Mildred Trueman's New Brunswick Heritage Cookbook

Daria Yarymowich was a freelance writer in Toronto.

In 1983, Mildred Trueman authored Favourite Recipes From Old New Brunswick Kitchens. Her husband Stuart supplied the cartoon illustrations. Excerpts from his collection of old cures and nostrums appeared throughout the text. Mildred Trueman’s New Brunswick Heritage Cookbook is the result of their second collaboration, and is constructed in much the same fashion.

Following the table of contents, the publisher’s welcoming remarks provide us with a brief biographical outline, along with information regarding the sources of the recipes offered.

A short discussion about what is meant by the term “heritage dishes” reveals, among other things, that “Saint John Tubular Steak” is nothing other than a wiener.

“Medications of Yesteryear” is a rollicking account of how various ailments were ministered to in days gone by. We learn that some foods were considered to have magical healing powers. Someone stricken with pneumonia, for instance, ran the risk of having to wear a salt herring tied around his neck.

The recipes are arranged in helpful, orderly fashion under headings which include soups and

chowders, salads, fish, meats, and vegetables. There is a satisfying array of desserts. Interspersed among these are a good many helpful household hints and purported cures for a variety of ailments, all of which involve food. Their chief usefulness is that they inspire great good humour.

Half-way through the book we encounter a section dealing with fisherman’s weather signs, drugs which existed in pioneering days, and ways to stop hiccups. It is charmingly and entertainingly presented.

There are no difficult procedures involved in the recipes offered here. Several of them list tinned goods in the ingredients. Most would fall into the category of easy-to-prepare. The instructions are clearly presented and therefore easy to follow. We are introduced to such things as marinated fiddleheads, bean porridge, and goose tongue greens.

It is easy to feel gratitude toward the Truemans for giving us this fine, useful, and thoroughly enjoyable book.