Being Wise with sweets and slow cooking

Sally Wise has about the perfect surname. Sally is a wise woman demonstrated in her attitude to cooking. In 2010 Sally was voted one of the 6 best cookbook writers in Australia just behind Jaime Oliver. Sally was pleased with this acknowledgement but is not one to rest on her laurels.

Recently I had the chance to talk to Sally and we chatted about her two latest books, the second in the slow cooker series, and Sally’s book on sweets.

Firstly, to the slow cooker. Sally explains that slow cooking is not new, every culture has the idea of slow cooking, indeed when the farmers of the past went out to work in the field’s they would take some food that had been cooked in clay pots earlier in the morning, it would be covered in straw to lock in the heat until lunchtime. This was one of the first slow cookers.

There are many advantages of slow cooking, among them is that the process, even on the most economical cuts of meat such as stewing steaks,will render them tender. The advantage of being able to prepare food early before the days duties call. It gives the cook a sense of control over the day and there is also the added ambience and joy to the senses of a lovely smell wafting through the house.

Other advantages include root vegetables keeping their flavour and shape and flavour through the cooking process and the meat tenderising in its own gravy.

One major plus in preparing food in a slow cooker is especially for those trying to cut down on take a ways is that you are not tempted at the end of the day to say you are too tired to cook as the cooking is already being done! The fact you are preparing the food means you can be confident of what is in your food.

Sally has also done some multicultural cooking and cites some of the excellent recipes to cook in the slow cooker such as a dessert of Greek chicken fetta and olives and a Persian lamb rhubarb stew, less exotic fair is the Lancashire hot pot!

Sally has seven slow cookers (when they lose their effectiveness they become feeding bowls for pets!) and indeed the number seven has a special resonance with Sally as it also has a contribution to the book on sweets.

Sally says sweets have become a taboo in our modern world yet Sally remembers back to a time when her grandmother who worked in a bakery and was very skilled in desserts would prepare many sweet treats for high tea and would in fact cater to everyone’s taste and make seven different dishes for them to enjoy, things like honey fruit tarts, current cake, vanilla squares, cobblers and desserts including those employing our wonderful fruits. All of these desserts in Sally’s words, aided congenial conversation and chat at the end of the meal . Unlike today people of her grandmother’s time believed dessert aided digestion and was a completion of the main course. Sally believes we can have our cake and eat it too. A few adaptations and a dessert can be made with less fat and sugar content. There is no denying the sense of satisfaction rounding out a meal with a delicious dessert gives!

How did Sally move from the home kitchen to the nationwide one? Sally had experience cooking at neighbours houses and in Agrarian kitchens.

She and her family of six began preserving season produce and sharing it with others . Sally went on to take hands on classes at Dunalley, at open gardens at the Melbourne Food Festival and was involved in courses teaching country woman and woman from other cultures about food.

It would seem that Sally has many more ideas for books that need to be told adding to her already extensive volumes. For now you can get Sally’s past books and copies of her latest books ‘Slow Cooking 2’ and ‘Sweet’.

Paula Xiberras