Food History

Today’s book is another Australian iconographic one.

The CWA is famous for its scones and tea approach to communal activity. I’ll find you a couple of scone and biscuit recipes tomorrow, I think, to add to our general collection. Their location in the Australian popular belief about the CWA is quite clear, however. What USians call ‘bakesales’ have helped drought-stricken farmers to get by, built hospitals, raised money for remote communities, given equipment to country schools. All that and much more. CWA functions used to (I hope they still do) have ‘bring a plate’ as the standard, where supper or morning or afternoon tea was provided by everyone bringing something suitable, usually scones, or biscuits or cake. All this is hearsay, since I’m very much a city girl.

Where I personally know CSW members from is from agricultural shows. The often provide judges for the culinary categories and their members submit their best work. I used to folkdance with a judge and I found then that judges have such a different culinary vocabulary to me.

I also know the CWA from political lobbying. They’re one of the biggest women’s groups in the country. They’re an interesting mix between conservative and feminist, and more interested in results than taking stands. Pragmatic and sophisticated at the same time, they’re a bunch of seriously cool women.

That’s the organisation, one of the oldest continuously operating women’s organisations in this country, and one of the biggest. What’s so special about their cookbooks.

Firstly, these women take cooking seriously. They use the best recipes and their cookbooks are legendary. People hang onto them forever and a day if they can. I was given this one only because Emma’s mother had several more recent editions on her shelf.

There are a zillion recipes, crammed into 230 pages. Then there are suggestions of quantities for catering, hints on Show and Exhibition cookery, a glossary of cooking terms, an index, a list of contributors and their towns of origins (very important for the food historian) and a few pages of household hints.

Take a day to catch your breath, and then I’ll give you some recipes.