You know, there’s one thing your granny is right about: in her day, they sure knew how to cook! No, not a single Steers rave burger in sight.
You know, there’s one thing your granny is right about: in her day, they sure knew how to cook! No, not a single Steers rave burger in sight.
- My Granny's Pantry: A Kitchen Memoir By Margaret Wasserfall
- Published by Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
- ISBN: 978-1-4314-0293-9
- Price: R297.00
- Reviewer: Kayla Roux
- Rating: 4.5/5
The stars of My Granny’s Pantry command respect: only the creamiest butter can produce the most heavenly of Scottish shortbreads.Only a duck fresh from the farm will do for a succulent, crispy roast.
My Granny’s Pantry is a charming cookbook and memoir written by well-known Margaret Wasserfall, former South African editor of Country Life and Garden and Home.
The book has a vintage, traditional feel with old black-and-white family pictures, yellowing hand-written recipes and funny, sweet anecdotes accompanying many of the delicious recipes.
These are juxtaposed with full-colour, luxurious food photography that would instantly make even the most austere of mouths water.
This book is a call to good food, not fast food: a lot of beating, sifting, setting, standing, kneading, peeling and plucking is required, and some ingredients are expensive or hard to come by (especially in Grahamstown).
But don’t let this scare you off.
Firm South African favourites like bobotie, hertzoggies (or 'Afrikaner koekies’) and milk tart feature alongside dishes that betray the influence of Wasserfall’s redoubtable Scottish grandmother.
Crisp, rich Cornish pasties, Scotch eggs, and a hearty beef stew offer the best kind of culinary comfort.
But it’s not all old-timey food: the chicken chop suey lends some modern Asian flair, and the crayfish cardinal presents a (delicious) challenge to anyone brave enough to attempt it.
If the recipes in this beautiful period piece aren’t enough to send you into a fit of nostalgia, the stories definitely will.
Remember: this was a time when a 25-litre paraffin tin of crayfish cost two shillings and sixpence, fresh bread and milk were delivered to your door, and families took picnics and hikes together, picking fresh mushrooms for their next meal.
Through her tales, Wasserfall paints a charming picture of home life and growing up in South Africa during the 1940s and 1950s.
All the while, her family’s transition from Scottish to South African culture becomes a gastronomic journey.
In these pages you will find recipes from your childhood (no matter how old you are), but you will also be reminded of a time when the way we ate and the way we marked the passing of our days was completely different from the supermarket culture of today.
