Hugely Helpful? Not really. Delightful reading? Always!

Granny's book of "Tried-and-true tips and treats that have stood the test of time" is a mish-mash of folklore "receipts" for cooking and preserving natural foods as well as making remedies "to eleviate [sic] all infirmities known to Man"; advice on how to take care of house and farm, how to clean things, how to repair things, how to care for farm animals, including doctoring them, with assorted bits of wisdom sprinkled in (how to REALLY determine if someone is dead, how to make your own axle grease).

The cover copy implies you can use this book for "tasty kitchen cures for everyday ailments", and speaks of the "proven" cures and recipes, yet inside we find recipes that include such things as raw eggs. Granny might not have known about Salmonella, but the author and editors should have. However, there are no warnings that the "cures" herein should not substitute for expert medical advice (in fact, Granny refers to doctors as "quacks"), and you are pretty much left to your own judgement as to whether or not to try these recipes.

For those of you with very discriminating tastes, Granny has a recipe to make ordinary RABBIT taste like HARE! "Choose one that is young, but full grown. Hang it in the skin for three or four days; then skin it, and lay it, without washing, in a seasoning of black pepper and allspice, a glass of port wine, and an equal quantity of vinegar. Baste for 40 hours.... [After cooking] Do not wash off the liquor that it was cooked in." Hmpf! I wouldn't DARE!

Sometimes our Grannies will surprise us. In the section on cosmetics, Granny's advice is basically that while not every woman is a natural beauty, every woman can enhance her natural beauty by attending to her health and hygiene, and can do her best to "look well." Here is her surprising explicit advice on (indoor) sunbathing: "Value of a sun bath: A sun bath is of more worth than much warming by the fire. Ladies who have ample leisure and who lead methodical lives, take a plunge or sponge bath three times a week, and a vapor or sun bath every day. To facilitate this very beneficial practice, a south or east apartment is desirable. The lady denudes herself, takes a seat near the window, and takes in the warm rays of the sun. The effect is both beneficial and delightful." Obviously, Granny's use of the word "apartment" did not mean a high-rise in the city facing another high-rise across the street!

This is not the most useful old-time recipe book I own; I consulted it for a mosquito repellant recipe but found the things offered to be a bit too outdated to be helpful for me. (Where can I buy a piece of gum camphor half the size of an egg? Or oil of pennyroyal? Not at Wal-Mart or Rite Aid.) (There is a short section in the back of "Sources" but less than a dozen retailers are given, addresses and phones only, where you can request catalogs, not all free. No internet information for any.) But it is definitely the most amusing of these books in my library. Furthermore, if I were more of a back-to-nature person, there are more recipes and tips here that I would be able to use, I am sure. I cannot endorse this book for its usefulness; but for an enjoyable peek at the old days, and pure entertainment, I can definitely recommend it!

This review is brought to you by Tom's Lean-n-Mean III challenge. For details: http://www.epinions.com/content_4149256324


Recommended: Yes