Description
This intriguing collection of 163 numbered recipes is essentially two different books. The first 107 recipes are written on the rectos of the leaves in a single fine hand, possibly that of a professional scribe. These recipes likely date from the second half of the eighteenth century and primarily focus on puddings, dessert creams, sweet wines, and preserves. The remaining recipes in the collection are written in many different hands, several of which recur, suggesting that this part of the collection was collaborative. The hands in this section vary considerably in quality and write on both the rectos and versos of the leaves. This section features a greater number of culinary recipes for the principal dishes of dinner than for sweets and contains many recipes for medicines and household preparations. This section would seem to date from the first decade of the nineteenth century. It includes a recipe attributed to a
Mrs. Duncomb and dated 1801. In addition, a laid in recipe "To make a sweet jar," dated Feb. 1, 1808, has been copied into the book on leaf 4v. Both recipes appear to have been written by one of the authors of the later section. (The date 1777 is written at the end of the volume, likely in the hand of one of the contributors of the later recipes, but the date occurs in connection with a farming achievement that was not necessarily contemporaneous with the latter part of the manuscript.)
All of the recipes in the book are indexed at the front. The first 107 entries are written in the same fine hand that wrote the first 107 recipes, and the remaining recipes are written in one of the hands occurring starting with recipe 108.
The book contains several noteworthy recipes. "Leech" (30r) is essentially blancmange molded "in Cups dipped in cold Water," as was customary. The very old dish called leach was a precursor of modern blancmange, but blancmange was not commonly called by the name. "Beer Cakes" (35r) are simple little cakes (cookies) mixed with "old beer" rather than the usual eggs. "Paris Curd" (38r) is an uncommon recipe that calls for boiling cream and beaten egg whites until the custard curdles and then draining the curd in cheesecloth. The curd is piled in a dish, stuck with blanched almonds, and served with cream.
