The BBC reports that Maw Broon’s Cookbook, a new Scottish recipe book based on the long-lived D.C. Thomson comics family The Broons (still appearing each week in the Sunday Post), has attracted criticism for possibly encouraging obesity with a list of recipes high in fat and sugar. That a book of Scottish recipes – albeit based on the cooking of a fictional cartoon mother – would prove to contain many unhealthy dishes really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, we’d probably deep fry our morning porridge if we could, but given the ever-present warnings here – and indeed in every Western nation – of an obesity ‘epidemic’ the book makes an easy target for criticism. Frankly I doubt the publishers are intending anyone to follow the recipes in Maw Broon’s book regularly and at least one nutritionist, Carina Norris, the BBC spoke to seemed to realise the novelty value of the book:
“I think if someone followed the recipes in this book, solely, it would be a very unhealthy diet, but I don’t think that’s what this book’s about. I think it’s more a bit of fun and will end up being given as a gift book, maybe as a bit of a joke to people who their friends think their diet needs to be smartened up a bit.”
Criticism doesn’t seem to be harming sales however – the Beeb article points out that in Scotland Maw Broon’s recipe book is outselling books by TV celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, which is no mean feat in the pre-Christmas market when celeb cooking books tend to dominate the bestsellers. I suspect some folks will also be enjoying the down-to-earth, old-fashioned recipes after years of complicated recipes from celeb chefs most of us can’t make and don’t even recognise half the ingredients for.
Tue, Oct 30, 2007
Books, Comics and cartoons