Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways Are the Best: Over 700 Recipes Show You Why by Darina Allen

  • Forager's salad

    from Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways Are the Best: Over 700 Recipes Show You Why Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen

    • Categories: Salads; Side dish; Vegan; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: salad greens; edible flowers; balsamic vinegar
    show

  • Show all Recipes...

Notes about this book

  • MikeMcKay on March 04, 2025

    This book has many great recipes, both classic, especially classic Irish and other European, and innovative, like edible flowers frozen in ice cubes for summer drinks. Very nicely embodies a nose to tail ethic with reminders of composting, preserving, and leftovers. I marked the Kindle edition down. Although the book clearly states that each chapter heading is followed by a list of the chapter's recipes, no such list exists. As partial compensation, the index uses searchable recipe names, but they are not grouped by the same chapter headings. Disappointing... for what otherwise would rise much closer to the top of my (large) cookbook collection.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Spaghetti with wild garlic and herbs

    • Astrid5555 on April 15, 2018

      Delicious way to use up my abundance of wild garlic. Very quick to make!

  • Wild blackberry and rose petal sponge cake

    • lilyrose63 on July 22, 2017

      Impossible to find in the book. Looked under every conceivable word.

    • Barb_N on July 23, 2017

      P 37 in the Foraging chapter as a 'not recipe' - variation on Mrs. Lamb's Layer Cake p. 526. Add whipped cream, blackberries and candied rose petals.

  • Hake with tomatoes and Swiss chard

  • Pheasant braised with Cork gin

    • saladdays on February 15, 2014

      A very good recipe which produces a tasty moist pheasant, much better than roasting which means dry meat. Used London Gin rather than Cork, we're not in Ireland! Felt it was just a bit short on liquid for the sauce, next time would add some water or stock as well as the gin and the white wine.

  • Julija's Lithuanian beef goulash

    • chaffinski on January 03, 2023

      Used smoked paprika as it was what I had in. Served with mash and tenderstem broccoli. Dish had lovely warmth to it without being spicy. 5 year old loved it and wanted seconds (unlike her to finish anything never mind seconds). Didn’t blow my mind, but was simple and can be enjoyed by whole family as an easy and frugal solid winter warmer.

  • Osso bucco alla Milanese

    • dvajefink on October 29, 2011

      Easy to make, great flavors,served over spinach fettuccine.

    • saladdays on September 29, 2019

      Haven't cooked osso bucco for ages as it's not often available but this was an easy recipe and absolutely delicious. Cooked it long and slow in a Rayburn oven and served with mashed potatoes, the veal was falling off the bone and very tender.

  • Calves' livers with caramelized onion

    • jenmacgregor18 on January 23, 2015

      turned out perfect - served with champ & lots of onions fried in butter.

  • Mummy's brown soda bread

    • Melanie on March 09, 2014

      Easy and worked well - uses half/half mixture of plain and wholemeal flour which tastes good.

  • Paprika sausages

    • meginyeg on January 13, 2021

      Loved these. I used a combination of hot Hungarian paprika, regular paprika, and smoked paprika.

  • Bratwurst

    • meginyeg on February 22, 2022

      This was an ok sausage recipe. Made decent but unremarkable bratwurst.

  • Colcannon

    • Melanie on March 09, 2014

      Yum! I used savoy cabbage however the recipe also suggests substituting spring cabbage or kale. Recipe instructs you to use shallots however these are not mentioned in the book's ingredients list and I didn't end up using any.

  • Roasted beets

    • Melanie on March 09, 2014

      Very simple recipe however it's a good reminder to roast beetroot in foil (and rub the skins off later) - keeps them nice and juicy.

  • Beet tops

    • Melanie on March 09, 2014

      Tasty. However, I think I prefer Gwyneth Paltrow's Beet Greens Soup as a way of using up the greens.

  • Pickled peaches

    • Melanie on March 29, 2014

      Very easy and the results taste great. I made half a batch using peaches (the recipe suggests nectarines can be substituted). I thought there would be issues as the method doesn't require you to peel the peaches however everything seemed to stay intact (I used clingstone peaches, not sure if that would have made a difference). I made the stock syrup in a large saucepan and allowed it to cool before adding the rest of the ingredients and then bringing to a boil before reducing to a simmer on the stove top (instead of in the oven as recipe suggests).

  • Onion jam

    • alicemb on November 17, 2017

      Good recipe, nice colour and taste

  • Seville whole orange marmalade

    • Melanie on August 23, 2014

      I made a half batch of this marmalade, reducing the sugar as I used sweet oranges. This recipe worked really well and was very straight forward - boil oranges, cut and return to pot and then reduce before adding warmed sugar. I ended up warming the sugar up in the microwave - as I was using a reduced quantity it seemed like the easiest approach. I didn't have any muslin and simply left the pips in while boiling, they ended up breaking up so were okay for eating at home. The ginger marmalade variation sounds interesting, might try next time.

  • Bitter orange marmalade

    • Melanie on March 09, 2014

      I had a bit of a disaster with this recipe however still managed to save most of it - the issues I experienced were probably because I made a smaller batch. The water boiled through very quickly during the initial cooking time and I noticed as the bottom of the pan started catching / burning and smoking! However, the taste was still good and I would try and make again, but would pay much closer attention.

  • Irish apple cake

    • Bazzer on January 13, 2022

      page 500

  • Fluffy lemon pudding

    • Melanie on June 21, 2014

      Yum. I was a bit worried about my batter (butter was very cold so didn't cream too successfully) but it all worked out well in the end. We didn't dust icing sugar over the top as it was already quite sweet but probably would for presentation purposes if we had guests.

  • Classic shortbread

    • Trepess on December 06, 2023

      Added 1/4 - 1/2 tsp sea salt and also added 2 tbsp granulated sugar added to dry mix. Blend in butter using fingers until mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.

  • Beginner's brown soda bread

    • Melanie on March 09, 2014

      Another easy soda bread - this one had more flavour than Mummy's Brown Soda Bread due to the addition of honey (can substitute with treacle or brown sugar) and the optional seeds (I used sunflower).

  • White soda bread

    • Sinu on May 18, 2026

      Easy, no-egg. Subbed 200 gr Greek yoghurt + 200 gr water for buttermilk and worked out fine. Will make again.

  • White soda scones

    • julia_on97ln on April 16, 2026

      Nice, quick recipe but a bit dry and tough. Better to just use the dough for bread. Added currants and Meyer lemon peel. Easy one that gets the job done!

  • Kerry cornmeal griddle cake

    • mzgourmand on January 19, 2025

      So this is a regional specialty that I was unable to appreciate. I found it tough and flavorless, even when doctored with plenty of butter (per the photo) and jam. It was not a hit.

  • Florence Bowe's "crumpets"

    • Mick_P on November 07, 2015

      Appears on p580 of the 2009 edition.

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Reviews about this book

  • Food52 by Francis Lam

    The 2011 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks vs. Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table

    Full review

  • Fine Cooking

    Allen is an astounding teacher, and her enthusiasm for good things and old-fashioned thriftiness is impossible to resist.

    Full review
  • ISBN 10 1906868069
  • ISBN 13 9781906868062
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Mar 16 2010
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 600
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Kyle Books

Publishers Text

In this timely new book, Darina reconnects you with the cooking skills that missed a generation or two. The book is divided into chapters such as "Dairy," "Poultry and Eggs," "Bread," and "Preserving," and forgotten processes such as smoking mackerel, curing bacon, and making yogurt and butter are explained in the simplest terms. The delicious recipes show you how to use your homemade bounty to its best, and include ideas for using forgotten cuts of meat, baking bread and cakes, and even eating food from the wild. The "Vegetables and Herbs" chapter is stuffed with growing tips to satisfy even those with the smallest garden plot or window box, and there are plenty of suggestions for using gluts of vegetables. You'll even discover how to keep a few chickens in your backyard. With over 700 recipes, this is the definitive modern guide to traditional cooking skills.

"So many of our happiest childhood memories are connected to food. Picnics by the sea, afternoon tea with Granny, Mammy's lamb stew, or treacle pudding around the kitchen table. How many times have I heard, "I remember Aunt Margie used to make a wonderful apple pie. I wish I'd asked her for the recipe." So don't leave it until it's too late. Maybe even start a little booklet of favorite family recipes and add to it from time to time. It'll make a terrific and worthwhile present for your youngsters when they eventually leave home.

In the past 20-30 years, many people have concentrated on careers and a certain set of academic skills. The subliminal message coming through our educational system, and in many cases from parents as well, was that cooking and gardening were skills that one shouldn't be bothered with and would never need to know. But the path of life doesn't always run smoothly and so many confident young people who were riding the crest of a wave are suddenly forced to face the reality that they are virtually helpless in a changed situation. So part of the mission of this book is to urge parents and grandparents not to allow any more of our young people to leave home without the life skills they need, not only to survive, but also to enhance the quality of their lives. With oil supplies diminishing and energy prices rising, we are likely to need these skills even more in the future.

The other reason for writing this book was to provide a resource for the growing number of farmers and food producers with excellent raw materials who are interested in adding value to their produce. There is also a new generation whose interest in artisan food production has taken them to careers in small-scale cheese making, meat curing, or beer brewing. If we want to keep them alive, we need to support them too. I hope this book will be a valuable resource for them all."

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