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Because we live in the era of supermarkets and refrigeration, we need to stop and think—look it up, actually—when we’re giving dinner parties in our books—if, that is, we want to talk about the food as well as what the hero and heroine say and do during the meal.
A recent trip to the local farmers’ market showed me what the non-supermarket food choices are in New England at this time of year. And of course it awakened my Nerdy History Girl curiosity about what would be available to eat in England during an early 19th century November.
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6 comments:
I have a modern publication of a Female Instructor of 1827, filled like this one with practical advice to women.
Seems like something a bride might ebgiven on the occassion of her wedding
There were many such books aimed at young women, young men, gentlemen and adult women, usually married.
There were also yearly boks chock full of information with a calendar forappointments, etc.
The books for males are allaimed at the general world. Even the Self Instructor for Youth contains the equivalent of a GED class etween its cover
This Instructor for women is directed to home and domesticity.
The gentlemena's memorandum book for a year had lists of holidays, public offices, tax laws where one could get a hackney cab, and postal rates. The one for female I once saw had fashions, poetry and essays on morality.
Skirret, scorzonera, rocambole, bullace—all new to me. I wonder how my family will react when I produce these on the Thanksgiving table.
http://www.cornucopiaseeds.com.au/skirret/ seed is still sold. I am in the process of planning out a variety authentic 18th century garden and I'm at a loss to figure out why some vegetables (such as this one) fall out of fashion. Good King Henry.. that I can explain (it is bland with a questionable texture). This may have fallen out of fashion because it takes more time to prepare and store than the potato, while providing a similar level of starch and nutrition. But some of these old root vegetables (the parsnip for example) are surprisingly high in vitamin C, iron, and and vit B(6), which explains why scurvy was not epidemic in New England during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Upon reading your post, scuttled over to my iPad to see if it was on Audiobooks...not yet. Have found this genre (e.g. currently on American Cookery, 1796) and the program's auto shutdown timer a delightful way to drift off for the night. Do wake up with quite an appetite, however. Your historical "excavations" are appreciated, Melody
very nice post!
John Evelyn's much earlier book on gardening, Kalendarium hortense, tells what the gentleman gardener (or his staff) would be doing in the garden and orchard and kitchen garden ... what's blooming or being harvested.
Very useful for the names of varieties.
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