Food in England: A Complete Guide to the Food That Makes Us Who We are

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I was startled to discover that almost all of the 676 pages are taken up with practical recipes and techniques, with very little historical narrative.

The book ‘Food in England’ was really born in the 1930s when Dorothy had a weekly column in ‘The Daily Sketch’ newspaper.The book is a compendium of favourite tips and treats, many of which just happen to be several hundred years old.

In the Meat chapter, these begin with recipes for beef, including "Baron of Beef", "Sirloin (Norman-French, sur loin)", "Rib of Beef", "Boiled Beef with Carrots", and "Oat Pudding, for Boiled Beef". Little Dorothy would visit the farmhouses of the Yorkshire dales to see sheep sheared, oatcakes baked and scoff huge Yorkshire teas.Far from settling down, she speeded up, refusing to marry or have children and indeed devoting herself entirely to her work of recording the past. The Queen's Cheese recipe (1600), to be made between Michaelmas and Allhallowtide, and a huge cheese, nine feet in circumference, made in 1841 for Queen Victoria from one milking of 737 cows.

They are not necessarily fitting 21st century palate, but are nonetheless interesting - not unlike what Heston Blumenthal has done. I was told it was served with roast pork, like Yorkshire pudding is served with roast beef (the sage and apple indicate this), but the marigold is more usually a cheese condiment. Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.

Make a custard mixture of eggs beaten in milk, season strongly with pepper, salt and thyme, a very little chopped sage, and a lot of marigold petals (the common yellow marigold).