Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

late 18th century

Description

This English recipe book of approximately 150 written pages is written in many different hands, some of which are recurring, indicating that some or all of the book was compiled collaboratively. There is an alphabetical index near the front of the book that appears to contain all of the entries. A note on the front flyleaf states that "the medical recipes in this book have been all tried and approved of." The slight irony of this note is that only few dozen medical recipes, at most, appear among the book's several hundred food recipes.

The food recipes are of all sorts. The "Ramakins," digital page 25, are transitional from the original style of the 17th century (toasts covered with a cheese mixture and broiled) to the new style the evolved toward the end of the 18th century (a cheese mixture baked in individual pattypans, cups, or, eventually, dishes called ramekins). There is also a recipe for "Bechamel or White Sauce," digital page 66, which was a fairly new import from France in the late 18th century.