Engagingly written volume not only provided the mid-19th-century housekeeper with recipes for scores of nutritious dishes but also offered wide-ranging suggestions for frugal and intelligent household management. Includes advice on selecting and preparing foods, health tips, cleaning domestic accessories, dealing with hired help, and much more.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Hale was the editor of the 19th-century publication Godey Lady's Book, a forerunner of the modern "woman's magazine." This 1841 title offers recipes and advice on hosting dinners. Though the recipes might seem unhealthy by today's standards?lots of butter and eggs?Hale lived to be 90!
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The Good Housekeeper," 1841,
By E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Early American Cookery: "The Good Housekeeper," 1841 (Paperback)
Sarah Josepha Hale, author of "Early American Cookery" was the editor of the "Ladies' Magazine" from 1827 to 1836, and then editor of "Godey's Lady's Book" from 1837 to 1877. If you are interested in the lives of nineteenth-century Americans, most especially what they ate, how they cleaned house, and how they raised their children, this book is a gold mine.
In the preface to the first edition of this book, the author quoted foreigners as saying that "our climate is unhealthy; that the Americans have, generally, thin forms, sallow complexions, and bad teeth." However she believed these defects were caused by dietary problems, "such as using animal food to excess, eating hot bread, and swallowing our meals with steam-engine rapidity" rather than a rotten climate This book was written to point out ways that American dietary deficiencies could be corrected. The author wanted to teach her readers "how to live well, and to be well while we live." She based her dietetic theories on the works of Dr. Andrew Combe of Edinburgh, and while some of the principles may seem out-dated to those of us who follow diet gurus such as Dr. Atkins, Jenny Craig, or Barry Sears, this author's notion of 'temperance in all things' is still valid--possibly more valid than starving ourselves with Slim-Fast, or low-fats and high carbs, or grapefruit and cabbage. The author was definitely not a vegetarian. She quoted Scripture to prove that we were meant to eat meat, but in moderation. Most of the recipes in this book involve meat---everything from beef to turtle. For instance, to start a batch of rich mince meat, "Cut the root off a neat's tongue, rub the tongue well with salt, let it lie four days, wash it perfectly clean, and boil it till it becomes tender..." Not only should we make our own bread, but if a barrel of beer is kept in the house, we should make our own yeast. For those of us who don't have that essential barrel of beer, the author also included yeast recipes that are made from milk or hops. One of my favorite chapters is "Household Economy," but a problem with many of the cleaning formulae will be in finding the necessary ingredients. My grandmother probably knew what spirits of salt and pearlash were, but most of us who were born into the age of Comet Cleanser and Mr. Clean wouldn't know a freestone from a quart of bullock's gall. "Early American Cookery" is a fascinating historical document, but I don't think many of us will actually attempt the recipes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting & Fun Read,
By Lillian37 (United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Early American Cookery: "The Good Housekeeper," 1841 (Paperback)
I love old cookbooks and getting a glimpse into a bygone era. This cookbook is an interesting and fun read. It even made me laugh at times. For example, the author cautions against eating "hot bread". She goes into great detail of what you should and shouldn't eat not only for the type of constitution you had, but also the time of year.
Her chapter on "Drinks" I find ironic. She says "There is one rule for drinks that no woman should violate - never make any preparation of which alcohol forms a part for family use!" But then she goes on to give recipes for several different kinds of beer and also wine. For the most part the recipes are easy to understand. She tries to use a somewhat standard system of measuring ingredients, which is easier to follow than earlier cookbooks. Most of the ingredients are easy to find, but of course there is the occasional recipe which calls for quinces, rose water or arrowroot, which can all be found today but aren't very common. I can't imagine beating egg whites for an hour straight. Obviously our modern methods would help to make the recipes easier. Some are very simple but others are complicated as with most recipe books. I do plan on trying a few. She also has chapters on other matters. "Hints To Help", "Hints To Housekeepers", "A Word To Mothers", "Cookery For The Sick" and "Traits Of Domestic Life". The author, Sarah Josepha Hale, lived a very long, industrious and interesting life. Her life is chronicled in the introduction, which I found just as interesting as the cookbook itself. She married, had five children and while she was pregnant with her last child her husband died suddenly. She was the editor of both the "Ladies Magazine" as well as "Godey's Ladies Book". She was also a published author of several books as well as the author of "Mary Had A Little Lamb". She worked tirelessly to better the world she lived in.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book,
By Love Firefly (Colorado) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Early American Cookery: "The Good Housekeeper," 1841 (Paperback)
It's interesting to see how things used to be prepared and and the traditions that went with them. Miss them really.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
