I'll tell you why I don’t throw out old recipe books and what is useful in them to this day.
My mother told me how in Soviet times she, and everyone else, hunted for recipes. There was no such abundance of cookbooks as now.
The recipes were then published in tear-off calendars, so they were sold out immediately after going on sale.
The books that could be obtained were carefully kept. Several of these books were presented to me by my mother-in-law when she found out that I am blogging. I bought some at a flea market. Today I want to tell you about 3 of my most favorite and useful books.
Production of pastries and cakes
You could say my handbook. When I just started my career as a pastry chef, I used it very often.
It contains all the recipes for Soviet cakes, which were approved by the Ministry of Food Industry. That is, it was according to these recipes that all the cakes of those years were prepared.
In addition to recipes, the book describes how confectionery shops should be equipped. What equipment is required and how to properly store the ingredients. Of course, a lot of this book is now irrelevant, but there is still a lot of useful information.
Collection of recipes for dishes and culinary products for catering
The book contains recipes that were used to cook in Soviet canteens. I am primarily interested in baking, there are a lot of such recipes here.
I only take basic recipes from this book. And I select the fillings myself. Recently, I rarely turn to this book, since I have already received everything I need from it.
A book about tasty and healthy food
But with this book I did not work out. Perhaps because it is in my electronic version. (In the photo is my mother-in-law's book. She herself uses it regularly and lent me only for shooting.) I like to take the book in hand, sit down and, turning the pages, slowly study the information.
Despite this, the book is very useful. Unlike the first two, it is designed for ordinary people, not cooks.
The book tells about how to properly form a diet, housekeeping, equip your kitchen, and also provides a huge number of recipes. Moreover, the recipes are given so that they can be cooked at home.
Do you still have culinary books from Soviet times, do you use them?