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Loading... Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Bookby Hillary Spurling
Work InformationElinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book by Elinor Fettiplace
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Old recipes upgraded with commentary. ( ) The handwritten receipt book upon which this book is based was handed down in the family until it reached the author. How frequently does THAT happen? The result is the kind of cookbook I like: it gives the original recipes and a "working version", so one can easily compare the two and see how faithful the modern version is to the original. These recipes are interspersed with much interesting prose. The addition of a blank line between discussion of one recipe and the next would have vastly improved readableness. It also would have been more useful if the helpful comments re measures and approximations of Jacobean ingredients had been made more prominent and not buried in the text. Some recipes transcribed from a personal cookery manuscript, originally written down in 1604. Some commentary by the editor. Recipes are arranged seasonally. The biggest flaw is that some recipes were added at a later date and they are not always identified by the editor. A careful reading shows that "Chocolate Cream" was added in the 18th century and is not documentation for early use of chocolate in England. no reviews | add a review
Brilliantly compiled and presented by the celebrated biographer, Hilary Spurling, Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book has become a classic in the history of English cooking, and an extraordinarily intimate glimpse into the fabric of everyday Elizabethan life. 'Hilary Spurling has done brilliantly ... Being both a scholar and a cook seems to be a rare combination than one might have expected.' Jane Grigson 'Few cookery books are as important or as fascinating as this ... (Hilary Spurling's) scholarly and practical skills combined make the book much more than an antiquarian curiosity. It is a cookery book to use.' Victoria Glendinning, The Times 'Hilary Spurling's research into Lady Fettiplace's family and background is stunning. She and her household do really come to life ... Hilary Spurling's pinpointing of her precise social standing and that of her intimates and acquaintances, of the kind of lives they led, consequently the kind of food they ate, the way it was prepared, preserved and so on, are all subjects of the greatest interest.' Elizabeth David No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)641.5942Technology Home and family management Food And Drink Cooking, cookbooks Cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, ethnic cooking Europe England & WalesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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