Category Archives: Recipe

Parmesan Cheese Tart

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

  Ok, I am obviously some kind of cheese pie freak, and I admit this is my third cheesecake type recipe in the last couple of months, but you will just have to bear with me. In the past, we … Continue reading →

Posted in 18th century, historic cooking, pies, Recipe, Video | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Quire of Paper

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

Here’s one more recipe for 18th century pancakes from John Farley’s 1783 cookbook, “The London Art of Cookery“: A variation of this recipe can also be found in Mary Randolph’s 1824 cookbook “The Virginia Housewife.” A “quire” is a term borrowed … Continue reading →

Posted in 18th century, Baking, Bread, historic cooking, Ingredients, Recipe, Video | Tagged | 3 Comments

Pancakes: They’re Not Just for Breakfast

Posted on April 22, 2013 by

While I look forward nearly every day to going to work, every now and again, I’ll look forward with greater anticipation to the drive home. I know of no job that is void of any stress of one sort or … Continue reading →

Posted in 18th century, Baking, Bread, historic cooking, Ingredients, Recipe, Video | Tagged | 3 Comments

A Rare Glimpse and a Unique Resource

Posted on April 4, 2013 by

Here at Jas. Townsend & Son, we’re presently researching, of all things, the history of pancakes.  We noticed a broad range of various pancake recipes as we perused the numerous period cookbooks in preparation for our video series, but we … Continue reading →

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Another Cheesecake

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

This “cheesecake” is easy and tasty.  As you can see from the above recipe from Eliza Smiths 1739 “The Compleat Housewife”, it is basically a 1/3 potato, 1/3 egg and 1/3 butter tart with some sugar and nutmeg added for … Continue reading →

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Lobscouse

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

Ship’s bread or hard tack as it was known in the 19th century was a staple of the sailor’s diet in the 18th and 19th century and was also frequently issued to soldiers and used by other long distance travelers. … Continue reading →

Posted in 18th century, Bread, historic cooking, Recipe, Video | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

A Pork Pie with a Standing Crust

Posted on February 11, 2013 by

In a previous post, I presented three common types of pastry crust used in the 18th century: the standing crust, the puff paste, and the short paste. These are fairly broad categories of crusts, and recipes for numerous variations for … Continue reading →

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Suet, Part Four: A Few Recipes.

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

While perusing several 18th century cookbooks, I’ve identified and included below a selection of recipes using suet. I chose these recipes because they seem to be fairly typical representations of food categories which commonly use suet: puddings, dumplings, pastry crusts, … Continue reading →

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Suet, Part Three: Preparing it.

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

Suet was apparently used both raw and rendered (refined) in 18th century cooking. While some of the original recipes specified the use of rendered suet, most seemed to leave the option open.  It is fairly common for recipes to instruct the … Continue reading →

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Suet, Part One: Its role in 18th Century Foodways and Life

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

Scan through almost any 18th century cookbook and you will find a recurring term: Suet. Suet was an important ingredient in English cooking. It’s still used today, though it seems to have reserved its spot on British grocery shelves much more … Continue reading →

Posted in 1700's, 18th century, Baking, historic cooking, Ingredients, Medicine, Recipe, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment