A reeital of some of the articles on sale in
a baker’s or confectioner’s shop in 1563,
occurs in Newbery’s “ Dives Pragmaticus
simnels, buns, cakes, biscuits, comfits, cara-
ways, and cracknels : and this is the first
occurrence of the bun that I have hitherto
been able to detect. The same tract supplies
us with a few other items germane to my
subject : figs, almonds, long pepper, dates,
prunes, and nutmegs. It is curious to watch
how by degrees the kitchen department was
furnished with articles which nowadays are
viewed as the commonest necessaries of life.
In the 17th century the increased com-
munication with the Continent made us by
degrees larger partakers of the discoveries of
foreign cooks. Noblemen and gentlemen tra-
velling abroad brought back with them receipts
for making the dishes which they had tasted
in the course of their tours. In the “ Com-
pleat Cook,” 1655 and 1662, the beneficial
operation of actual experience of this kind,
and of the introduction of such books as the
“ Receipts for Dutch Victual ’’and “Epulario,
or the Italian Banquet,” to English readers and
and his Food.
29
students, is manifest enough ; for in the latter
volume we get such entries as these: “Tomake
a Portugal dish ;” “To make a Virginia dish ;”
“A Persian dish;” “ A Spanish olio and then
there are receipts “To make a Posset the
Earl of Arundel’s way;” “To make the Lady
Abergavenny’s Cheese;” “The Jacobin’s Pot-
tage;” “To make Mrs. Leeds’ Cheesecakes;”
“The Lord Conway His Lordship’s receipt
for the making of Amber Puddings ;” “ The
Countess of Rutland’s receipt of making the
Rare Banbury Cake, which was so much
praised as her daughter’s (the Right Honour-
able Lady Chaworth) Pudding,” and “To
make Poor Knights ” — the last a medley in
which bread, cream, and eggs were the lead-
ing materials.
Warner, however, in the “ Additional
Notes and Observations ” to his “ Antiquitates
Culinarise,” 1791, expresses himself adversely
to the foreign systems of cookery from an
English point of view. “Notwithstanding,”
he remarks, “ the partiality of our countrymen
to French cookery, yet that mode of disguis-
ing meat in this kingdom (except perhaps in the
33 7 'he Early Englishman
hottest part of the hottest season of the year)
is an absurdity. It is here the art of spoiling
good meat. The same art, indeed, in the
South of France, where the climate is much
warmer, and the flesh of the animal lean and
insipid, is highly valuable ; it is the art of
making bad meat eatable .” At the same
time, he acknowledges the superior thrift
and intelligence of the French cooks, and
instances the frog and the horse. “The
frog is considered in this country as a
disgusting animal, altogether unfit for the
purposes of the kitchen ; whereas, by the
efforts of French cookery, the thighs of this
little creature are converted into a delicate
and estimable dish.” So sings, too (save the
mark !), our Charles Lamb, so far back as
1822, after his visit to Paris. It seems that in
Elizabeth’s reign z. powdered or pickled horse
was considered a suitable dish by a French
general entertaining at dinner some English
officers.
It is difficult to avoid an impression that
Warner has some reason, when he suggests
that the immoderate use of condiments was
and his Food.
31
Page 9
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
A recital of some of the articles on sale in a baker's or confectioner's shop in 1563, occurs in Newbery's "Dives Pragmaticus" simnels, buns, cakes, biscuits, comfits, caraways, and cracknels : and this is the first occurrence of the bun that I have hitherto been able to detect. The same tract supplies us with a few other items germane to my subject : figs, almonds, long pepper, dates, prunes, and nutmegs. It is curious to watch how by degrees the kitchen department was furnished with articles which nowadays are viewed as the commonest necessaries of life.
In the 17th century the increased communication with the Continent made us by degrees larger partakers of the discoveries of foreign cooks. Noblemen and gentlemen travelling abroad brought back with them receipts for making the dishes which they had tasted in the course of their tours. In the “ Compleat Cook,” 1655 and 1662, the beneficial operation of actual experience of this kind, and of the introduction of such books as the “ Receipts for Dutch Victual ’’and “Epulario, or the Italian Banquet,” to English readers and
and his Food.
students, is manifest enough ; for in the latter volume we get such entries as these:"To make a Portugal dish;" "To make a Virginia dish;" "A Persian dish;" "A Spanish olio;" and then there are receipts “To make a Posset the Earl of Arundel’s way;” “To make the Lady Abergavenny’s Cheese;” “The Jacobin’s Pottage;” “To make Mrs. Leeds’ Cheesecakes;” “The Lord Conway His Lordship’s receipt for the making of Amber Puddings ;” “ The Countess of Rutland’s receipt of making the Rare Banbury Cake, which was so much praised as her daughter’s (the Right Honourable Lady Chaworth) Pudding,” and “To make Poor Knights ” — the last a medley in which bread, cream, and eggs were the leading materials.
Warner, however, in the “ Additional Notes and Observations ” to his “ Antiquitates Culinarise,” 1791, expresses himself adversely to the foreign systems of cookery from an English point of view. “Notwithstanding,” he remarks, “ the partiality of our countrymen to French cookery, yet that mode of disguising meat in this kingdom (except perhaps in the
33 7 'he Early Englishman
hottest part of the hottest season of the year) is an absurdity. It is here the art of spoiling good meat. The same art, indeed, in the South of France, where the climate is much warmer, and the flesh of the animal lean and insipid, is highly valuable ; it is the art of making bad meat eatable .” At the same time, he acknowledges the superior thrift and intelligence of the French cooks, and instances the frog and the horse. “The frog is considered in this country as a disgusting animal, altogether unfit for the purposes of the kitchen ; whereas, by the efforts of French cookery, the thighs of this little creature are converted into a delicate and estimable dish.” So sings, too (save the mark !), our Charles Lamb, so far back as 1822, after his visit to Paris. It seems that in Elizabeth’s reign z. powdered or pickled horse was considered a suitable dish by a French general entertaining at dinner some English officers.
It is difficult to avoid an impression that Warner has some reason, when he suggests that the immoderate use of condiments was
and his Food.