The domestic arts

My trip down memory lane continues.... Anyone else remember the home economics textbook, Cookery the Australian Way (CAW)?

I have kept my copy of it from high shool all these years and find it really useful when I need to know basic stuff I have somehow managed not to learn before now (how long to roast a chicken?) and how to make traditional dishes, such as pavlova or scones (which probably also fall into the category of basic stuff).

I've referred to CAW twice in the past three days. In fact, I probably refer to it more than any other cookbook I own (save for Friendly Food, the recipe book for my allergy elimination diet, at the moment).

I'm really quite fond of it, partly for its usefulness, partly because it taught me the basics of nutrition, and partly because it's a culinary and cultural time capsule. I have the third edition, which was published in January 1980. Australian kitchens and diets - Australian society - have undergone huge changes since then.

Bits I love about CAW -

* Three of the four editors have Diplomas in Domestic Arts. Domestic Arts!

* The use of the term "home-maker", which I suppose was quite progressively gender-neutral for the times, but seems so quaint now.

"The purchase of food is generally the responsibility of the home-maker, who should always endeavour to prpvide the family with nourishing and palatable meals."

* The advice on dinner parties, including

"Arranging flowers for a party table may take some time and should be done early, when the matter can be given undivided attention."

* The pointers on table manners, which include

"You can add to the pleasant atmosphere of the meal if you contribute to the conversation with interesting topics."

* The parade of "classic" dishes, such as

• Tuna or salmon mornay
• Hamsteaks and pineapple (although it omits the glace cherry garnish, which frankly is a glaring gap in the performance of the domestic arts, if you ask me)
• Scotch eggs
• Sweet and sour pork casserole - yes, it has tinned pineapple in it
• An array of offal recipes, such as fricasee of brains, which requires the home-maker to acquire "2 sets brains" and simmer and strain them before removing the membranes and blood vessels. Gak!
• Macaroni and ham salad
• Junket
• Blancmange
• Sago
• Flummery
• Golden syrup dumplings, which I love. We ate them a lot when I was a kid. It was the only dessert my mother knew how to cook when she was first married. Later came chocolate self-saucing pudding....mmmmm.

Needless to say, I'm pleased to see Cookery the Australian Way is still in print. That's the latest edition - the seventh - above, which is a special 60th anniversary edition, including special comments from people who have "fond memories" of using the book over the years. I think I might get me a copy.

I'm also pleased to see doyenne of the domestic arts Shirley Cameron is still in the CAW kitchen. She must be getting on a bit now.