Atora Recipe Book Introductory Hints

Right after the List of Contents, the Atora Suet Book provides a page of Introductory Hints, I’ve transcribed this below in its entirety.  These are the original and official words as published by the Atora Suet company themselves, Hugon & Co in the 1950s.

Introductory Hints

1. Never guess weights and measures. Be most careful to measure or weigh each ingredient accurately.  For those without scales we give a few handy measures below.
2. Mix carefully and thoroughly, according to the directions given. We suggest you follow the recipe exactly the first time, then you will be able to adjust it slightly to suit your family tastes – for example you may care for a little more fruit, or a little less sugar and spice.
3. All cooking processes and times have been carefully tested, so it is advisable to follow these. When making Baked Puddings, there may be slight variations according to the oven used, so please follow the recommendations in the light of your own knowledge of your particular stove.
4. In the case of steamed puddings, make sure the water is at BOILING point when the pudding goes into the steamer or pan. In the case of baked puddings make sure the oven has reached the right temperature or has had time to heat thoroughly BEFORE putting in the food.
5. You will see we give a choice of self-raising flour, or plain flour and baking powder. It is unnecessary to use additional baking powder with self-raising flour, unless the recipe specifically states this.
6. When self-raising flour or baking powder is used, the pudding should be put into the saucepan or oven without delay, once liquid has been added.

Useful Measures

SPOON MEASURES – Number of level tablespoons to make 1oz :-

• “Atora” suet 1½
• Flour, Cornflour or Custard Powder 2
• Golden Syrup* 1
• Jam 1
• Sugar 1½

*Golden Syrup is difficult to weigh or measure – as it is so sticky. When weighing syrup, flour the scale pan well, then the syrup will drop off easily. When measuring syrup warm the spoon well and the syrup will not adhere to the spoon.

REMEMBER – ALL SPOON MEASURES IN THIS  BOOK ARE LEVEL – which is a much more accurate way of measuring than “rounded” or “heaped”.

Food Cheats Tips:

Now it’s 70 years on from when this recipe book was published, I’ve got some digital weighing scales, so I weigh out golden syrup from a squeezy bottle. How Much Does 1 Tablespoon of Golden Syrup Weigh?.