The Jane Austen Cookbook [Paperback]

Maggie Black (Author), Deirdre Le Faye (Editor)

Book Description

Release date: May 10, 2002

Jane Austen wrote her novels in the midst of a large and sociable family. Brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, friends and acquaintances were always coming and going, which offered numerous occasions for convivial eating and drinking. One of Jane’s dearest friends, Martha Lloyd, lived with the family for many years and recorded in her “Household Book” over 100 recipes enjoyed by the Austens. A selection of this family fare, now thoroughly tested and modernized for today’s cooks, is recreated here, together with some of the more sophisticated dishes which Jane and her characters would have enjoyed at balls, picnics, and supper parties. A fascinating introduction describes Jane’s own interest in food, drawing upon both the novels and her letters, and explains the social conventions of shopping, eating, and entertaining in late Georgian and Regency England. The book is illustrated throughout with delightful contemporary line drawings, prints, and watercolours.

Authentic recipes, modernized for today’s cooks, include:
• Buttered Prawns
• Wine-Roasted Gammon and Pigeon Pie
• Broil’d Eggs
• White Soup and Salmagundy
• Pyramid Creams
• Martha’s Almond Cheesecakes

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When a food historian and an Austenian scholar collaborate, you get a cookbook that is both intelligent and charming. Georgian and Regency recipes out of context would be cute but not necessarily a chef's first choice. Set against a backdrop of the era's social and domestic history, however, the cuisine finds its place. Black-and-white photos and drawings extend the descriptions. The first half is full of facts about and analyses of Austen's friends, novels, and letters; the second half has the recipes, most of which have been adapted to the modern kitchen, e.g., macaroni, jugged steaks with potatoes. It was more difficult to adapt the pigeon pie! Black and Le Faye's work offers interesting tidbits about 19th-century English social life and customs, and if anyone wants to know what "salmagundy" is, the answer lies here. Recommended for food history collections.?Wendy Miller, Lexington P.L., Ky.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“The Jane Austen Cookbook has to be the best present, although this riveting book is far more than just that.”
–Nigella Lawson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (May 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771014171
• ISBN-13: 978-0771014178
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.4 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > English, Scottish & Welsh
  • #39 in Books > History > Europe > Wales
  • #70 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Gastronomy > History

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice little introduction to Jane Austen's food and culture November 11, 2005

By A. Woodley

Format:Paperback

This is a lovely and shortish introduction to cooking and culture of eating and entertaining for the late Georgian period when Austen was alive. I loved the fact that this was about cooking and eating rather than some of the less universally approachable subjects (letters, literary criticism). Maggie Black and Deidre Le Faye have both written Jane Austen style and culture type books before so both understand the period and are able to draw on a large resource of appropriate information.

The introduction is very much about how people ate - what was available, how it got to houses, and why this was so. There is some division by class (upper class, middle class and lower class are all discussed) but also the divisions by Geography - whether coastal with access to fresh fish, or inland - how food was transported, and even in terms of access to market towns. Even 5 miles away was almost impossible for those trying to get up a dinner from 'scratch' so to speak if someone was coming around.

The introduction also talks about the types of food and dishes which were eaten, and that the whole culture of dining was completely different. Not only were meal times different, but how they dined. The explanations are simple and there is good use of quoted material throughout, the diaries and letters of the time providing a strong and occassionally humourous voice.

Where possible leFaye and Black have used diaries and 'receipts' from Austen's friends and family and point out that in the days before recipe books were published these books of receipts would be handed down from mother to daughter and one family's speciality would be renowned - they were truly heirlooms.

The last section of the book is a collection of recipes - these are taken from books of reciepts. The original receipt is usually fairly interpretative, that is the measurements are not generally noted, nor how to put them together or cook them. So there has been experimentation and the recipe is re-written with the details put in. These essentail details would have been handed down in a practical manner, but in the days before temperature gauges you would have needed to rely on simple temperature variations, quick, moderate and slow oven to dictate just when to cook it.

Most of these recipes are actually very useable for today - they don't have many potted meats, but mostly roasted meats, cakes, egg dishes and still room crafts. There are some things we dont' see these days like Syllabub - which is quite tasty

There are other books of this kind around - Margeretta Ackworth's cookbook for instance, which is interesting too - but I would recommend this is a good modern cookbook and an interesting historical look at the culture of food in this period.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for Jane Austen fans! July 19, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

While this cookbook may not be exactly suited to the demands of every day dinner making, it does serve as a great lesson in early 19th century custom and way of life. The recipes it contains are fun as well as elegant, and many of them are taken right from the pages of EMMA, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and the rest of the Austen classics. Most of the ingredients are simple and relatively easy to find, and you'll find that making Mrs. Norris' Strawberry Creme Pudding is worth every effort. So, put on some Madrigal music, don a linen frock and your best English country accent and fall into the real world of Austen-- as only food can create it!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Entertaining!! October 14, 2005

By Linore Burkard

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you call yourself a Janeite then you must have this book! It is a great recipe book from the period with many that can be easily reproduced in your own kitchen! (How better to experience the times than to try to recreate a touch of it?) The commentary is interesting and useful and each author, I find, sheds some light on the life and times of Jane in a way that no one else has quite managed, and Ms. Black is no exception. I am just beginning my culinary jaunts using recipes from this book, and I have already highlighted a great deal of "Must tries". If you like cooking, experimenting in your kitchen, vintage recipes, or JA herself, you will truly appreciate this book!
Linore Rose Burkard
Author, Before the Season Ends
(A Regency Romance)