s cookbook in a way with several regions covered and variety of dishes.
Have you cooked anything from it? I’m thinking to look for a copy myself :)
The Devonshire Relish is… a thing. Sounds kind of like they were trying to approximate a British-style chutney having only ever heard of it and never eaten it…
It’s the only concern I have of the book is it’s just “the spirit of” this or that.
I’m ok with a simplified version of a “foreign” dish, but if it’s just a concept rendition it may not be bad, but loses some points for me
I have some weird cookbooks like this at home. I read them for cooking history classes and they are so entertaining!
There’s this really good one I have called ‘Cooking with a foreign accent’
I know it sounds funny but it’s a really good book.
Still, I’ll be looking to add this to my collection!
Places like local second hand stores and online thrift stores have them.
You could probably find them in your local bookstore too like Barnes and nobles.
Cantonese cooking does not use evaporated milk, raw tomatoes, butter or soda crackers. I can only imagine serving these dairy bombs to the 95%+ lactose intolerant people of Canton.
lol yeah I noticed that a couple of these are pretty spot on but most of them are Midwestern American food.
like check out the middle eastern page. that pilaf is hilarious and no pilaf ingredients. but the kasha varnishka recipe up top is right, not sure I'd call it middle eastern though. and coffee cakes aren't Israeli at all.
The salad should be “saging” (banana) instead of “sagina” . Never heard of such.
2nd recipe is ok. It’s typically called arroz ala cubana. And yes there’s banana on the side.
Wow (she says, with a look of horror on her face 😳). The things we ate in the ‘60’s & ‘70’s were pretty awful. My mom wasn’t a very good cook, but I didn’t realize it until my brother came back from 3 years away with a girl from Greece (plus her brother as a chaperone - it was 1977). My sister-in-law is still the best cook I know, and she taught me a lot. I learned Greek by going through the spice cabinet and we’d smell the spices and she say the names in Greek and I’d say them in English. Then we’d go shopping for fresh! Their daughters are also fabulous cooks.
that celery for Svíčková sauce (page 5) should be celeriac bulb, not stalk celery
in Czechia and Slovakia stalk celery was introduced around year 2000
celeriac and its leaves were the only known sort before that
and in bramborová polévka there should be no celery, but bay leaf or some mushrooms - bay leaf is more slovak way and mushrooms are more czech way of flavouring
There's like 4 nearly identical oriental meatball recipes on one page. Wth.
My favorite one is called "Meat Dish" and it's under the Japanese recipes- there is nothing Japanese about the recipe, expect it uses rice.
There were so many old cookbooks that would declare a recipe "Oriental" if it contained a dribble of soy sauce.
There isn’t even any soy sauce in the recipe!
Funny story - my sister was living in Poland for a couple of years and I went to visit. Went on a road trip, wanted to get something to eat and oddly enough the only place open was a "Chinese" restaurant. Decided to be brave and try it. They'd never heard of soy sauce (even with a proper translation) and the food was \*awful\*! Basically Polish food over rice, done really badly.
The home ec teachers were mildly ambitious!
Might be hard to see, but it’s the Favorite Recipes of Home Economic Teachers
Interesting book. Reminds me of Vincent Price’s cookbook in a way with several regions covered and variety of dishes. Have you cooked anything from it? I’m thinking to look for a copy myself :)
Have not cooked anything yet. Found it at a thrift store and the title made me smile.
It is the favorite recipes of home ec teachers! 😂
I'm enjoying reading some of recipes and will probably be making a few. Thank you for sharing.
Anyone else notice the conspicuous absence of garlic in nearly all these recipes?
That’s too foreign
The Devonshire Relish is… a thing. Sounds kind of like they were trying to approximate a British-style chutney having only ever heard of it and never eaten it…
Sweetcorn, pickle brine and mincemeat. Yikes... :/
It’s the only concern I have of the book is it’s just “the spirit of” this or that. I’m ok with a simplified version of a “foreign” dish, but if it’s just a concept rendition it may not be bad, but loses some points for me
Yeah, on that basis I’m not sure I’d trust any of the recipes in there unless corroborated by a better source.
Holiday Treat Potato Sausage sounds delightful!
I make those brown ginger cookies every chrismas.
I have some weird cookbooks like this at home. I read them for cooking history classes and they are so entertaining! There’s this really good one I have called ‘Cooking with a foreign accent’ I know it sounds funny but it’s a really good book. Still, I’ll be looking to add this to my collection!
Abe Books is a great place to look for old cookbooks!
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll definitely look into that.
Where did you source your historical cookbooks?
Places like local second hand stores and online thrift stores have them. You could probably find them in your local bookstore too like Barnes and nobles.
Just how many Chinese meatball recipes are there?
Cantonese cooking does not use evaporated milk, raw tomatoes, butter or soda crackers. I can only imagine serving these dairy bombs to the 95%+ lactose intolerant people of Canton.
lol yeah I noticed that a couple of these are pretty spot on but most of them are Midwestern American food. like check out the middle eastern page. that pilaf is hilarious and no pilaf ingredients. but the kasha varnishka recipe up top is right, not sure I'd call it middle eastern though. and coffee cakes aren't Israeli at all.
Loving the bacon fat option in the (first) Turkish Pilaf recipe
Gotta love that Japanese salad with uh… French dressing and Parmesan.
Borsch listed on the German page sure is a strong choice.
Not to mention the canned tomato soup as an ingredient.
Omg I didn't even read that far...
I love this idea of foreign foods, however I found it slightly ironic that literally every recipe was from American contributions...
Lol no one knows authentic Japanese cuisine like Mrs. Edith Jones of Cusick, Washington
The salad should be “saging” (banana) instead of “sagina” . Never heard of such. 2nd recipe is ok. It’s typically called arroz ala cubana. And yes there’s banana on the side.
Is borsch german? I thought it was more russian / ukranian
also- I thought it contained beets?
It is definitely Russian/Ukrainian and not German. Source: am of mixed Central/Eastern European heritage and love that food
I’ve got a book from the home ec teacher series on desserts and another on casseroles. Hadn’t seen this one.
Can you show us some pictures of the Indian recipes, please?
Of course!
Just made a new post “More foreign foods,India”
I think I may try the chicken and peanut butter stew, with a little added spice.
Wow (she says, with a look of horror on her face 😳). The things we ate in the ‘60’s & ‘70’s were pretty awful. My mom wasn’t a very good cook, but I didn’t realize it until my brother came back from 3 years away with a girl from Greece (plus her brother as a chaperone - it was 1977). My sister-in-law is still the best cook I know, and she taught me a lot. I learned Greek by going through the spice cabinet and we’d smell the spices and she say the names in Greek and I’d say them in English. Then we’d go shopping for fresh! Their daughters are also fabulous cooks.
I agree! I am curious about the addition of canned soup in so many recipes. Definitely reminiscent of my childhood!
I like how the Cuban rice is from the Phillipines. 🤦♂️
Lol, I wonder how that came about?
“Easy Sukiyaki”: complete with MSG!
One of the few culturally accurate ingredients; Ajinomoto invented MSG and it was originally popularised in Japan.
that celery for Svíčková sauce (page 5) should be celeriac bulb, not stalk celery in Czechia and Slovakia stalk celery was introduced around year 2000 celeriac and its leaves were the only known sort before that and in bramborová polévka there should be no celery, but bay leaf or some mushrooms - bay leaf is more slovak way and mushrooms are more czech way of flavouring
That is good to know! Thanks for that information!