Manuscript Location

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

Place of Origin

United States ➔ Massachusetts ➔ New Bedford

Date of Composition

1862

Description

On a flyleaf at the front of this book are written "Emma Cornelia Ricketson New Bedford Decbr. 1862" and the following curious note: "Published by Wm. K. Tallman to whom it is willed in case he outlives the above Emma Cornelia. But in case the said Emma Cornelia outlives the Publisher then it is to pass over to Abby Y. Sherman provided however she outlives the 2 aforementioned." Perhaps the "publisher" is owner of the beautiful flowing hand in which the book is written--that is, the scribe. The recipes, though, presumably belong to Emma Cornelia, and perhaps also the offbeat humor evidenced in the inscription. This humor surfaces at several other points in the manuscript, for example in a (thoroughly conventional) recipe for Molasses Fruit Cake, which ends with the cryptic remark, "Bake in a quiet oven and eat in a quiet place."

The 169-page book is almost entirely given over to desserts, cakes, breads, and preserves, with a small section of savory cooking at the beginning and a clutch of recipes for cosmetics, remedies, and sickroom dishes at the end. The recipes are organized in the following categories: meat and fish dishes and soups; hot breads and griddle cakes for "Breakfast and Tea"; salad dressings; pudding sauces; puddings; pastry; desserts; preserves; jellies (in the sense of preserves); "Gingerbread Cookies, Etc."; cakes; wines; cosmetics and cures; invalid cooking; and "sundries" (candies). Several pages are left blank at the end of each section, perhaps to accommodate the addition of new recipes. Many of the recipes are attributed to their contributors. An interesting feature of the book is that it looks uncommonly far backward and forward at the same time, picking up a number of breads and cakes made without chemical leavening, which were typical in the 1820s and 30s, but also outlining such conceits as popcorn pudding, snow pudding, and modern cream pies, which are rare in published cookbooks before 1870. Many of the recipes give evidence of having been tried. In general, this is a work of a skillful, perceptive cook.