was, according to his title-page, a teacher of
the art which he expounded eventually in
print. The title is sufficiently descriptive :
“ E. Kidder’s Receipts of Pastry and Cookery,
for the use of his Scholars, who teaches at
his School in Queen Street, near St. Thomas
Apostle’s,* on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wed-
nesdays, in the afternoon. Also on Thurs-
days, Fridays and Saturdays, in the afternoon,
at his School next to Furnivalls Inn in
Holborn. Ladies may be taught at their
own Houses.” It is a large octavo, consist-
ing of fifty pages of engraved text, and is
embellished with a likeness of Mr. Kidder.
For all that Mrs. Glasse ignores him.
I have shown how Mrs. Glasse might have
almost failed to keep a place in the public
recollection, had it not been for a remark
which that lady did not make. But there is a
still more singular circumstance connected
with her and her book, and it is this — that
in Dr. Johnson’s day, and possibly in her own
lifetime, a story was current that the book
was really written by Dr. Hill the physician.
• In another edition his school is in St. Martin’s Le Grand.
Cookery Books.
157
That gentleman’s claim to the authorship has
not, of course, been established, but at a
dinner at Dilly’s the publisher’s in 1778, when
Johnson, Miss Seward, and others were pre-
sent, a curious little discussion arose on the
subject. Boswell thus relates the incident
and the conversation : — “ The subject of
cookery having been very naturally intro-
duced at a table, where Johnson, who boasted
of the niceness of his palate, avowed that
‘ he always found a good dinner,’ he said, ‘ I
could write a better book about cookery than
has ever yet been written ; it should be a book
upon philosophical principles. Pharmacy is
now made much more simple. Cookery may
be so too. A prescription, which is now com-
pounded of five ingredients, had formerly fifty
in it. So in Cookery. If the nature of the in-
gredients is well known, much fewer will do.
Then, as you cannot make bad meat good, I
would tell what is the best butcher’s meat, the
best beef, the best pieces ; how to choose young
fowls ; the proper seasons of different vege-
tables ; and then how to roast, and boil, and
compound.”
i53
Cookery Books
Dilly: — “ Mrs. Glasse’s ‘ Cookery,’ which
is the best, was written Ly Dr. Hill. Half
the trade know this.”
Johnson: — “ Well, Sir, that shews how
much better the subject of cookery may be
treated by a philosopher. I doubt if the book
be written by Dr Hill ; for in Mrs. Glasse’s
Cookery, which I have looked into, saltpetre
and salt-prunella are spoken of as different sub-
stances, whereas salt-prunella is only saltpetre
burnt on charcoal ; and Hill could not be igno-
rant of this. However, as the greatest part of
such a book is made by transcription, this
mistake may have been carelessly adopted.
But you shall see what a book of cookery I
could make. I shall agree writh Mr. Dilly
for the copyright.”
Miss Seward : — “ That would be Hercules
with the distaff indeed ! ”
Johnson : — “No, Madam. Women can
spin very wrell ; but they cannot make a good
book of cookery.”
But the Doctor’s philosophical cookery
book belongs to the voluminous calendar of
works wrhich never passed beyond the stage
Cookery Books.
159
Page 50
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
was, according to his title-page, a teacher of the art which he expounded eventually in print. The title is sufficiently descriptive : “ E. Kidder’s Receipts of Pastry and Cookery, for the use of his Scholars, who teaches at his School in Queen Street, near St. Thomas Apostle’s,* on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, in the afternoon. Also on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, in the afternoon, at his School next to Furnivalls Inn in Holborn. Ladies may be taught at their own Houses.” It is a large octavo, consisting of fifty pages of engraved text, and is embellished with a likeness of Mr. Kidder. For all that Mrs. Glasse ignores him.
I have shown how Mrs. Glasse might have almost failed to keep a place in the public recollection, had it not been for a remark which that lady did not make. But there is a still more singular circumstance connected with her and her book, and it is this — that in Dr. Johnson’s day, and possibly in her own lifetime, a story was current that the book was really written by Dr. Hill the physician.
• In another edition his school is in St. Martin’s Le Grand.
Cookery Books.
That gentleman’s claim to the authorship has not, of course, been established, but at a dinner at Dilly’s the publisher’s in 1778, when Johnson, Miss Seward, and others were present, a curious little discussion arose on the subject. Boswell thus relates the incident and the conversation : — “ The subject of cookery having been very naturally introduced at a table, where Johnson, who boasted of the niceness of his palate, avowed that ‘ he always found a good dinner,’ he said, ‘ I could write a better book about cookery than has ever yet been written ; it should be a book upon philosophical principles. Pharmacy is now made much more simple. Cookery may be so too. A prescription, which is now compounded of five ingredients, had formerly fifty in it. So in Cookery. If the nature of the ingredients is well known, much fewer will do. Then, as you cannot make bad meat good, I would tell what is the best butcher’s meat, the best beef, the best pieces ; how to choose young fowls ; the proper seasons of different vegetables ; and then how to roast, and boil, and compound.”
Cookery Books
Dilly: — “ Mrs. Glasse’s ‘ Cookery,’ which is the best, was written Ly Dr. Hill. Half the trade know this.”
Johnson: — “ Well, Sir, that shews how much better the subject of cookery may be treated by a philosopher. I doubt if the book be written by Dr Hill ; for in Mrs. Glasse’s Cookery, which I have looked into, saltpetre and salt-prunella are spoken of as different substances, whereas salt-prunella is only saltpetre burnt on charcoal ; and Hill could not be ignorant of this. However, as the greatest part of such a book is made by transcription, this mistake may have been carelessly adopted. But you shall see what a book of cookery I could make. I shall agree with Mr. Dilly for the copyright.”
Miss Seward : — “ That would be Hercules with the distaff indeed ! ”
Johnson : — “No, Madam. Women can spin very wrell ; but they cannot make a good book of cookery.”
But the Doctor’s philosophical cookery book belongs to the voluminous calendar of works which never passed beyond the stage
Cookery Books.