Birds of a feather – rosella jam

Crimson Rosella. Pennantian P[arrot] (Detail). Watercolour on paper watermarked ‘J Whatman’. Volume 04: Zoology of N. [New] Holland etc. [Album view] item 43. © State Library of New South Wales PXD 1098 / vol. 4

Taking advantage of the relative calm that the new year has brought, I’ve been savouring some of the manuscript and heirloom recipes in our collections. Expect to find in the next few weeks a thatched roof pie, a meat souffle and sago plum pudding, but today’s pick is ‘Rosella Jam’. Continue reading

Off to the Nowra show!

At the Nowra show, ca1910. From 'Shoalhaven scenes and people; Cyrus S Moss photographer. State Library of NSW ON436

Agricultural shows have always been centers for display as much as community get-togethers. For the inhabitants of Meroogal the annual Nowra show – which opens next week – was an anticipated event, and not just because they were its immediate neighbors. Continue reading

Eat your history – the book!

Jacqui Newling, author of Eat your history: stories and recipes from Australian kitchens Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums

Handwritten recipes passed through the generations, tales of goats running wild in colonial gardens and early settlers’ experimentation with native foods…
Eat your history dishes up stories and recipes for Australian kitchens and dining tables from 1788 to the 1950s.

Jacqui Newling, resident gastronomer at Sydney Living Museums, invites you to share forgotten tastes and lost techniques, and to rediscover some delicious culinary treasures. Continue reading

‘At home’

Thorburn family tea service and manuscript recipe book

Thorburn family tea service and manuscript recipe book in the Eat your history: a shared table exhibition, 2014. Photo © Jamie North for Sydney Living Museums

On the first Monday of each month the Thorburn sisters, Belle (Annabella), Kate (Jessie Catherine), Georgina and Tot (Kennina) entertained ‘At home’ at Meroogal. ‘At homes’ were something of an institution from the 1880s and survived well into the 1920s. Continue reading

Anzacs in civvies

Anzac biscuits

Anzac biscuits. Photo © Jacqui Newling

It’s Anzac week and as Sydney and surrounds grapple with a third day of wild rain storms, we can barely complain when we think of what conditions front-line soldiers endure for weeks, sometimes months, on end. Many of us take added comfort on Anzac Day, from baking Anzac biscuits, which fills the kitchen with inviting aromas. Continue reading

Christmas cookery

Make at home edible Christmas gifts.

Christmas rum balls. Photo Jacqui Newling © Sydney Living Museums

T’is the week before Christmas – and egads! I’d better get on with the festive fare. It’s not too late to make a pudding, for the family table or as a gift for friends, or home made treats that follow long-standing Christmas traditions. Continue reading

The ‘cocoanut’ ice challenge

Coconut ice

'Cocoanut' ice. Photo Jacqui Newling © Sydney Living Museums

“½ cup of milk, 2 cups of sugar, 25 grams copha, 3/4 cup of coconut. How hard can it be to make coconut ice?” For the past few months a dedicated team of passionate and curious volunteer cooks have been testing out manuscript recipes from our families’ collections. One of the team, Paula Southcombe, reflects on one of the more challenging recipes: Continue reading