Last September my book was reviewed by a school librarian for the NSW Education Department quarterly Scan Magazine, which is distributed to all school libraries in NSW. I had thought that they had decided not to include the review, but yesterday I received a copy of the May Edition for 2009.

I am not allowed to reprint it, but the book has been noted for introductory support for the Stage 3 COGs Unit – Traditions and heritage and suggested that it could be useful background for Food Technology students.

The link below takes you to a search box, and if you type Australian Flavour – the review shows up second from the top.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/resourcereviews/

Being a member of an online writing community I came across a post the other day where the poster wanted to know how to claim copyright for recipes. The simple response could be, write your own. But recipes in their total form are not copyrightable, only the method or instruction provided is. Then there is also the issue of recipes out of copyright, where their methods are free to reproduce as you please.

Firstly, derivative works are anything that you adapt. If you adapt a recipe it is a derivative work and deserves the same recognition as any other type of writing. If there is enough of the original there, making it obvious of where the work came from, it has not departed the original enough and therefore it is not protected by copyright.

The only type of derivative work that can be claimed under a new copyright is one that is quite clearly an original creation that does not resemble the original work in method or execution of the subject.

You can not simply adapt a work and claim it as yours. Nor can you simply use copyrighted work, quote the source, and be free of violating copyright law.

Secondly, don’t try to reinvent the wheel…if you want to use material no longer under copyright simply quote your source, and don’t try to claim it as your own. It is morally wrong, and someone is sure to notice that the work originally came from another source.

Thirdly, if you are wanting to compile a group of recipes for resale, regardless of if they are in copyright, if you are not a chief who can apply writing and culinary skills to methods think twice, unless you are doing so for review, education purposes, or debate. If you want to use recipes by a well known chef, ask permission.

 
1. A list of ingredients is not copyrighted.

2. The method or instruction for preparation is copyrighted.

3. NOW A tricky twist on the rules.

Recipes that are traditional and known by many from a location – for example – in Australia it would be impossible to copyright the recipe for Damper, especially the basic one using only flour, salt, and water, or for that matter chocolate crackles (Which by the way Kellogs™ did try to do once, unsuccessfully.)

It is impossible to copyright them because millions of Australians have been passed on the recipes for generations and know the recipes from memory and will write them almost word for word …but if you have used a previous recipe from someone else and not written the method or instruction from your memory you should attribute the original source, and at the very least note that it is a Traditional Recipe from (and the region or country)

4. Any recipe that you have adapted, regardless of how much you think you have added to the recipe, the original recipe writer that you have adapted the recipe from should be attributed to being the original source.

eg.

Damper 1

Ingredients
4 cups of flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
30g butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Method or Instructions

Sift flour, baking power, and salt and mix in butter.
Mix a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Mix in milk and water and knead until firm. Shape into a flattened ball.

Place on a large greased and flour tray and bake for approximately 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 180c and bake for another 15 -20 minutes or until a tap on the crust causes a hollow sound, then turn onto wire cooling tray.

Serve cut or broken into thick chunks and serve with golden syrup, lashings of butter, or both.

*****

In the above recipe the ingredients are not copyrighted but the method of how I just wrote it is despite it being a traditional recipe from Australia but only to a degree.

The reason for this is, I have ingredients listed in portions others may not, and in turn my method has been adapted to suit the quantity and the heat and cooking method that I have used to make the damper. Having said that, many other Australians will write that recipe in a very similar fashion if they are making that quantity. Overall, even though my method is copyrighted, there is a great chance many other Australians have an almost identical formula in the method for making that quantity of bread.

No one would dare claim the Damper recipe as their own, AND anyone not familiar with it, should not claim they made the recipe alone. Anyone writing a traditional or slightly adapted recipe, should note the original source if they themselves did not traditionally grow up and know that recipe by heritage. Being a traditional, well slightly adapted traditional Australian recipe, depending on who is writing it, should note it in one of a few ways.

An Australian who knows the recipe by heart and needs no reference to any document or source to make the damper. – Traditional Australian Damper

An Australian or anyone else who does not know the recipe -

Traditional Australian Recipe – adapted from/ or original source Sharon Robards

Damper 2

1 cup of flour
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup water

Method or Instruction

Mix all into a firm ball, flatten and place under the ashes of the fire.

****

The above recipe can not be copyrighted…that is how hundreds of people would know and write how to make it. Having said that, if you come across a recipe like that and you never new that, it is not your recipe to use freely without attribution…that is common sense.

Points to take note of.

1. The list of ingredients you are free to reprint and use as you wish.

2. The method or instruction must be written completely from your memory because of knowledge of how to make the recipe due to it being your recipe, or passed on from generation – not because you looked at the recipe then closed the book and wrote from memory. Apart from the fact the recipe would probably not work, you know it is not yours.

3. Even if you are convinced you made enough of an adaption to a recipe to call it your own, don’t be afraid to pass on the original source of the recipe.

4. Even if you are using recipes that are out of copyright – it is a curtsey to credit the original author of that recipe. Someone with the knowledge, will only point it out to you.

6. Attempting to rephrase words is still, and will be picked up, as a copyright breach if it remains in copyright, and just a lie, if it is out of copyright.

The main point to remember is that every writer, regardless of wether their works are copyrighted deserve to be attributed their own writing, regardless of the year it was written. If you are using recipes out of copyright you should quote the source even if there is no legal obligation to do so.

If you are still uncertain check with your countries Copyright laws.

My daughter must have been thinking about her ancestry, when she forwarded me an email the other day title “The history of the Parrish name.” Parrish is my maiden name, and although I should have been quite impressed by her writing skills I decided to google the first line.

“From very ancient history it can be ascertained that the name parisii can be found as far back as 250 b.c. they were a celtic clan that lived in paris, france.”

I quickly realised she had plagiarised the entire article from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Creek/2696/History.html, in which case a reminder to her of copyright and plagiarism followed. The article was very interesting though, but instead of thinking of my Paryce, Parys, Paryse, Paryssh, Paris, Parish or Parrish named ancestors I thought of how now days people are called names like Apple, and although I haven’t heard of Orange, Banana, or Grapefruit yet, I wonder how far away it will be before some child is given such a name. On top of this there is a growing acceptance of women keeping their maiden names when they marry. This appears to indicate women want to remain independent in their marriages, but I really can’t understand why some women then hyphenate them. My daughter’s friend is called Indigo, after a colour, which I don’t mind, and coincidentally her surname is Parrish-Something. So from here, if Indigo marries and keeps her name and husbands name she will be Indigo Parrish-Something-HusbandsName.

Gee, if this trend was to remain we would all have names longer than the Kings and Queens of Europe and it would make is so much easier for our future generations to track back their family lines but what about the poor children having to learn their names, as well as some of the teasing some must get. I was never teased about my name as such, but I remember being called parachute. My husband’s name is John, and although his mother probably named him after one of the Johns in the Bible, he was often called ‘toilet’.

I have been busy since the book launch, and have been meaning to place some pics here. The day was pretty much uneventful but it did allow me to catch up with some family and friends I had not been in contact with for a while. If anyone knows Nelson Bay, a brilliant sunny day means no shoppers regardless of how much food you are giving away. Besides, I can only wish I was J K Rowling. Only one book was sold, but by the Friday, the day before, our first print run had been oversold. There was a heap of food left over, and it has convinced me Australians are too well fed. Many people who passed by could not fathom that we were having a party and they were welcome to taste the food.  Gee, you really can’t give anything away these days.

Below is the a picture of Shannon who won the “best dressed lamington” competition.

The books from our first print run arrived the other day to fulfil orders from my site Australian Flavour . Our pre-released copies sold out prior to the books arrival much to my surprise. As an added bonus, I woke up this morning to find that the owner of Spoto’s The Steakjoint restaurant in Dunedin, Florida had ordered a copy.

I was asked the other day, “What was one of the most memorable things you came across in your research of Australian Flavour?” The first thing I thought of was a quote taken from an early Australian journal. After reading a few lines I almost skipped what makes the following statement memorable.

Damper

“A bushman’s recipe, which some people swear by and others swear at. Make a hole in some flour in a ration bag, pour in a quart pot of boiling water and stir it with a stick until you have a lump of dough, which you lift out from the surrounding flour, slightly flatten and bake in the ashes. A more luxurious way to mix it is to take off your leather legging and mix it on that, or a piece of bark.”

Port Stephens Examiner

8th July 2008

TRADITIONAL Australian cuisine is celebrated in a new book by Corlette resident Sharon Robarts (Robards).

A first time writer, Mrs Robarts (Robards) said the book was inspired by her grandmother and aimed to familiarise people with the many flavours of Australian cooking.

“My grandmother brought me my first typewriter when I was nine years old and I have been writing ever since,” she said.

Mrs Robarts (Robards) said it was the loss of her grandmother that first prompted her to begin writing the book.

“When she [grandmother] died I really missed her cooking and wanted to put together a group of recipes that really captured the essence of traditional Australian cooking,” she said.

The book took 18 months to write and covers all aspects of Australian cuisine including meat, light dishes, desserts and a section on native bush tucker.

“There is a special part of the book which includes recipes by Vic Cherikoff who is credited as being a pioneer of native Australian food, Mrs Robarts said.

Also included in the book are a number of beautiful photographs that Mrs Robarts collected from photographers around the world.

Mrs Robarts (Robards) said it had been a life-long dream to have a book published and the experience was rewarding.

“It gives a great sense of achievement and it has my grandmother’s name in it,” she said.

Australian Flavour Book Launch 9th August 2008