Manuscript Location

New York Public Library, Schwarzman Building - Manuscripts & Archives Division

Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

ca. 1650-1725

Description

This manuscript is divided into four parts: [medical recipes] (10 pages); "Receipts for Chirurgerie" (10 pages); "Receipts for preseruinge" (25 pages), and "Receipts for Cookery" (29 pages). Each part is preceded by an index and is individually paginated; the parts are separated by blank leaves. The manuscript is in multiple hands, nearly all of which are uncommonly handsome. Perhaps the manuscript was kept for several generations in the same household and was sent out to professional scribes to add new recipes as the household approved them. 

The culinary material is contained in the final two sections. "Receipts for preseruinge" comprises 106 recipes, mostly for fruit preserving, as the title implies, but also for other sweets typically served at banquets and desserts such as dessert creams and little cakes. "Receipts for Cookery" comprises 157 recipes for dishes served in the principal courses of the meal. Most of these recipes are typical of the time: fricassees of chicken and other meats, scotch collops, many pickles and collars, many puddings, and several savory pies. However, there are also some unusual recipes: "A Receipt for a new fashioned breakfast" (an elaborate oatmeal), Rumbosso (an alcoholic beverage), and thick "Dutch pancakes" made with bread crumbs and raised with yeast. Quite apart from the recipes, this manuscript is worth looking at for its beauty and its unusual format.