Maw Broon's Cookbook: The Broon's Cookbook - for Every Day and Special Days - Maw Broon

Maw Broon needs no introduction; she is the matriarch of the famous Broon family who generations of Scots have grown up loving. Feeding her family consisting of Paw, Hen, Joe, Maggie, Daphne, Horace, The Twins and The Bairn with Grandpaw popping round frequently must have been a mammoth task but like all good housewives of her time she managed to keep them all well fed on a modest budget. Maw makes an unlikely celebrity chef but does an admirable ...
...made scones and the like". Maw has added to this book over the years by sticking in new recipes and cooking tips she has found from neighbours, magazines and even Horace's school home economics lessons.

This is a fabulous resource for the breadth of Scottish recipes it contains. It has all of the old favourites such as porridge, mince, stovies and soups to puddings, cakes and sweets as well as special dishes such as steak pie ... more

Maw Broon needs no introduction; she is the matriarch of the famous Broon family who generations of Scots have grown up loving. Feeding her family consisting of Paw, Hen, Joe, Maggie, Daphne, Horace, The Twins and The Bairn with Grandpaw popping round frequently must have been a mammoth task but like all good housewives of her time she managed to keep them all well fed on a modest budget. Maw makes an unlikely celebrity chef but does an admirable job of sharing the secrets of her success in Maw Broon's Cookbook-For Everyday and Special Days.

On Maws wedding day she was given a cookbook stuffed full of family favourites by her mother in law Jeannie with the inscription "A gift to my dear daughter in law, Maggie, on her wedding day. P.S. Enjoy yer big day lassie!" Jeannie has written her recipes down with love, she wants her boy to be happy and she adds her own special touches to the book such as in the baking section she writes "It's awfy tempting tae jist nip oot tae the bakers, but I'm tellin' ye, ye just canna beat the smell and the taste o' home made scones and the like". Maw has added to this book over the years by sticking in new recipes and cooking tips she has found from neighbours, magazines and even Horace's school home economics lessons.

This is a fabulous resource for the breadth of Scottish recipes it contains. It has all of the old favourites such as porridge, mince, stovies and soups to puddings, cakes and sweets as well as special dishes such as steak pie or clootie dumpling.

It also contains numerous cooking tips such as how to recognise and cook various cuts of meat, how to fillet and cook a fish or how to make the perfect pastry. Maw cooks on an old range but the book has been updated to include modern gas and electric temperatures and timings, all recipes have imperial and metric measures and handy conversion charts and portion guides are provided at the front of the book.

The book also provides a snapshot of social history. I'm sure some of the recipes such as kidney soup, jugged hare or how to prepare a whole tongue won't catch on but it was fascinating to see how a housewife managed in those days. Other old recipes such as jams, preserves and pickles or breid (bread) are just as relevant today as they were in Maws time. Theres a couple of recipes I would like to try such as white pudding or haggis but the fact that blanched tripe skins are used as casing means they are out of my reach.

I've tried a few recipes from the book. Cullen Skink, tattie scones and home made oatcakes are new favourites in my house. I'm looking forward to trying many more such as Aberdeen butteries, caramel shortcake, Forfar bridies or feather fowlie. Others such as tablet or peppermint creams were favourites from my childhood and I look forward to revisiting them. The majority of the ingredients used will be available in any good supermarket, some like the many different grades of oats used will be harder to find.

The style of the book is marvellous. The publishers tell us they have simply made a facsimile copy of the original book and it is printed in a handwritten style, most of the handwriting is Jeannie's which is exactly the same as my grandmas. The inclusion of classic Broons stories, snippets from Jeannie and clippings from magazines makes it a delight to read. I read the whole book from cover to cover which is not something I have ever done with any other cookery book before. The naughty twins have even had a hand in the finished article with their graffiti on the page with comments such as "Maw, Horace says he loves cod's heads and can he have them for a special tea just for him" or "Grooo! We hate semolina" making me smile. My only niggles with the book is that the handwriting can sometimes be a bit difficult to decipher and there are no pictures of the finished dishes.

If you are sick of overpaid and overrated celebrity chefs telling you what to eat and want to eat hearty old fashioned food just like your own Maw used to make then Maw Broon's cookbook is for you. 

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