Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens

by Marie Nightingale, Morna MacLellan - Anderson, Mike Howell

Now an established regional classic, Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens was first published in 1970 and became an instant hit, selling more copies than any cookbook ever published in the province. A collection of traditional Nova Scotia recipes, the book remains extremely popular today and has proven to be a practical guide as well as a delight for armchair cooks. Besides providing easy-to-use recipes for the province's traditional dishes, Marie Nightingale also tells the stories of the people who prepared this unique cuisine. This fortieth anniversary edition includes an updated look throughout, a foreword from Chef Michael Howell at Tempest Restaurant, and a new introduction from the author on the book's incredible and long-lasting success.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Marie Nightingale's accomplished career as a food writer and editor includes twenty years as food columnist for the Halifax daily newspapers, the Chronicle Herald and the Mail Star. She is the author of Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens, Out of Nova Scotia Gardens, and Cooking with Friends, a nominee for the 2004 Cuisine Canada/University of Guelph National Culinary Book Award. A founding director of Cuisine Canada, Marie was also founding food editor for Saltscapes magazine. She lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favourite cook books. I've been using this since I was a child. The best oat cake and blueberry grunt recipes.

[Kelly Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had some great recipes and great stories as well.

[Emilylutzns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pandemic worthy recipes, with a ton of interesting historical content to accompany the recipes. I really enjoyed the read and I’m looking forward to the food that will follow!

[CAW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some might argue that a cookbook does not qualify as a book read, but this book has lots of history as well as recipes. I read it while visiting Anne.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic recipe book with loads of history... perfect reading for a new resident!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super educational! I can’t wait to start making some of these recipes, and was shocked to learn I already make so many!

[Nada Loughead · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review at https://canadiancookbooks.ca/out-of-o...

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a recipe book which is a close relative of the community cookbook, which are often regarded as ephemera. But few cookbooks of any kind have a printed lifespan as long as this book, a full forty years. It is a book which is idiosyncratic in structure but contains within its pages an astonishing sweep of history and the foods of the area. Some of the recipes are history pieces, but most are reasonably familiar to a modern reader and are worth making.

The book describes Nova Scotia as a place of unique blend of historic ethnic origins held together by a common modern identity - creole as Donna Gabaccia calls it in 'We are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans'. The book starts with a short history of each of the ethnic groupings that came to Nova Scotia. The rest of the book contains the recipes, which have been rewritten into a usable modern style, the different cultures being mingled within categories.

This is truely a book where, as Janet Theophano in 'Kitchen Culture in America' puts it, `women write a place into being: to defy, delimit, manipulate, infiltrate social, cultural and geographical boundaries'. While no doubt Nova Scotians find the book interesting as part of their own heritage, as an autoethnographic cookbook it successfully presents the culture of the area to an outside audience through a whole range of stories that link place and food. Because it resists the standard formula, it has the delight of exploration and discovery.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

damaged, look for another copy

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how many of these recipes I would actually cook, but as a historical document it's a very interesting book!