Manuscript Location

Bennington Museum, Regional History Room

Place of Origin

United States ➔ Vermont ➔ Bennington

Date of Composition

ca. 1854-1887

Description

This small, leather-bound cookbook originally belonged to Mrs. Ruth Fay (1782-1862), who inscribed her name on the inside front cover. It contains 39 pages of recipes, many in Ruth Fay's hand. The bulk of recipes outline desserts, cakes, and breads, including cookies, Waterford cake, boiled pudding, and butter biscuits. Many of these recipes call for the chemical leavening saleratus, a baking soda that could be either sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate. Other recipes include wine, pickled onions, and veal sausage.

Ruth Fassett Fay was the wife of Samuel Fay, the proprietor of Catamount Tavern, originally known as Fay's House, in Bennington. The tavern was built in 1769 and destroyed by fire in 1871. Its location is now marked by a statue erected in 1896.