Owner | Goodman Fielder |
---|---|
Country | New Zealand |
Introduced | 1879 |
Website | edmondscooking |
Edmonds is a New Zealand brand of baking powder and creator of the Edmonds Cookery Book. It was founded in 1879 by grocer Thomas Edmonds after hearing his customers complain about the available baking powder not always rising properly. He created his own formula and told his customers that his baking powder was "sure to rise", which later became a slogan of the brand. Brierley Investments acquired Edmonds in 1984, and Edmonds later became part of Goodman Fielder. The Edmonds Cookery Book was first published in 1908 with the name Sure To Rise Cookery Book. Since then, it has become New Zealand's best-selling book, and has been described as a New Zealand icon. The book uses pantry staples as ingredients.
Edmonds was started in 1879 by grocer Thomas Edmonds after hearing his customers complain about the available baking powder being unreliable, [1] [2] because they were not able to guarantee that their baking would rise. [2] Edmonds decided that he would create his own formula, while his wife Jane managed the shop. [3] : 3 He spent three years perfecting the formula. [3] [4] He sold 200 tins in his first batch, telling his customers that their baking was "sure to rise", [1] which he turned into the brand's slogan. [2] He travelled around Canterbury marketing his baking powder to households. [3] [4] If the occupants refused to buy the baking powder, he would give them a tin for free and would take it back if they were unsatisfied. Edmonds recalled in 1922 that no tins were ever returned. [5]
The Edmonds family moved to a house in the early 1890s on the corner of Aldwins and Ferry road in Christchurch. There Edmonds increased the scale of production by building sheds. This site later turned into the iconic three-storey factory with the "Sure to Rise" sign [3] : 4 in 1892, featuring gardens and later making its way onto the cover of the Edmonds Cookery Book. [1] [2]
It took until 1912 for the one millionth tin to be sold, [6] and by 1929, Edmonds was selling three million tins a year. The leftover tins were repurposed by using them to build a few roads in Christchurch. A widely suggested proposal of using the tins came about in World War II, when the Home Guard encouraged housewives to begin hoarding them so they could theoretically be used as jam tin grenade bombs in case the Empire of Japan invaded the country. [7]
After the head office and manufacturing moved to Auckland in the 1980s and the Ferry Road factory was abandoned, [7] it was controversially demolished in 1990, and the Christchurch City Council bought part of the gardens next year. An oval garden and a rose garden was later added. [1] [2] Brierley Investments acquired Edmonds in 1984, [7] and Edmonds later became the property of Goodman Fielder. [1] [7]
There is a street next to the location of the old factory named Edmonds Street. From 1893 it was incorrectly spelt "Edmond St", and was renamed to "Edmonds St" in 2018. [8] Edmonds products include baking powder; jelly crystals, which had the slogan "sure to set"; [2] [7] and a pastry range, which was discontinued in 2023. [9]
The Edmonds Cookery Book is a recipe book made by Edmonds, that features simple recipes using pantry staples and affordable ingredients. [10] The 2012 edition has over 500 recipes. [1]
With over three million copies sold by 2015, it is New Zealand's best-selling book and so ubiquitous as to be described by Ron Palenski as "much a part of New Zealand kitchens as a stove and knife". It appeared on a 2008 stamp series featuring national icons for each letter of the alphabet. [1]
Before the cookery book was created, Edmonds put recipes in the lids of tins. [7] The Edmonds Cookery Book was first published in 1908, originally named the Sure To Rise Cookery Book with 50 pages. [1] In 1930 the first edition with photos was released, [6] and since 1955, the 'sure to rise' factory has been on the cover. [10] The book has been spiral-bound since 1976. [11] [10] The 1971 book was dedicated to gas cooking, [11] and a microwave baking section was added in 1988. [6]
The cookery book was originally free, but since 1955 people have needed to pay for it. [6] [10] Originally, housewives could write a request to Edmonds to get a free copy. [11] Couples in the 1940s who announced that they had become engaged in the newspaper would receive a free cookbook. [6]
The gardens were originally designed in 1923 with an Edwardian style by a factory worker, [12] as part of the garden city movement. [3] : 7 A garden was designed in front of the factory in 1935 by Edgar Taylor, with a neoclassical style. A bowling green and kindergarten was later added. [12] There is also a lily pond and a bed of French marigolds in the form of the Edmonds sunrays since about 1940. A pond and creek was added from 1977 to 1982. The gardens in front of the factory were removed in the demolition, but the ones west were kept as they were bought by the city council. [3] : 7 There is a memorial rose garden to the daughter of Edmonds, Irene Ballantyne. It is often used as a wedding venue. [12] The gardens are maintained by the local group Friends of the Gardens. [2]
Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common English side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying components of the meal. As a first course, it can be served with onion gravy. For a main course, it may be served with meat and gravy — traditionally roast beef — as part of the traditional Sunday roast, but can also be filled with foods such as bangers and mash to make a meal. Sausages can be added to make toad in the hole. In some parts of England, the Yorkshire pudding can be eaten as a dessert, with a sweet sauce. The 18th-century cookery writer Hannah Glasse was the first to use the term "Yorkshire pudding" in print.
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert. Originating in either Australia or New Zealand in the early 20th century, it was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Taking the form of a cake-like circular block of baked meringue, pavlova has a crisp crust and soft, light inside. The confection is usually topped with fruit and whipped cream. The name is commonly pronounced pav-LOH-və or pahv-LOH-və, and occasionally closer to the name of the dancer, as PAHV-lə-və.
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods. It works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid–base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. The first single-acting baking powder was developed by food manufacturer Alfred Bird in England in 1843. The first double-acting baking powder, which releases some carbon dioxide when dampened and later releases more of the gas when heated by baking, was developed by Eben Norton Horsford in the U.S. in the 1860s.
A scone is a traditional British baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea. It differs from teacakes and other types of sweets that are made with yeast. Scones were chosen as the Republic of Ireland representative for Café Europe during the Austrian presidency of the European Union in 2006, while the United Kingdom chose shortbread.
Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or with a coat of icing.
Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood" include both genuine cultural icons and kitsch.
Kit Kat is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, England. It is produced globally by Nestlé, except in the United States, where it is made under licence by the H. B. Reese Candy Company, a division of the Hershey Company.
Apple crisp is a dessert made with a streusel topping. Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. The earliest reference to apple crisp in print occurs in 1924. Other similar desserts include apple Brown Betty, apple cobbler, apple crumble, apple pan dowdy, apple pie, and Eve's pudding.
Heinz Wattie's Limited is a New Zealand–based food producer of frozen and packaged fruit, vegetables, sauces, baby food, cooking sauces, dressings and pet foods in the New Zealand market.
Goodman Fielder is an Australian manufacturer, marketer and distributor of bread, smallgoods, dairy products, margarine, oil, dressings and various food ingredients. Its main operations are in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia, with over 40 manufacturing sites. The company employs over 5,000 people, and has more than 120 brands.
Cerebos is a brand of salt and, more recently, of other flavourings and nutritional supplements. Ownership of Cerebos brand is divided between Kraft Heinz in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Premier Foods in UK, K+S in Western Europe, and Bud Group in South Africa. The product was developed by George Weddell, a Scottish chemist working at the British company Mawson & Swan, and sold under the Cerebos brand by a new partnership, Mawson, Swan & Weddell.
Chocolate crackles are a popular children's confection in Australia and New Zealand, especially for birthday parties and at school fêtes. The earliest recipe found so far is from The Australian Women's Weekly in December 1937.
Thomas or Tom Edmonds may refer to:
The Edmonds Cookery Book is a recipe book focusing on traditional New Zealand cuisine. It was first published as The Sure to Rise Cookery Book in 1908 as a marketing tool by baking powder manufacturer Thomas Edmonds, but it is now known as a Kiwi icon.
Bobotie is a South African dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping.
An Afghan is a traditional New Zealand biscuit made from flour, butter, cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder, topped with chocolate icing and a half walnut. The recipe has a high proportion of butter, and relatively low sugar, and no leavening, giving it a soft, dense and rich texture, with crunchiness from the cornflakes, rather than from a high sugar content. The high butter content gives a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture, and the sweetness of the icing offsets the low sugar and the cocoa bitterness.
Sponge cake is a light cake made with eggs, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the English poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognised today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in many flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.
Linwood Cemetery is a cemetery located in Linwood, Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the fifth oldest public cemetery in the city. Despite its age, it is still open for ashes interment, Hebrew Congregational burials and if there is space in existing family plots. Opened in 1884, it has seen some 20,000 burials. The first burial, of the Sexton's wife, was held in July 1884 before the cemetery was opened. For some years, a tram line stopped within the cemetery before terminating on what is now Pages Road. The tram lines going into the cemetery are still visible under the tar-sealed road leading from the Butterfield Avenue car park. A tram hearse was built at some expense for the time by the Christchurch City Council but is believed to have never been used.
Thomas John Edmonds was a British-born New Zealand businessman and philanthropist, who created and manufactured Edmonds "Sure to Rise" baking powder and the Edmonds Cookery Book. He also financed the construction of several buildings in Christchurch, including gifting the city a band rotunda and clock tower in 1929.
The Edmonds Band Rotunda is a rotunda in Christchurch, New Zealand. Created by baking powder manufacturer Thomas Edmonds in 1929 to celebrate his 50th year of living in the city, it was used initially as a place for brass bands to play music. It was converted to a restaurant in the 1980s. The 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes caused significant damage to the rotunda, and it had to be deconstructed. After being rebuilt, the rotunda re-opened in 2021 and is now used for performances.