Grandma's Touch: Tasty, Traditional and Tempting

Esther Fisher is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and
a former food critic for The Globe & Mail.

The title of this cookbook conjures up visions and aromas of home-baked
yeast breads, long-simmered old-fashioned soups and stews, and almost
everything made from scratch. The implied message is reinforced by the
book’s subtitle and by its introduction, which promises “a taste of
nostalgia for those well-loved foods . . . grandma and great-grandma
used to make.”

True, there are many traditional recipes in this book—pedestrian main
courses (lasagna, spaghetti sauce, chicken paprika, baked beans);
ordinary salads (potato, cabbage, carrot, pasta); and good old desserts
(rice and bread puddings, apple crisp). There’s a chapter on canning
pickles and preserves; and a few ethnic dishes, such as Ukrainian
nchynka—a cornmeal and onion casserole—and pyrohy, are included. But
the vast portion of the book is devoted to standard recipes that almost
any general cookbook contains, along with a considerable number of what
could be deemed fast foods. Only one recipe in the bread section calls
for yeast; the rest are quick breads. The recipe for wonton soup uses
canned or powdered chicken stock and purchased wonton wrappers.
There’s no recipe for old-fashioned chicken soup, but there is one for
clam chowder, thickened with flour. As well, there’s much in the book
that could be called nouveau or pseudogourmet, such as an antipasto made
with commercial ketchup. How many of our grandmothers, let alone
great-grandmothers, made mousses and soufflés for dessert, or salsa to
serve with tacos for a main course?

Aside from the standard arrangement of chapters—breads to
desserts—there’s the pickling section and one on “Christmas
Creations,” in which most of the recipes would be appropriate for any
festive occasion.

The print is large and the recipes are easy to follow, though the
authors seldom mention whether the herbs called for in recipes are dried
or fresh. Each chapter is illustrated with pleasing color photographs of
some of the dishes.

There is little if anything in this book that is innovative or
unusual—I suppose grandmas are not supposed to be original. It’s
just another cookbook, though perhaps because of its title it might make
an appropriate bridal-shower gift.