Manuscript Location

Johns Hopkins University, Milton S. Eisenhower Library

Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

mostly ca. 1780, with additions ca. 1860-1880

Description

This 92-page English recipe book trails a backstory common to many manuscript recipe books. The book consists of several hundred medical and culinary recipes compiled by by a single individual in the late eighteenth century. The recipes are organized (albeit with some curious lapses), indicating that the book is a fair copy of recipes gathered over a period of years. The author left blank leaves between some of the sections, on which a second individual scrawled additional recipes. Nearly all of these recipes call for baking powder, a compound that did not reach English kitchens until around 1860. Two of these recipes are attributed to a "Mrs. Rothery," and the names of multiple Rothery family members are written on the inside front and back covers. It is presumably on this basis that the library has attributed the entire book to the Rothery family. This attribution may well be accurate. However, there is no apparent indication of Rothery authorship in the book other than the material that was clearly added long after the book was compiled.

This book is written in a neat, clear hand. A lengthy clutch of medical recipes inaugurates the volume. These are followed by culinary recipes organized as follows: fruit preserving; desserts; cakes, cheesecakes, and tarts; puddings, more pastry, and several dumplings; foods that are pickled, potted, collared, and otherwise preserved (this section is curiously conjoined with the previous one); and, finally a few pages of meat and fish dishes, most of which are stews. Most of the culinary recipes are standard for the period. The recipe for "Plumb Porrig" (Plumb Porridge), viewable in digital image 35, was already quite old-fashioned by 1780, suggesting that the book might have been compiled a decade or two earlier. 

To access the PDF containing the digital images of this book, click on the link beneath the thumbnail image in the library record. A transcription is also available.