Who doesn’t have a handwritten recipe passed down from their mother, grandmother or their Auntie Enid, hidden away in one of their own cookbooks? It probably has a few splotches of gravy on it, but it seems to be resurrected now and again, especially at Christmas.

The recipes in this book are like those, tried, tested and true and now passed down to us in the form of a cookbook. These recipes have been taken from cookbooks that date back to the late 1800s when the first Australian cookbook was put out by the Queensland Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union. Liz Harfull has chosen vintage recipes from cookbooks all over Australia: an excellent beefsteak pie with suet, a delicious-looking kidney bean soup, chocolate nut bars and even ice cream Christmas pudding. And who doesn’t remember their grandmother’s cornflake bikkies or golden syrup dumplings?

One of my favourite chapters is ‘Cooking with Miss Australia’. Many of us might know a little about the history of the Miss Australia Quest, the girls who were chosen and the incredible amount of money raised for people with cerebral palsy. But did you know that a small group of Miss Australians decided to publish a fundraising cookbook with recipes from all of the 14 winners? And they weren’t all English-type food either. Tania Verstak, the 1961 winner, drew on her cultural heritage to add a Russian recipe.

Tried Tested and True is a cookbook with a difference. Not only is it packed with memorable recipes but it is also beautifully presented, with historical photos of bygone days and even old ads for Cadbury’s Bournville Cocoa, Golden Circle Tropical Fruit Salad and even Veribest Jelly Crystals.

This wonderful book is a labour of love.

Reviewed by Merle Morcom