Food for thought: Exploring State Library’s newest database, "Food History: Printed and Manuscript Recipe Books, 1669-1990"

Calling all gastronomes!  

State Library of Queensland has an exciting new addition to our electronic database collection in Food History: Printed and Manuscript Recipe Books, 1669-1990. Comprising manuscripts and published cookbooks primarily written and compiled in North America and Western Europe, this incredible resource includes manuscripts of handwritten recipes and household economics dating from the 17th century. Far more than a means of finding how certain recipes have evolved, the study of food history offers unique insight into historical domesticity, and gender and class relations, as well as reflecting cultural and social change.  

The below recipe is taken from My Lady Freschevilles Receipt Booke, a manuscript collection item written by Ann Charlotte, Lady Freschevilles, who lived in Derbyshire in the 1600s. The manuscript’s title is not a typing error: it was once common to refer to cooking ingredients and procedures as “receipts.” The more modern word, recipe (which derives from the same Latin verb, recipere), came into usage two centuries later.  

The penmanship and phraseology are fascinating. Note that in this recipe for Caroway Cakes, the temperature of the melted butter “must be but blood warme.”  

Far from the precise measurements and temperatures one expects in a modern recipe, these historical manuscripts allow the cook plenty of freedom and rely heavily on culinary instinct and assumed knowledge. M. E. Williamson’s 1847 recipe for French Cakes suggests using “a lump of butter as big as a turkey egg” and “flour enough to make a good batter.”

In addition to personal recipe collections, this database holds 328 published historical cookbooks and texts relating to household management, most of which were published in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are thousands of recipes and tips advising on how to stretch the family budget. In contrast, there are also recipe books catering to the more refined palate, as can be found in Vincent La Chapelle’s 1736 book, The Modern Cook. 

While many recipes in this database’s collection have endured and remain family favourites in contemporary Western households, such as sugar cookies, roast potatoes, and French onion soup (a keyword search of the database for any of these recipes will produce several results), there is also an abundance of recipes that are decidedly of their time. These range from the unappetising:

to the puzzling: 

to the grim: 

The sections of books relating to household management often suggest remedies for medical ailments and tips on keeping house. Take this, somewhat bizarrely curated, selection of domestic tips from The Household Treasure:  

Whether you are an aspiring food historian, seeking inspiration for Christmas lunch, or simply curious about historical day-to-day domesticity, this vast collection is an engaging resource to explore and reference.  

Beyond this database, State Library has a great deal of other food history resources, and many that relate specifically to Queensland history, culture, environment, and produce. To discover historical manuscripts in State Library’s collections, search our catalogue, One Search, with the term, “recipe,” and filter your results by the resource type, “manuscripts.”  For Queensland-inspired cookbooks, change your search terms to “recipe AND Queensland” and your resource type to “books.” Perhaps this recipe for Frangipani Pie from the Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book could be the showstopper at your next dinner party? 

Bon Appetit!