Book, 'Una Carter's Famous National Cookery Book'

Cookery books are a rich source of information on domestic life in New Zealand, and in particular, provide a window into the lives of New Zealand women.

Una Carter's 'Famous National Cookery Book' aims to be economical ('Special attention has been paid to utilising odds and ends of vegetables, fish, meat, stale bread and cakes, etc, in many appetising ways.' Therefore Fish Soup is made from fish bones, heads and trimmings. 'Mock Egg Sauce (Rich Appearance)' is a meal of boiled mashed pumpkin in white sauce. Carter gives instructions on how to clarify dripping and render fat, how to use 'Thick Sour Milk to make Cream Cheese'. Cauliflower Salad is made from leaves, flowers and stalks. Whey Jelly combines sugar, gelatine and whey into a dessert.  Other recipes include Grapefruit Soup, Peapod Soup and Poorman's Soup (Fit for a King). Mashed parsnip is formed into Mock Hearts and Brain Patties are for Bridge Parties ('These are equally good as oyster patties. Can hardly tell the difference'). Many recipes include the encouraging phrase: 'This is delicious'.

There are also signposts showing the development of domestic technology in New Zealand, such as the introduction of electricity and the development of thermostatically controlled cooking temperatures.