Minnie Recipe Book
The Minnie Recipe Book is a manuscript cookbook written by Minnie, a woman from England, between the years 1872 and 1920.[1] As part of the receipt book genre that was popular during the early modern period, the book contains entries for various recipes, knitting patterns, remedies, and household tips. The manuscript also contains marginal notes and a few notes about historical events. The book provides insight into women’s authorship and the role of women in English society. In 2019, the manuscript was sold by Alastor Rare Books in England to the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where it now resides.
Background
Use
The Minnie recipe book was written in a small, faded dark green bound notebook. The first 53 pages have been numbered by hand, and an unfinished index takes up the rest of the pages. Minnie, the author of this manuscript cookbook, filled the pages with entries starting in 1872 and ending in 1920. There’s a variety of food recipes (such as ones for puddings, cakes, and baking soda), knitting patterns (for a baby hat, socks, and specific stitches and techniques), medicine (including one for a cough mixture), and other household tips (such as how to hold a piece of paper into a drinking cup or how to get rid of flies).
There’s no sense of organization or categorization to the order of the entries; the first
Content
Historical context
The receipt book
Manuscript cookbooks began popping up in England in the mid-1600s, with some of the earliest being created in 1625. Around this time, the word “receipt” became the term for a set of ingredients, instructions, or procedures for the preparation of food or drink, [2] and these books became known as “receipt books.” Today, “recipe” has come to mean the same as “receipt,” and academics refer to the receipt book as manuscript cookbooks.[3]