Stirring it up: Christmas cookbooks

Thistles and Kiwis,

Christmas cooking is so easy in this household. We celebrate Christmas Eve, as does most of Europe, and while Poland has its wigilia with 12 dishes and Italy celebrates la vigilia with fish, in Sweden you can expect the julebord with herring, meatballs, smoked salmon and other delights. Our variation now we are in the southern hemisphere sort of mixes Midsummer and Christmas into one. We have herring sourced from a shop in Auckland, ham, sausages, home made meatballs, potatoes, devilled eggs (my tradition), a salad or two, some paté, at least three different types of excellent New Zealand smoked salmon, strawberries, cheese and the centre piece, Janssons frestelse.

As such, I don’t have a special Christmas cookbook. Instead I turn every year to check on the Janssons recipe in Annas Mat, I book bought over 20 years ago in a supermarket in Sweden. You can see that the page in the book reflects a lot of use. We can no longer get the good ansjovis here in New Zealand for some reason, so make do with this substitute which actually tastes the same once in the dish. Please if you do make this at home do not use anchovies which taste nothing like the ‘correct’ spiced/pickled fish. Regular readers may remember pictures of the finished dish over the years – and if not, promise it will feature in a post next week!

The other book that gets brought out at Christmas is this 1970s edition of the Be-Ro (a brand of flour) cook book. My mother wasn’t a baker, but she did make rich fruit cake every year for Christmas. While I haven’t made one for many years, I believe the majority of my Christmas cakes have used the recipe from this book.

Back when I was young, we didn’t have an electric beater, and my mum would use this knife pictured below to beat the butter and sugar together. The dent in the handle, I believe, was where it melted, but don’t ask me how! Anyway, I still have it, and it has since travelled with me to the other side of the world.

The cake has been made and is now sitting ready to be eaten. It looks and smells good so let’s hope it also tastes good too!

So these are the two books that get brought out at Christmas in our house. Not seasonal ones as such, but ones that contribute to our feasting at this time of year.

Entered in the Christmas cook book challenge hosted by Jo of Brookford Kitchen Diaries.

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

38 Comments

  1. I’d love to try that Jansson’s… Nigella does one in Cook, Eat Repeat – she calls it Jansson’s Temptation. I remember seeing pics of yours in previous years. Love that you have these Christmas traditions.

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    2. Christmas cooking in your home sounds like a delightful blend of traditions! From Swedish julebord staples like Janssons frestelse to a classic fruitcake recipe from the Be-Ro cookbook, your festive table is rich with history and flavor. It’s heartwarming how these well-loved cookbooks and tools carry cherished memories across the years—and even continents! 🎄🍴

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  3. I have several Bero cookery books, all very battered.

    None as old as your copy.

    I made my first cakes and biscuits using these recipes.

    Nice and simple – but always worked.

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  5. I love the odd splats and sploshes on a well-used cookbook! Little food memories in and of themselves. Your mother’s battle-wounded knife too! I have my mom’s butcher’s knife, the blade well shaped in spots, and when I look at it I remember my dad sharpening it on his stone every Sunday morning! My mom’s knives were always sharp.

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  6. We had knives exactly like that and I’m sure at least one was damaged in a similar way! My mum’s original Be-Ro book was possibly 1940s, and I had to get one for school in the late 1960s. I think we both had several later editions. I might still have one somewhere, I will have to check.

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    1. I’m not sure what the handles were made of but something that could melt! I used to have an earlier BeRo book with black and white pictures but it seems to have got lost in many moves. They are great for the basics.

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  11. Your Christmas fruit cake looks delicious and is bound to taste good. Mixing cultural traditions is such fun. The first time my daughter offered Christmas mincepies to her German in-laws, they were viewed with suspicion and politely nibbled at. Fourteen years later, they are fully enjoyed alongside lebkuchen and other German specialities.

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  15. I’m sure your recipe for the Christmas cake from the 1970s edition of the Be-Ro cookbook is a good one since you have had the book for so many years.

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  17. I’ll have to look out for these cookbooks! I also love vintage cookbooks, I feel like there are so many great recipes lost out there that can be found in these old cookbooks. I’ve actually been trying to find some while I wait for our carpet cleaners to finish up, I’m going to see if by chance our library has one of these, I’d love to check it out! Thanks for the inspiration!

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