By Laura Vincent
For some of us, the local bookfair is a hot date to be circled in red pen on the calendar. The anticipation of potential treasure donated with indifference or ignorance; the quiet, purposeful hum of people browsing cheap books; the particular joy of donating to a charity while getting something you really want.
What I look out for at bookfairs and opshops are Judy Garland biographies, early Baby Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High books - and I feel no shame about it, old Penguin novels, New Zealand fiction, and above all, cookbooks.
Having collected more second-hand cookbooks than I can properly provide a shelved home for (Seriously. My home. Piles of books everywhere) you could say I know plenty about the art of hunting down cookbooks like some kind of predatory beast. Admittedly, it outwardly seems like you’re ‘just looking for books’, and hardly worthy of a how-to, you’re going to be so much more effective if you follow this list.
- Avoid “Microwave Gourmet”: Yes, you could make an entire banquet in seven minutes, following instructions to use dusty paprika to add colour to damp, warm fish fillets. Or, ignore these books and save the microwave for softening butter and reheating.
- Find a reason: Not sure a cookbook’s a keeper? Flick through thoroughly until you spot a recipe that ensures it’s worth owning. For me, one such recipe in the dubiously titled Supercook’s Supersavers Cookbook includes onions roasted with butter, chilli sauce, cinnamon and walnuts – hello.
- Plan ahead: Keep in mind a few key authors you like to keep an eye out for. Like Jamie Oliver, or those really stylish Marie Clare books. For me, this includes Thai food whiz Vatcharin Bhumichtr, and the inimitably fabulous Hudson and Halls.
- Ancient is good: If you see pre-seventies, appliance-promoting cookbooks compiling readers’ recipes, they are always absolute gems. You’ll find a near unmatchable level of pudding adventurousness. They’re a great social history record. And there’s often much unintentional humour – Mrs JP Allcock of Takapuna’s Wholemeal Prune Surprise, that sort of thing.
- Check out the magazines too: Cuisine magazine from the last fifteen years will generally have excellent, timeless recipes. If you don’t have the space, you can always rip out the recipes you like and put them in a folder.
- Look out for the Australian Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake book: Just because, if the wistful sighs the mention of this book causes amongst my friends is anything to go by, copies of it are like golden tickets crossed with unicorns. My birthday cakes as a child were a tub of ice cream with lollies sprinkled over and sparklers stuck in - and even I somehow feel nostalgic about this book.
- Take shoulder bags: Heavy shopping bags cut into tender palms. Shoulder bags help you feel environmentally smug and allow you to carry more books with ease. Better yet, bring someone kind and impressionable to carry them for you.
I can’t overstate the delightfulness of older cookbooks. From the concerning yet amusing use of the word “authoress” and the disciplinary, chirping voice of Aunt Daisy, to the amazement felt at how casually we use ingredients from all over the world now. In winter you’ve got slow-cooked meat and steamed puddings, and for the warmer months you could try your hand at the strangely multitudinous gelatin-based puddings. From more modern cookbooks, rediscover the undeniable pleasure of pesto, of Thai green curry, and of improved food photography.
Support your local bookfairs and enjoy the thrill of flipping through musty cardboard boxes of books at the opshop, because you never know when you’ll strike gold. You’re giving new life to these recipes, you’re helping the environment by re-using existing resources, and if you’re lucky enough to find Audrey Ellis’ 1985 Chocolate Lovers' Cookbook like I did, boy are people are going to love you.
These cookbooks have been family treasures. Fed generations. They reflect who we are, and were, in recipes both everyday and aspirational. It’s also possible that there are many cookbooks out there that were hated birthday presents. But… let’s pretend otherwise.
Laura Vincent is the author of food blog Hungry and Frozen.