Handwritten Cookery Book, 1950s
Reference: NRO 11108/2
Suggested age groups: KS2, KS3, KS4, Lifelong Learners
Subject areas: Cookery, History, Literacy
CONTEXT
Many of us will have in our family handwritten recipes which have been copied out into a book and passed down through different generations. This book contains various recipes for sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits and cakes. It belonged to Miss Muirhead from Hexham and was compiled in the 1950s.
Throughout the centuries, people have written out recipes they have liked and passed them on to others. They might even write who has given them. For example, Miss Muirhead‘s book contains a recipe for Cheese Rings from her Aunt D and Ladies Delight from L Lee.
Miss Muirhead notes the times for boiling various vegetables including cabbage, carrots, celery, spinach, leeks, Brussel sprouts and cauliflower. By today’s standards, these vegetables would have been very well cooked – 90 minutes for cabbage, 45 minutes for Brussel sprouts and 20 minutes for spinach.
However, tastes change, and people are more aware of preserving the nutritional content of these vegetables in our diet.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1
Background
This book contains various recipes for sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits and cakes. It belonged to Miss Muirhead from Hexham and was compiled in the 1950s.
Miss Muirhead notes the times for boiling various vegetables including cabbage, carrots, celery, spinach, leeks, Brussel sprouts and cauliflower. By today’s standards, these vegetables would have been very well cooked – 90 minutes for cabbage, 45 minutes for Brussel sprouts and 20 minutes for spinach.
SEE
See: Who wrote this cookery book?
See: Does the book contain recipes from anyone else?
See: What is unusual about Miss Muirhead’s guide to boiling vegetables?
See: How long does Miss Muirhead recommend boiling each vegetable for?
THINK
Think: How long do you cook your vegetables for?
Think: Are you surprised by how long Miss Muirhead cooked her vegetables for?
Think: Why do you think her vegetables were cooked for so long?
Think: What do you think happens to the nutritional content of vegetables when cooked for so long?
Think: What colour and texture do you think Miss Muirhead’s vegetables might have been?
DO
Do: Create a table showing the nutritional value of the vegetables shown in Miss Muirhead’s cookery book.
Do: Create a poster showing an updated guide for how long to boil vegetables.
Do: Create a poster showing the different ways each of these vegetables could be cooked and prepared.
Do: Have a go at creating a dish showcasing the different textures and colours of vegetables? You could think about which vegetables are currently in season too. Can you write a recipe for your dish?
Do: Choose one of Miss Muirhead’s recipes to have a go at making. Are there any changes that you would make? Rewrite it as a new recipe if you do make changes.