Savouries and sweets suitable for luncheons and dinners

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Published in 1886, Savouries and Sweets Suitable for Luncheons and Dinners by Mary L. Allen is a specialized Victorian cookbook devoted to two contrasting courses of the formal middle- and upper-class meal: the savoury, a small savory dish served near the end of dinner, and the sweet, encompassing puddings, jellies, creams, and confections. Structured in two parts, the book offers 273 anchored food recipes ranging from simple preparations like anchovy toast to elaborate constructions such as Lobster a la Creme, Macaroon Basket, and Nougat Baskets. Readers encounter a world of ramequins, pastry cases, molded jellies, and steamed puddings, all reflecting the elaborate multi-course dining customs of the period. The recipes draw on ingredients such as anchovies, Parmesan, oysters, isinglass, and gelatine, and rely on techniques like frying, molding, steaming, and custard-making. This is a practical kitchen manual rather than a narrative cookbook, written for home cooks preparing food for formal entertaining. For the modern reader, it offers a window into the structured rhythm of a Victorian dinner and the labor and skill expected of the period's domestic cook.

The book is organized into two parts across four sections. Part I, covering section 1 and continuing into section 2, is devoted to Savouries, small savory dishes such as toasts, ramequins, egg and cheese preparations, and seafood items intended to be served between the main courses and dessert. Part II, beginning partway through section 2 and continuing through sections 3 and 4, covers Sweets, including puddings, jellies, creams, syllabubs, fritters, tarts, and other desserts. Within each part, recipes appear to be grouped loosely by main ingredient or preparation method (eggs, seafood, cheese, fruit, molded dishes), with headings naming individual dishes followed by ingredient lists and instructions.