Publication date: 1978
This book examines the cooking methods and household gadgetry of Australia{u2019}s past. Its span and documentation make it by far the most comprehensive essay to date on the subject. Beginning with the food and cooking techniques of the tribal Aborigines, and of those Europeans for whom the campfire was the kitchen, the author moves on to the days of outhouse kitchens and shortages of ingredients, the industrial awakening and the first influx of gadgets, the revolution in the kitchen caused by gas and electricity, and the postwar flood of packageci and processed foods, together with the recent interest in natural foods which counteracts this trend. There is a liberal larding of recipes and illustrations at every stage of the argument, while an occasional comment on broader aspects of Australian society supplies a touch of spice and the flavour of humanity. This book will be valued, read and used by serious students of Australian food, by those who would enjoy an historical glance at Australian society, past and present, through its kitchen activities, and by the frankly nostalgic seeking to re-create childhood culinary memories.
