Purchased, 2011 August.
[identification of item], Multi-Generational English Family Cookbook, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0332, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Mackenzie Sommers, 2019 April; Finding aid written by: Mackenzie Sommers, 2019 April.
Recipes are a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required. They have been written for many centuries for food dishes, as well as cosmetics and medicinal cures, but the compilation of recipes into cookbooks and recipe books became popular in 17th century English homes when England’s literacy rate among women improved. The modern recipe book format was established in 1845 by Elizabeth Acton and her book for domestic cooks called
The Multi-Generational English Family Cookbook is a manuscript of compiled recipes from several different contributors. It contains recipes for foods like Victorian sponge cake, lemon pudding, and marrow cream, as well as recipes for beverages, such as ginger beer. Apparent in the cookbook are five different contributors, distinguishable by a distinctly different handwriting, ink colors, and use of writing instruments common to different time periods. The cookbook likely originated from England, because of the use of the English spelling for some words. The manuscript dates from circa 1850 November to circa 1960s.
Additional historic cookbooks can be found by searching the