Mrs Beeton How to Cook: 220 Classic Recipes Updated for the Modern Cook

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Moving swiftly on, whilst scouring through my glorious 1906 edition, there I discovered Mrs Beeton’s ONE and ONLY recipe to be of her very own creation – Benevolent Soup, which was originally known as Useful Soup for Benevolent Purposes.

half title with advert on verso, frontis, xl, plate list, verso advt, [4] adverts printed in red and black, 1139, 12 (adverts) printed in red and black, 16 pp. The work also demonstrates the combination in everyday cooking of the "French-influenced cookery found in restaurants, at court, and in the great houses of the aristocracy", such as the recipe for "Veal à la Bourgeoise (Excellent)" on p. You may expect Mrs Beeton to treat vegetarians with disdain, especially considering the ungodly amount of dripping, gelatine, and beef that manages to make its way into the simplest of recipes. However, while Lawson and Smith "insist that cooking can be easy, fun and uncomplicated", Beeton "acknowledges the labour and skill required to cook well". Darlings, as you may know, it’s an exact science, yet Mrs Beeton recommends six tablespoons of flour, which is not really an exact measurement!Hmmm just thinking out loud here: to be brutally honest darlings, and in today’s modern world, if such whispers proved correct I’m sure Mrs Beeton would be known as a damn right plagiarist! If wanted very nice, brush it over with the white of an egg beaten to a stiff froth, then sprinkle on it sifted sugar, and put it in the oven just to set the glaze: this should be done when the tart is properly baked.

You see, although one may follow the same recipe over and over again, the results may vary each time – very annoying, indeed! Therefore, I just so happened to find the ideal recipe in my 1903 edition of Mrs Beeton’s One Shilling Cookery Book, which originally belonged to my great great grandmother Georgina.Erika Rappaport is an Associate Professor in the History Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Here in The MERL Library, we have several copies of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, with 19th century copies held in the University of Reading’s Special Collections. Beeton's Cookery Book, is an extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton and first published as a book in 1861.

Therefore, I undoubtedly believe, Mrs Beeton’s legacy will trickle down into today’s modern-day society and her valuable teachings will be cherished and practised by generations to come. This leads students to contemplate the complex but everyday nature of the Empire and the way that cooking and dietary might have been considered a way that women in particular participated in the colonial project.