Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

ca. 1750-ca.1858

Description

English recipe book containing confectionery recipes written in seven different hands, probably begun around 1750, and added to over a period of years through 1858. The pages numbered 1-40 contain the recipes written by the initial compiler of the book who wrote in an elegant regular calligraphic hand. The majority of the recipes are fruit-based, and include instructions for preparing such dishes as dried apricots and cherries; preserved oranges, lemons, plums, walnuts, quince, or pippins; candied angelica root; different types of jellies and marmalades, fruit cakes and fruit wafers. The final recipe in this section is for "Almond Puffs Mr. de la Hays way a London Confectioner." Peter De la Hay [or Haye] was confectioner to King Charles II, and a portion of De la Hay Street in Westminster stands on a plot of ground once owned by the Master Confectioner; see William Carew Hazlitt. Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine (London: E. Stock, 1886), page 37. This first writer also added an alphabetical index to the recipes on seven leaves at the end of the book. Another 18th-century writer added recipes to the book for "Sugar Puffs," and "To Frost Any Sort of Flowers." Other recipes from this period include "Orange Marmalade Lady Castlemain" (a reference to Barbara Villiers, mistress of Charles II); "Cashia," calling for terra-japonica, ambergris, musk, and sugar powder; "Ratafia Biskets," a type of almond cookie; and "Mrs. Joneys Receipt for Orange Marmalade." In the early 19th century, recipes were added for "Rasberry Jam," "A Boild Custard," and "Syllabubs." The last three entries in the book, dated 1858, are medical recipes.