Category Archives: Video

Parmesan Cheese Tart

  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

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A Quire of Paper

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

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Pancakes: They’re Not Just for Breakfast

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

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Another Cheesecake

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

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

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A Pork Pie with a Standing Crust

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 Three: Preparing it.

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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The Christmas Pie

In most English societies, for centuries Christmas has been a time of gatherings, and food, and festivities, and traditions, and family. For many people in the eighteenth century, Christmas was celebrated much differently than it typically is today. Remnants of … Continue reading

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A Short Paste, a Delicious Pear Tart, and a Choice of Three Toppings

I’ve mentioned in an early post that there were, for the most part, three types of pastry crusts used in 18th century cooking. This is admittedly a simplification of the goings-on of the old English kitchen. There were other types … Continue reading

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The Complexities and Perils of Baking a Cake

In her 1807 book “A New System of Domestic Cookery; Formed upon Principles of Economy, and Adapted to the use of Private Families,” Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell offers wonderfully helpful advice to the novice baker, especially when it comes to … Continue reading

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