The Essential Cook's Kitchen: Traditional culinary skills, from breadmaking and dairy to preserving and curing

From artisan baking recipes to mouthwatering pickles and preserves, The Essential Cook’s Kitchen teaches you everything you need to master the art of traditional home cooking.

Full of mouthwatering recipes for tasty, heartwarming fare, this comprehensive guide covers all aspects of the country cook’s kitchen, from the simple pleasures of baking bread and cakes, to curing, dairymaking, bottling, potting and preserving.

As more people look to relearn the culinary skills that their grandmothers would have known by heart, food writer Alison Walker brings these time-honored techniques into the present day.

Rich with detail, each section guides you through an essential skill of the country kitchen, teaching you about the ingredients, techniques and equipment as well as the recipes needed to make these tantalizing home-produced delicacies.

From classics like the Victoria sponge and tempting treats like raspberry ripple parfait to rich and hearty game pies, learn how to craft delicious staples of the country kitchen from scratch. Along with these fully illustrated, easy-to-follow recipes are invaluable tips on technique which will equip you with a wealth of knowledge, as well as handy hints to make sure your cooking turns out just right. Bolster your kitchen repertoire as you learn about:

• Baking breads and cakes -  Fill your kitchen with the warm aromas of sweet and savoury bakes, from cottage loaves and crumpets to spiced carrot cake, as well as delicious tarts and pies. 

• Sweets - Whip up delectable sweets such as Cardamom fudge or dark chocolate truffles, or experiment with barley sugar and candied peels. 

• Dairymaking - Experience the delights of the dairy by learning how to churn your own butter and soft cheese, or make irresistible dishes like baked ricotta cheesecakes and nutmeg and bay leaf ice creams. 

• Preserving - Fill up your larder with a mouthwatering array of jams, jellies and chutneys. From lavender and lemon jelly to pear and pumpkin chutney, there is something to suit all tastes. 

• Bottling and liqueurs - Make the most of seasonal fruits by transforming them into fragrant cordials and liqueurs to cheer the winter table with out of season produce. 

• Curing and potting -  Learn the lost arts of curing and smoking meat and fish, as well flavourful recipes for your handmade sausages and pates. 

The Essential Cook’s Kitchen is filled with recipes that stand the test of time and skills and techniques that will make your kitchen complete. With this book, you can while away the hours and days baking, bottling and preserving food and drink that is a pleasure to create and a joy to eat.

Alison Walker is the Food & Drink Editor of Country Living Magazine and loves cooking with British seasonal ingredients. After gaining experience in editorial magazine publishing, she retrained as a professional chef at Leith's School of Food and Wine in London and graduated as Student of the Year in 2002. She then worked as a food stylist on various television programmes and movie sets, such as the Bond film Die Another Day. Since then, Alison has worked as a food editor on various glossy women's magazines in London. Immediately before joining Country Living Magazine, she was Head of Cookery at Good Housekeeping.