Netherton book review of the year
Who remembers getting book tokens for Christmas – usually from a godparent or an aunt and uncle, who lived miles away and barely knew you?
What about the book tokens presented as school prizes, I still have books with the presentation labels stuck in after the tokens had been redeemed.
For a while these seemed to fall out of favour and record tokens, then Apple and Amazon vouchers took their place. If you don’t know what are record is, ask either an old person or a hip, young vinyl collector.
But quite frankly we would now be thrilled to receive book tokens, the only down side being what to choose from the abundance of quite brilliant printed works out there.
We are not going to present our “best of” list as we find these too proscriptive, it’s impossible to narrow the selection down to a definite number. Instead we would just like to share the books we have been enjoying recently, most of these were published this year, but a few are from 2020. The years have rolled into one in these strange times, it seems.
First up is a selection of books which feed our love of outdoor cooking, be it in the garden or on the move.
Lots of love for Foolproof BBQ by Genevieve Taylor, because none of us are perfect and a helping hand is always welcome; Big Green Egg by James Whetlor to get the most out of your fancy green kit; Camper Van Cooking by Claire Thomson and Matt Williamson shows you how space restrictions need not limit the culinary experience of your camper van adventure and finally Chasing Smoke by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich (Honey & Co,) is a beautiful collection of flame licked flavours from around the Levant.
Both Nigel Slater and Nigella Lawson used last year’s lockdown to write what many are calling their best books yet and who are we to disagree. A Cook’s Book and Cook, Eat, Repeat are packed with wonderful recipes and lyrical writing, bedside reading at Netherton HQ.
Loaf Story, by Tim Hayward, Herb by Mark Diacono and Advent by Anja Dunk each tackle a very specific food subject and do so with grace, wit and style. The contents are anything but narrow!
Loaf Story, a book about the history of and how to use your loaf, including the classic line “grab yourself two slices of appalling bread”.
Herb; one word, covering such a huge topic – just don’t expect to read about lemon balm! Read our review here: https://www.netherton-foundry.co.uk/Herb-Mark-Diacono
Advent; joyful, truly seasonal baking giving the run up to Christmas a special resonance, yet full of things you would happily eat all year long.
Bringing the increasingly popular tasted of the Middle East into the Netherton kitchen are Flavour, by Yotam Ottolenghi, a culinary heavyweight and thoroughly nice gentleman and new to us, Falastin by Tara Wigley and Sami Tamimi. Both books are utterly mouthwatering.
We have to be honest and ‘fess up to winning our copy of Sally Clarke’s First Put on Your Apron, described thus, in her own words, “the inspiration for this originally came from years of teaching my son, Samuel, the joys of wholesome culinary exploration.” Despite not buying it, we do count it as a prized addition to our collection.
And finally, two volumes that we find hard to categorise, hard to put down.
Crave by Ed Smith is an invaluable work, divided into flavour profiles, so if you are craving the comfort of rich and savoury or the wake up call of tart and sour, then it is easy to find the recipe to match the craving. Six sections cover six different flavour profiles, find the food to match the mood.
And Miranda York’s Food Almanac is a monthly companion, carrying us through the year with writings from a host of taented writers and seasonal information and recipes to carry us from season to season.
By the way, you might see the odd Netherton pan scattered through some of these books!
You can buy the following books from Netherton Foundry. They are offered as accessories on many of our pans.
Cook, Eat, Repeat a recipe book by Nigella Lawson
Camper Van Cooking by Claire Thomson and Matt Williamson
Foolproof BBQ: 60 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Barbecue by Genevieve Taylor
From the oven to the table, a recipe book by Diana Henry
Made in Shropshire, 86 mouth-watering recipes
Netherton Foundry, Shropshire, England. A family business crafting traditional cookware in Highley, Shropshire from iron, oak and copper,using materials predominantly sourced in our own and neighbouring counties. Copyright 2021.
