Customer Reviews

EUROPEAN PEASANT COOKERY

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Even without much financial freedom, a good, tasty dish could still be made by the peasantry. "European Peasant Cookery" is a guide to the cuisine of the salt of the earth of classical Europe. These recipes have been cooked for centuries by people who had this food as some of the only sunshine in their lives. A wide range of dishes are presented from throughout the region such as Belgian Cod with Beer, English Roast Pork and Apple Sauce, German Pumpkin Soup, and much more than that. Each recipe includes its requirements, an estimation for preparation and cooking time, for ease of execution in one's own kitchen. "European Peasant Cookery" is a finely recommended read as both a historical interest and a fine cookbook.

Not only is Elizabeth Luard a fine cookery writer, one of the very best, she is also an excellent cook (the two talents, perhaps not surprisingly, are rarely found together). Her knowledge of the dishes about which she writes in this book is neither superficial nor derived from seconday sources, but the product of living in Europe and studying, preparing and eating the entrees included in her book. This is more than just a book with a lot of pretty photographs of food presented in unusual and photogenic ways. It is about real food and how it has been prepared traditionally with clear guidance so that you and your family or guests may dine well as ordinary Europeans have for centuries.

First of all, this book is a nice collection of recipes. However, it is certainly not flawless or great. I'm from the Netherlands, and am pleased that some Dutch/Flemish recipes are included, but many of the Dutch recipes have mistakes. There are some misspellings:
- Waterzootje (p. 29), should be Waterzooi
- Konijn met pruinen (p. 104), should be Konijn met pruimen
- Hutzpot (p. 302), should be Hutspot

Also, the book contains some incorrect remarks. On p. 424 it says that Edam cheese is a typical cheese in Holland for cooking, but that's not the case. Edam cheese is rather uncommon for Dutch people to eat; it's more an export, or tourist cheese. The most common cheese eaten in the Netherlands is Gouda cheese.

Another remark is about the recipes for Spekpannekoek (p. 141) and Bruine Bonen (p. 230). In both these recipes Elisabeth Luard notes that golden syrup or honey should accompany these meals. However, golden syrup is almost never eaten in Netherlands, it is hardly available in supermarkets. Dark syrup, or treacle is the choice of Dutchmen for Spekpannekoeken and Bruine Bonen. Honey is also unusual, though it is in the Dutch-style.

Sure you might thinks "who care about the Dutch recipes anayway". Maybe so, but other recipes may be not so authentic/flawless either.....

We saw this book in our local library and we just had to have our own copy.Local resources were expensive and not too eager to help.As a first time Amazon user i found the site easy to access and received our book delivered to our door Great service