Delia's !2! complete-cookery-course books (old & new) - any advice re which of the 2 books is the best to buy/what are the main differences?!

[FairWeatherSailing]

Hi

Cookbook advice please!

Delia Smith has written 2 'bibles' to cooking. I'd like to buy just one!

Can anyone recommend one or the other, or advise the true differences between, the 2 books?

They are (fully!) named: "Delia's Complete How to Cook: Both a Guide for Beginners and a Tried and Tested Recipe Collection for Life" (the newer book) & "Delia's Complete Cookery Course - Classic Edition: Vol 1-3 in 1v" (the 1990s book).

I want to buy just one or the other but need some advice on the books' contents or which has the best layouts etc. in order to do so!

Any advice from budding cooks out there?!

Thanks

• from -

FairWeatherSailing

I have "an" old version of Delia's complete cookery course, great thumping thing, hardly any pics, a youthful Delia in a red jumper on the front.

I think the difference is the ingredients mainly. In the 80s she wouldn't have been recommending pecorino cheese for your pasta al forno (and she'd have called it a "pasta layer bake") she'd have recommended a nice bit of strong cheddar.

I use mine for "standards" like pastry, bread, hot cross buns, custard...that sort of thing.

Thanks for that advice, Bucharest. Great!

Will be looking into the 2 books in more detail to make the final decision!

Thanks

• from -

FairWeatherSailing

lol@ bucharest. i have the red jumper affair and vols 1-2 of the other (from charity shop). my vote is for red jumper.

I find the older one is fine on basics (pastry, white sauces etc) but everything tastes so bland. She uses far less garlic than I would and dried herbs rather than fresh, for example.

I'd get the newer one, out of the two, unless you're confident enough as a cook to know how to adapt her recipes to a modern palate.

Ah, I'm getting my Delia books mixed up (thought she must have done a new version of the red jumper one - ignore me!). Go for the red jumper one. That is the one that I consider bland, but it is far more useful than the others.

The other one isn't very good. I have books 1 and 2, and never felt inclined to buy 3. I cook only one recipe out of both books regularly (the carrot cake).

If you get on well with the red jumper one it might be worth getting the summer or winter books. Both of those contain a few good recipes.