Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

1767

Description

This English recipe book is inscribed on the front flyleaf: Charlotte Rous June y^e 4^th 1767. It is written in a single hand, simple but legible, presumably that of the inscriber. The book contains 144 pages of recipes, about three-quarters of which are culinary, the rest medical. There is a complete page index in the back of the volume.

The food recipes skew somewhat toward preserved foods, including a recipe "To make catchup to last 20 years," page 120, salted goose (two recipes), bacon, pickles of various kinds, fruit preserves, and wines. But the book also includes many general recipes for meat and fish dishes, fish sauces, and puddings, as well as a few recipes for pastry and cake. There are several unusual recipes: "Potato Pancakes, page 27; Moon Shine Eggs, page 41, which are eggs broiled in "shells" with a crumb topping; "To force artichokes," page 65, with a chicken or veal forcemeat stuffing; and "To make Pitelings," page 70, a forerunner of today's pikelets. There is also a recipe for " Burnt Cream," page 24.