Roasts, Pies or Nose to Tail? The Best British Cookbook

British food has been the butt of jokes for a long time, and the jokes have aged badly. A cuisine with this many pies, puddings, roasts and regional cakes deserves better, and from a kitchen like ours it looks familiar: thrifty, seasonal food that makes something good out of what was on hand.

Here are seven books from named authors and established publishers. One practical warning: British books often use metric weights and British names for ingredients, and we could not confirm the measures in the editions below. So check a preview if you need cups and American terms.

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Quick verdict: the best British cookbook for most kitchens

The other four cover baking history, modern bakes and two very different views of Scotland.

Five British cookbooks side by side

Five of the seven, one for each kind of cook. All seven are described in full below.

Cover images from Amazon. Page counts and formats are from the Amazon listings for the editions linked. Recipe counts are from the publisher’s copy or the title.

Our picks for the best British cookbook, book by book

All seven were in stock, new and sold by Amazon when we checked. We have not cooked from these books; where we describe a strength, we say whose view it is. We could not confirm the measurement system for any of them, so the table below says so.

How to choose an English home cooking book

Four points will narrow the list.

• Do you want a survey or a voice? Mervis gives you a survey of a nation’s food. Henderson gives you one chef’s very clear view of it.
• Do you own a kitchen scale? If not, buy one before you buy a British baking book. Weights make baking more reliable in any case, and we could not confirm US measures in these editions.
• Do you know the ingredient names? Treacle, caster sugar and suet can turn up in British recipes. Look at a preview to see how much of that a book assumes.
• Is baking the point? Three books here lean toward baking. Our cake cookbook guide and pie dish guide can help you go further.

How we chose these British cookbooks

We searched Amazon’s book listings first and kept print editions from named authors at established publishers, plain in stock with a new lead offer. Author, year, format and page count come from the Amazon listing. Recipe counts and descriptions come from the publisher’s copy, in some cases as carried by booksellers.

Here is what stands behind each pick. The British Cookbook, The Whole Beast and BAKE have Publishers Weekly reviews that we read ourselves. The British Baking Book, The Scottish Kitchen and The Hebridean Baker have outside praise that we read only through the publisher. Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook rests on her record and the publisher’s details.

Stock ruled out several names many readers will expect. Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat and Simon Hopkinson’s Roast Chicken and Other Stories were low in stock or not on regular sale when we checked. Delia Smith’s Complete How to Cook and Tom Kerridge’s Pub Kitchen were available, but we could not read a publisher’s description of either, so we left them out and did not guess.

British cookbook questions, answered

What is the best English home cooking book?

The British Cookbook is the broadest, though it covers all four nations. Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook is the household reference.

Do these books use US measures?

We could not confirm this for any of them. Look at a preview, or keep a kitchen scale close by.

Which book covers roasts and pies?

Mervis’s book is the broad choice, and Ysewijn covers pies from the baking side. We have not checked each recipe list, so look at the index for specific dishes.

Is Scottish food covered?

Yes. The Scottish Kitchen and The Hebridean Baker are all Scottish, and Mervis’s book includes Scotland among the four nations.

Is The Whole Beast only about offal?

No. The publisher says it also has vegetable, fish and dessert recipes, but its reputation rests on the meat.

Which British cookbook should you buy first?

Buy The British Cookbook if you want the whole story and Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook if you want a big household reference. Choose The Whole Beast for a chef’s view, The British Baking Book or BAKE for baking and The Scottish Kitchen or The Hebridean Baker for Scotland. For another European kitchen, go to our best French cookbook guide, and if afternoon tea is the appeal, see our tea book guide.

And if you would rather let someone else cook tonight, see the menu or call to order.