Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

ca. 1860

Description

This anonymous cookbook of approximately 21 pages is written in ink, on lined pages that have not been numbered. The book is probably in a single hand that becomes rushed and careless in the final four pages. The use of the word "treacle" (rather than "molasses") in recipes for "Gingerbread" (digital image 13) and "Gingerbread Loaf" (16) establishes that the book is British, not American, as do recipes such as "Endcliffe Buns" (12), "Oatmeal Drink" (21), and "Tea for Haymakers" (22). The use of "baking powder" in the Endcliffe Buns and "German yeast" (an early form of compressed yeast) in "Cake without Sugar" (14) and "Bath Buns" (16) indicates that the book is likely not earlier than 1860 and may be somewhat later.

The recipes are standard mid-Victorian English. The chief interest of the book is its several recipes for babies and children, including "Baby's boiled Bread Pudding" (3), "Beef tea" ("enough broth for a baby for 2 days"; 3), "Baby's Pudding steamed" (5), "Bread & Apple pudding for children"(10), and "Boiled Bread for Babies (18). Also included are several medical recipes, such as "Linseed Tea," which is "Excellent for coughs + colds in the chest."