Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2376

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volume(s)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

English cookbook, 1800?, Ms. Codex 2376, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1800?

Form:

Codices (bound manuscripts)

Abstract:

This cookbook contains over 200 recipes and was written and compiled in England, possibly in Suffolk starting in the early 19th century.

The creator of this cookbook is unknown, but lived in England, possibly in Suffolk, in the late 18th century.

Fowler's solution, a recipe for which appears in this volume, consists of potassium arsenite and water and was developed by Thomas Fowler (1736-1801) in England in 1786 as a treatment for malaria and syphilis. It was initially known as "Liquor Arsenicalis" and, by 1865, was considered a treatment of leukemia.

Mulligatawny soup, which also appears in this volume, originated from South Indian cuisine and became popular in British cuisine in the 19th century. The earliest British references to the soup date back to 1784, and by 1827 it had become ubiquitous. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, it contains chicken, mutton, lentils, fried onion, and spices. The name originates from Tamil words translating to "pepper-water."

This cookbook contains over 200 recipes and was written and compiled in England, possibly in Suffolk starting in the early 19th century.

The volume is bound with a full leather front cover and a half leather back cover with a paper covered board. It has a damaged cover and binding. The latter portion of the volume is blank (p. 107-161). On the reverse side of a recipe pasted onto the front pastedown is an invitation for the East Suffolk Hospital Provisional Committee meeting, which may indicate where this volume originated.

The recipes in this volume are mostly culinary. There is an extensive section of recipes titled "cookery for the sick" (p. 54-82). Examples of recipes in this volume include coffee for twelve people (p. 2), barron brack (barmbrack) (p. 12, 14), to pickle mushrooms brown (p. 15), breakfast cakes (p. 26), Fowler's mineral solution (p. 34), Mulligatawny soup (p. 35), decoction of sarsaparilla (p. 37), coconut cakes (p. 53), Glouster jelly (p. 65), chicken panada (p. 66), Dr. Bocrhanoc's [sic] sweet butter milk (p. 81), chow chow (p. 90), potage à la bonne femme (p. 104), and Adelaide pudding (p. 105).