This cookbook was kept by Jane Watkins (Dupuy) Edmunds (1790-1870) and related family members, all of Virginia. It includes an index of recipes in the back, with page numbers. The book is available in the library in photocopy, presumably because the original is in fragile condition.
The book is believed to have been written between circa 1840 and 1879 on basis of dates scattered throughout: one page is dated “Oct 13th 46” and includes a recipe from an almanac of 1842; three other pages are dated “August 5th 48,” “Aug 15th 53,” and “August 20th 1857”; one page contains the note, “I made in 1869 5 gallons of their juice of currents…”; and one page contains the date 1879.
The book includes culinary recipes for yeast (including “For good leven, a dutch method”), vinegars, different catsups, Cooly’s Bitters, cooking onions, fritters without eggs, many pickles, and Icing with tartaric acid, as well as recipes for various puddings, jellies, cakes, muffins, biscuits, and breads. There is also a recipe for “One two three four cake” (so named because its ingredients are called for in an easily remembered 1-2-3-4-cup formula), as well as recipes for ice cream, wines and beers, Brunswick Stew, charlotte russe, brandy peaches, and waffles.
In addition to the culinary recipes, the book contains instructions for dyeing wool, cotton, and madder fabrics various colors, as well as household recipes for making a cow hair carpet, a quick way of whitening, elderberry blacking, ink, mending china, plaster, cleaning furniture, candles, and soap. There are also memoranda for constructing asparagus beds, washing clothes, and making cement for mending jugs and brittle pots, as well as some medical recipes. Some inventories of household goods such as tablecloths, towels, and sheets appear towards the back of the book.
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