Mrs Beeton - famed for her Victorian housekeeping manuals that gained tremendous notoriety over the years. A new 'Mrs Beeton' book entitled 'How to cook' is a combination of recipes from Mrs Beeton and the input of Gerard Baker, a chef, food writer and broadcaster.
This book is great, it covers lots of recipes (220 in total) but also covers so many of the basic cooking techniques any serious cook needs. Its been quite a while since I have seen a recipe book that covers the whole range of cooking skills needed, but this book covers everything from soups and stocks to sauces to jams, jellies and pickles and everything in between. With this you will be able to master the basics and some! The notion of this book is to bring a lot of Mrs Beeton's recipes and techniques bang up to date and this 150th anniversary edition does just what it claims.
As well as the chapters described above there are recipes for fish and shellfish, poultry and game, meat, vegetables, eggs and cheese, pastry, puddings and desserts, cakes, biscuits and breads, and lastly drinks.
Most of the recipes are short and concise, a significant number of them have a photograph. The introductions to each chapter include advice on buying and preparing that range of foods, advice and tips on preparation and execution are given throughout.
This is quite a big book and it has a great deal to offer any cook, novice or experienced cook.
I tried the tomato chutney and we really loved it...you are suppose to leave this for a month to mature, we have eaten 2 jars already, its rich and dark and it has a sweetened hit, its good with cheese, ham and sausages, its a winner!
This book would make a fabulous gift, I cannot think of a cook I know that would not love it!