Place of Origin

United States ➔ Tennessee

Date of Composition

begun 1846, continued to early 1900s

Description

This recipe book is part of a collection of six recipe books, two printed and four handwritten, collected by Norvell Sevier Rose, of Nashville, Tennessee, who was active in the 1930s.

The book is inscribed "Emmeline R. Smiley 1846" on the front free flyleaf. However, only three pages recipes, all for sweets, are in the hand of the inscriber. Adnella P. Bryant, whose cookbook is part of this collection (see below), wrote a series of penciled notes on the inside front cover and on both sides of the front free flyleaf of the book. Her notes are not entirely clear, but they seem to indicate that, after Emmeline Smiley's death, the book was continued by another individual, who wrote recipes in it around the time of the Civil War. When this individual died, she left the book to Adnella P. Bryant, who "filled it up" with additional handwritten recipes and clippings, resulting in a book of some 200 pages. 

The book contains a mix of culinary, medical, and household recipes. Two recipes are of particular note. Emmeline Smiley's recipe for "White Jumbles" is an unusual variation on these rich, crisp, ring-shaped cookies, recipes for which abound in early cookbooks. The cookies are white because the batter is made only with the whites of eggs, rather than whole eggs, as is common. (The cookies would also have to be baked at a low temperature, so that they would not brown.) Also of interest, the cookies are formed with a "jumble stuffer," which was presumably some sort of syringe-like gizmo through which the batter was squirted. 

Another recipe of note is the recipe for "Brouillie," which is described as a "delightful and healthy" after-dinner drink. The drink consists of spiced French brandy that is set alight and allowed to burn until "all the strength is gone," that is, until all the alcohol has been burned off. Written by a later contributor to the book, the recipe reflects the growing temperance movement of the mid-1800s. ("Brouillie" means "scrambled" in French; perhaps the word meant here is "brulee," or "burnt.")

Although Adnella Bryant's cookbook is too late for this survey, it contains a fascinating recipe  for Peach Pot-Pie (page 36), the original southern peach cobbler, that bears mentioning. The cobbler originated as a means of baking a pie (of sorts) in the fireplace, in a Dutch oven, rather than in the fireplace oven, which was fired up only once or twice a week in most households. Adnella Bryant 's cookbook dates from the late 19th century, by which time nearly all American households had switched from cooking at the hearth to cooking on an enclosed iron stove.  Hence, this sentence in Bryant's recipe for this hearth-era treat: "If there is no fireplace at hand, bake in a range or stove."