Country Life

Calling a shovel a sharp spade

THERE was a time when every cookbook began with a list of items the writer thought were essential in any kitchen. The assembled by Elizabeth David in her magisterial cuts no corners. ‘Not long ago,’ she writes, ‘I overheard a salesman blandly assuring a customer that an omelette was the same thing as an omelette ,’ and she goes on to compile a ‘brief for stoning cherries and olives.

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