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In the kitchens of Australia, 1968 was a year of revolution. While women's Libbers fled cooking's drudgery, career woman Margaret Fulton embraced its joys. Her eponymous cookbook, mixing standards like pot roast with exotic dishes like goulash, sold 1.5 million copies, lured Australians back to the stove and helped fire a national love affair with food. Now 80, Fulton has just released an updated edition. She talked to TIME's Elizabeth Feizkhah about timing, tidiness, and how to boil eggs.

Why did you write the original Margaret Fulton cookbook? I wrote it as a family reference book - so my husband could boil an egg if I was away, or my daughter could cook if we were out. I think it was a discovery for her, that when she tried to make something it really turned out.

Which recipes have been the most popular? The pavlova - it's the best pavlova in the world. A lot of people think, well, a pavlova is a pavlova. But I got the recipe from a woman who made three a day, and she taught me everything you have to do to get it right. And people often say, Oh, I still make your Christmas pudding.

When did you start cooking? I was the youngest of six children, so there was a big meal to be prepared every night. I can remember, when I was about nine, my mother making me stir the custard and saying, "Watch what you're doing, Margaret. Make sure it doesn't curdle, and it's ready when it coats the spoon." It was Mother who really made me aware of the details.

What's the secret of successful cooking? Watch the details. Times and temperatures are very important to the result. If you follow the recipe carefully, everything falls into place. I don't like to treat people as ning-nongs, though. I don't put down every little step. When you cook, you've got to think for yourself.

Are you a tidy cook? Yes. Once you let untidiness creep in, things get beyond you. I've seen Chinese chefs in busy restaurants who work in a very small area, but they never get in a mess. Every time they use a knife they wipe it and put it back in the same position.

What's your favorite dish? Usually it's whatever I've just eaten. I just had a wonderful cheese sandwich, with lovely French bread and fresh celery - people don't realize how celery improves cheese.

Do you eat fast food? No. Even with packaged prepared foods, you read the label and you get a terrible fright.

What do you look for when you shop for ingredients? Quality. I've learned that there are different grades of pepper, for example. The one I buy is more expensive, but in the long run I don't use as much. So it's a better buy.

When you updated the book, which recipes did you drop? One with a can of turtle soup. Recipes with kippers and smoked cod - of course, fish is all fresh now. But there was a recipe for mousse made with a can of red salmon. I thought, Oh, people aren't making things like that now. But one of the people working on the book had made it and she said, You must keep it. That's the intriguing thing, you think nobody would bother with a recipe anymore, but then they do.

How do you make the perfect boiled egg? Put the egg in cold water and bring it to the boil. My book sets out different times, depending on the size of the egg. Then again, if you go too far you just get a hard-boiled egg!

• An interview with Australian cookbook author Margaret Fulton