Edith Adams Omnibus

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Our food reflects both our history and our geography. This sociology
lesson is made very clear in this collection of small cookbooks
published by the Vancouver Sun newspaper. “Edith Adams” was the
fictional name the Sun used for its various food editors from 1924 to
1999. Although there was no Edith Adams, the name was a household
authority throughout British Columbia, with the Sun columns guiding
readers in household economy, nutrition, cooking methods, cleaning,
entertaining, etiquette, and more. Edith involved readers by asking them
to submit their favourite recipes and paying one dollar for each one
used in her column.

Each year 100 of these prize-winning recipes were reprinted in a
booklet—often the only recipe books available to homemakers living in
remote parts of the province or penny-pinching their way through the
Depression and war years. The Omnibus reprints 12 of these booklets,
including all 12 cover designs and editorial introductions.

Most of the recipes may be used today or simply read as a social
history of Canadian west coast cooking from c. 1934–50. Imagine a
cookbook today with a section devoted to sweet condensed milk recipes.
Or one in which “sugarless” recipes all call for honey or corn
syrup. As British Columbia is a coastal province, fish and seafood
recipes are plentiful, with unusual entries such as Fisherman’s
Pancakes, Ovenized Salmon, Salmon Wiggle, Haddie Scrambled Eggs, and
Baked Skate. An essay on how to pack food for shipping to soldiers and
an emphasis on economical substitutions reflect the times.

The booklets are reprinted, not updated: expect only imperial
measurements, methods that assume lots of hands-on experience, and
instructions such as “remove from fire.”

Whether viewed as a source of basic, economical recipes or as a social
history, the Omnibus is involving, promising hours of great browsing.