A Matter of Taste: The Australian Women’s Weekly and Its Influence on Australian Food Culture

by Lauren Samuelsson

Since its inception in 1933, The Australian Women’s Weekly has been Australia’s highest-selling women’s magazine, in large part due to its hugely popular cookery section and companion cookbooks. From birthday cakes to barbecues, mock meat to Chinese food, the Weekly taught generations of Australians what to eat and how to cook it at home. Yet despite this, the magazine and its influence on Australian cooking has been overlooked in histories of Australian food. A Matter of Taste restores the Weekly to its rightful place at the centre of Australia’s food culture.
Drawing on recipes, food editorials and readers’ memories, A Matter of Taste is a celebration of the Weekly’s vital role in the development of Australian food culture, debunking the myth that Australian food was ‘bland’ and ‘boring’ prior to postwar migration, and illuminating important relationships between food, culture and identity. It shows that the magazine encouraged its readers (mostly women) to be adventurous, to experiment in the kitchen, and to try new ingredients and flavours, stimulating an eclectic, Australian way of eating, which is still reflected on our tables today.
Meticulously researched and beautifully presented, A Matter of Taste takes you on an entertaining, nostalgic and insightful culinary journey through Australian food, culture and history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2024

About the author

Dr Lauren Samuelsson holds a PhD in history from the University of Wollongong, Australia, where she is an Honorary Fellow. Lauren’s research interests include cultural history, the history of food and drink, the history of popular culture and gender history. Her award-winning work has been published in History Australia and Australian Historical Studies. She has also published in The Conversation and is a regular guest on Australian radio, where she shares her love of food history with people nationwide.

Reviews

[Ngarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlights:
. Acknowledges that indigenous Australian foods were not embraced in The Weekly magazine, and therefore, this book is a commentary on colonised Australia.
. Fascinating exploration of the connection between a single publication and the food culture of an entire nation - we all had at least one of their cookbooks in our homes!
. Also explores gender roles around food types, preparation, and consumption in Australia during this time.
. Discussion on class and food consumed in Australia too.

[Rania T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I noticed that this one was published by Monash University Press; Monash has a thing about The Weekly. One of the degrees I completed many moons ago had a component where we spent a whole session poring over old Women's Weekly Magazines that had been archived by said university. My lecturer responded that when they became a monthly publication, they had to keep the old name for obvious reasons. In saying that, one of the common recurring themes in these magazines were the advertisements for laxatives and other such aids to assist in "regularity." But in saying that, my favourite chapter was about the children's birthday party cakes being a proud owner of the children's birthday party cake book.

The one on dieting advice from the same magazine however, was an eye opener on the advice women were given to look "slimmer" while other pages were bountiful with recipes.

But the writer concludes that Australia's food culture is always evolving, and it would be quite amusing if people from the 'past' would be impressed or appalled by the food we like to cook and consume nowadays.

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was a little repetitive BUT this was a great window into women’s lives in Australia from the 1930s to 1980s (at least white middle class women). Tracing culinary trends through the food pages of the Australian Women’s Weekly from the depression, WW2 to the growing consumerism of the 1960s onwards. Women as the homemaker with the ultimate goal to snare a husband with her excellent yet frugal cookery! The growing focus on diet to be slim from the 1960s onwards compared with diet for nutrition during previous years when food and money was scarce. No wonder feminism stalled when faced with the juggernaut that was the Australian Women’s Weekly.

[Hannah Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely worth the months I spent waiting for this on hold at the library! Samuelson manages to pack so much thought-provoking analysis into this work without letting it get muddy or bogged down. I was intrigued and entertained the whole way through. I appreciated the way the historian navigated multiple discourses with ease and used sources to bring just the right amount of light and shade. Even better, it was fun! My only woe is that this came out too late to include in any of the essays I wrote for my degree. 5 stars.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you grew up in Australia from the 1930's, The Australian Women's Weekly was an absolute staple in every household.
I have fond memories of my parents having the recipe box with recipe cards and spending many moments flicking through, choosing dinner for the week. As well as the cookbooks with mum + dad making their own notes in the margins. And who could forget the infamous Birthday Cake book?