Manuscript Location

University of Iowa Main Library, Special Collections, Szathmary Culinary Archive

Place of Origin

England ➔ Yorkshire ➔ Spennithorne

Date of Composition

ca. 1799-ca. 1844

Description

This recipe book is inscribed on the inside front cover: "Mary Chaytor's Book, Spenithorn June 1804." Spennithorne is a small village in North Yorkshire, England. Spennithorne Hall, currently a Grade II listed building, is currently the seat of C. D. Chaytor; the 14th century village church contains tablets to the Chaytor family.

The book contains approximately 347 pages of recipes, which are numbered through page 200, and an index at the back containing entries through page 61. The first 55 pages of the book appear to be in the hand of the inscriber (as do the index entries through page 56). The remainder of the book is in a number of other hands, at least two of which recur at random intervals, suggesting that the book may have been passed around among a circle of acquaintances. The recipes are mostly culinary but do include some home medicines and household products. There is no apparent organizational scheme governing the recipes. The verso of the back free endpaper contains the dates 1841, 1842, 1843, and 1844, referring to bottles of catsup either used or put up in those years. The book is comprehensive, including recipes for wines and spirits, soups, meat dishes, sauces, tarts, pastry crusts, puddings, custards, creams, cheeses, biscuits, cakes, cake icing, potted meats, pickles, preserved fruits, marmalade, and artificial yeast.