From Grannies to Grandkids, Falkland History Through Recipes is a charming little community cook book, coil-bound, 84 pages, 170 recipes and a combination of history, philosophy, poetry, photos, and food that conveys a picture of life in small town rural BC. It is organized into nine sections that provide an overview of the history of: The Postal Service, Courageous Pioneers, Valley Merchants, Canadian National Railroad, Gypsum Mine, Schools, The War Years, Churches, and Falkland Community. In closing, the authors note: “Some of the recipes sent in were written without methods, specific quantities of ingredients or were abbreviated in a unique way. We presented these recipes without changes, which we felt would add character to the recipes author” (p. 85).
This book expects the user to have some knowledge of food preparation. For example, a few recipes do not detail the method of combining ingredients but simply state: “Mix together like a cake.” There are no metric measures for recipes – Imperial only, and format for abbreviations varies. Contributors for all recipes are named, and most are accompanied by stories. There is a vast range of and some rare and unusual recipes are included: Baking Powder Bread, Oatmeal Water, Cake Doughnuts, Champagne, Haggis, Laxative, Exterior Wood Stain, Ginger Ale, Library Glue, Play Dough, Sweet Green Tomato Pickle, Pickled Chicken, and Coal Flowers. This is my go-to book for a recipe for Brownie Pudding, a comfort food from my childhood and still so delicious today! It’s like an inside out lava cake only better!
You might find the recipe for Coal Flowers interesting. Google claims they were invented by coal miners’ wives in the 1800s who had lots of coal and attempted to use it to create beautiful flower displays. The flowers are a result of a chemical reaction and crystal formation that grows from the coal.
The recipes in this book suggest that most everything was home-made in early years and creativity with common ingredients was a way of life. Inventiveness and frugality were valued. This book would be strengthened if it had an index. One must thumb through all the pages to find the recipe you are searching for. The anecdotes and stories scattered throughout provide enjoyable reading. The format provides one example of how community history can be captured in a cookbook and can be useful for other communities wanting to celebrate their history through recipes. Published almost 30 years ago, this book may be still available at the Falkland Museum and Heritage Park or in used bookstores. It’s also available digitally through BC Regional Digitized History.
Reference
100th Postal Birthday Party Committee (1998). From Grannies to Grandkids, Falkland History through recipes. Falkland, BC: Author.
