Activity Page: The Great Historic Bake Off

On your marks. Get set. BAKE!

The UoA Collections has cookery books dating back to the 17th Century. We've picked out 4 recipes for our Historic Bake Off.

We challenge you to have a go at making:

A Quaking Pud
A Wartime Aberdeen Buttery (or Rowie) made with margarine
A Showstopping cake topped with a fountain
Albert Pud

We’d love to see your photos of the finished bakes – better yet a short video of you having a go.

We hope you enjoy trying our historic bakes. Here's more about some of the cookery books in the UoA Collections that featured in the exhibition 'Cooking the Books' in 2017. They date mostly from the 1800s, a period during which a passion for food was fed by the dramatic increase in book publishing. The names of the cooks may not be familiar, but their books sold like hot cakes.

On the menu are starters of acorn bread and viper broth; main courses of ragooed larks and venison pasty; and desserts that quake. There are showstoppers by Joseph Bell, Royal Confectioner, and the truth behind the blackbirds baked into a pie. Some curious items include the designs for a pressure cooker from 1681; the first printed recipe for the potato crisp; and a miniature cookbook containing over 800 pages of pies, jellies and puddings. There are cautionary tales too with the sad demise of a lady who ate poisonous pickles and Launcelot Sturgeon, Esquire, considers the consequences of an irresistible sauce.

Cooking The Books

Baked in a Pie

'The Universal Cook', Collingwood & Woolams, 1792 [SB6415Col]

Collingwood and Woollams, were the “Principal Cooks at the Crown & Anchor Tavern in the Strand”. Their cookery book includes long-held favourites alongside recipes with more questionable ingredients.

'The Universal Cook', Collingwood & Woolams, 1792 [SB6415Col]

Hare pie and lark stew may have fallen out of favour today, but at the time of writing, the authors considered their publication to represent the height of modern cuisine.

Dividing the catch of fulmar, St Kilda, George Washington Wilson, c1886 [MS3792/C7187]

A census of St Kilda from 1794 documents the islanders’ unusual seabird diet. Each of the 90 inhabitants is recorded as eating an average 36 eggs and 18 birds per day!

Our Favourite Nursery Rhymes, London, 1856 [J Eng]

In the 16th century, a novelty dish, an ‘entremets’, was sometimes served between banquet courses to amuse or amaze diners. There are accounts of pies containing live birds, rabbits, frogs and dogs.

Surf & Turf

A New Digester or Engine for Softening Bones, Denis Papin, 1681 [BCL D5701(1)]

This is a prototype for the very first pressure cooker, submitted to the Royal Society in 1681. Its inventor, Denis Papin (1647-1714) made ground-breaking use of steam to generate his ‘digester’.

A New Digester or Engine for Softening Bones, Denis Papin, 1681 [BCL D5701(1)]

Papin moved to London and worked with Robert Boyle, the father of modern chemistry. He constructed this vessel that could confine steam, generate high pressure, and cook meat faster.

Dictionarium Domesticum, Nathan Bailey, 1736 [BCL D5729]

Take a look at this YouTube film showing a presenter, in full Georgian costume, demonstrating how the American colonists might have consulted the ‘Dictionarium Domesticum’ to make fried chicken.

Dictionarium Domesticum, Nathan Bailey, 1736 [BCL D5729]

Using the alphabetic format this dictionary mixes tips with recipes and medical advice. Under “VE” is listed: how to fry veal cutlets; a cure for venereal disease; and a recipe for venison pasties.

The Modern Cookery, 1820 [SB6415 Cook m]

Early cookery book recipes are written as descriptive passages. The format with a list of ingredients followed by a step-by-step method, did not appear until 1845 with Eliza Acton’s ‘Modern Cookery'.

Granny Manson's Recipe Book, Isabel Manson, 1973 [LpA M15 Man]

This pamphlet from 1973, harks back to early cookbooks in which food recipes were given alongside medical remedies. Readers can learn how to make krappin, and a cure for chilblains.

Granny Manson's Recipe Book, Isabel Manson, 1973 [LpA M15 Man]

Reflecting the current trendiness for traditional recipes, a food writer recently described the Shetland dish of krappin as “marine haggis”.

Showstoppers

A Treatise on Confectionary, Joseph Bell, 1817 [SB 6415 Bel]

Confectioners were well-regarded in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their skills were more refined than those of a mere cook or baker. Some were employed by the aristocracy, others ran their own shops.

A Treatise on Confectionary, Joseph Bell, 1817 [SB 6415 Bel]

Joseph Bell's book includes instructions on how to create showstopping cakes. Here's how to make a Fountain, in Gum Paste, on the Top of a Cake.

A Treatise on Confectionary, Joseph Bell, 1817 [SB 6415 Bel]

The average consumption of sugar in Britain rose from four pounds per head in 1700 to eighteen pounds in 1800, thirty-six pounds by 1850 and over one hundred pounds by the twentieth century.

The Italian Confectioner, William Alexis Jarrin, 1844 [SB 641.86 Jar]

William Jarrin was employed in Napoleon’s household. Confectionary, he explains in the introduction to his book, is an art of pleasure and luxury which requires times of prosperity and abundance.

The Italian Confectioner, William Alexis Jarrin, 1844 [SB 641.86 Jar]

This practical guide to confectionery begins with two pull-out pages of diagrams showing sweet-making paraphernalia invented or perfected by the author himself.

Bread & Tatties

A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making, Abraham Edlin, 1805 [SB 6416331 Edl]

The statute regulating the commercial production of bread, its price, weight and quantity, was established in 1266, and only abolished in 1815. Edlin includes assize tables in his book to help bakers.

A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making, Abraham Edlin, 1805 [SB 6416331 Edl]

Edlin provides details on how to make bread from grains, potatoes and rice, and even wheat substitutes such as yams, figs and acorns.

A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making, Abraham Edlin, 1805 [SB 6416331 Edl]

Methods of making bread were passed down by word-of-mouth from master to apprentice. It was unusual for bread recipes to appear in print in domestic cookery books until the mid-19th century.

The Cook's Oracle, William Kitchiner, 1822 [SB 6415 Kit]

This book includes the first printed record of the world's most popular snack, the crisp! Recipe No. 104 ‘Potatoes fried in Slices or Shavings’ predates an American claim.

The Cook's Oracle, William Kitchiner, 1822 [SB 6415 Kit]

William Kitchiner, the true source of the crisp recipe, was an optician, musician and cook. He was passionate about sauces and carried a suitcase of ketchups and mustards wherever he went.

La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise, Paris, 1836 [SB 6415 Cui 10]

The Bourgeois Cook is a 19th century manual for those in service in the grand middle class houses of France.

Wartime Cookery Book, Janet Murray, Aberdeen 1944 [TX 717.3 Mur 1944]

This Rowett Institute pamphlet has a preface written by its founder, Sir John Boyd Orr. He emphasises the Ministry of Food’s aim to improve the nation's nutrition during and after the war.

Sweet-toothed

The Practical Confectioner, James Cox, 1822 [SB 6415 Cox]

James Cox tempts those with a sweet tooth with the secrets to making delicious “soufflés, puddings, chantillas and ornamental pastry and confectionery of every description”.

The Practical Confectioner, James Cox, 1822 [SB 6415 Cox]

For the upper classes a ball supper had to delight the eye as well as the stomach. Moulds were used to create spectacular cakes in the shape of buildings, people, fish, animals and fruit.

A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell, 1819 [BCL D5725]

Maria Eliza Rundell’s collection of recipes and household tips became a publishing sensation. Her book remained in print for three decades and she is often referred to as the first ‘domestic goddess'.

A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell, 1819 [BCL D5725]

Quaking Pudding. This classic 16th century pudding features in Rundell’s cookery book and is so called because – when made correctly – it should wobble like a jelly.

The Complete Confectioner and Family Cook, John Caird, 1809 [SB 6415 Cai]

Many early recipe books also include suggested menus, sample bills of fare and table plans for dinner parties which might vary in size from 10 to 200 guests or ‘covers’.

The Complete Confectioner and Family Cook, John Caird, 1809 [SB 6415 Cai]

This diagram for ‘A Grand Dessert’ appears in John Caird’s publication from 1809. Positioned down the centre of the table are five ornaments, alternating with three-tiered salvers.

The Complete Confectioner and Family Cook, John Caird, 1809 [SB 6415 Cai]

This is a detail from a sample bill of fare (or shopping list) for a ball supper for 80 people.

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

This palm-sized manual, contains over 800 pages of recipes for soups, sauces, salads, fish, roasts, pies, pastries, puddings, cakes and jellies.

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

There is an introduction on the philosophy of cookery, followed by instructions for the carving of various meats and more than 40 illustrations.

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

Matilda Lees Dods began teaching cookery classes in London and Edinburgh. She toured the cities and towns of Scotland and the north of England for 2 years giving talks to huge crowds.

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

Dods even undertook a tour of America in 1878. Her eight books include ‘The Ideal Home’ (1916) and ‘Meatless and Less-meat Cookery’ (1918).

In the Soup

Domestic Economy and Cookery, By a Lady, 1827 [SB 6415 Cook]

These soups and broths are not fictional concoctions. They are real recipes from the early 1800s.

Domestic Economy and Cookery, By a Lady, 1827 [SB 6415 Cook]

Intended as cures for sickness, the supposed medicinal qualities of the ingredients were more important than the taste of the dish.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, 1907 [J Carr a]

Arthur Rackham’s illustration shows Alice in the Duchess’s kitchen where the cook is making soup. “There’s certainly too much pepper in that soup!” says Alice, trying not to sneeze.

Poisonous Pickles

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, Fredrick Accum, 1820 [SB 64101 Acc]

In the 1800s, a jar of pickled onions could be a dangerous thing! When this treatise by the German chemist Fredrick Accum was published, food quality standards were poor.

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, Fredrick Accum, 1820 [SB 64101 Acc]

Accum reports that Verdigris in pickles had proved fatal to one poor lady snacking on onions whilst having her hair styled.

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, Fredrick Accum, 1820 [SB 64101 Acc]

The author condemned cookery writers who provided instructions on how to ‘green’ vegetables by boiling them with pennies or by crumbling copper carbonate into the vinegar.

Sauces

The Consequences of Sauces, Launcelot Sturgeon, 1822 [SB 64101 Stu]

This essay ‘On the Physical and Political Consequences of Sauces’ begins with a warning. According to the medical profession, excessive eating is caused by enticing sauces.

The Consequences of Sauces, Launcelot Sturgeon, 1822 [SB 64101 Stu]

A good sauce, Sturgeon pronounces, enables a gentleman to eat three times as much as he could if the meal was plain.

The Consequences of Sauces, Launcelot Sturgeon, 1822 [SB 64101 Stu]

For Sturgeon, eating to excess is not the act of an unhealthy glutton; rather it is the sign of a man of good heart and conviviality.

On your marks. Get set. BAKE!

Baked in a Pie

'The Universal Cook', Collingwood & Woolams, 1792 [SB6415Col]

'The Universal Cook', Collingwood & Woolams, 1792 [SB6415Col]

Dividing the catch of fulmar, St Kilda, George Washington Wilson, c1886 [MS3792/C7187]

Our Favourite Nursery Rhymes, London, 1856 [J Eng]

Surf & Turf

A New Digester or Engine for Softening Bones, Denis Papin, 1681 [BCL D5701(1)]

A New Digester or Engine for Softening Bones, Denis Papin, 1681 [BCL D5701(1)]

Dictionarium Domesticum, Nathan Bailey, 1736 [BCL D5729]

Dictionarium Domesticum, Nathan Bailey, 1736 [BCL D5729]

The Modern Cookery, 1820 [SB6415 Cook m]

Granny Manson's Recipe Book, Isabel Manson, 1973 [LpA M15 Man]

Granny Manson's Recipe Book, Isabel Manson, 1973 [LpA M15 Man]

Showstoppers

A Treatise on Confectionary, Joseph Bell, 1817 [SB 6415 Bel]

A Treatise on Confectionary, Joseph Bell, 1817 [SB 6415 Bel]

A Treatise on Confectionary, Joseph Bell, 1817 [SB 6415 Bel]

The Italian Confectioner, William Alexis Jarrin, 1844 [SB 641.86 Jar]

The Italian Confectioner, William Alexis Jarrin, 1844 [SB 641.86 Jar]

Bread & Tatties

A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making, Abraham Edlin, 1805 [SB 6416331 Edl]

A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making, Abraham Edlin, 1805 [SB 6416331 Edl]

A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making, Abraham Edlin, 1805 [SB 6416331 Edl]

The Cook's Oracle, William Kitchiner, 1822 [SB 6415 Kit]

The Cook's Oracle, William Kitchiner, 1822 [SB 6415 Kit]

La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise, Paris, 1836 [SB 6415 Cui 10]

Wartime Cookery Book, Janet Murray, Aberdeen 1944 [TX 717.3 Mur 1944]

Sweet-toothed

The Practical Confectioner, James Cox, 1822 [SB 6415 Cox]

The Practical Confectioner, James Cox, 1822 [SB 6415 Cox]

A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell, 1819 [BCL D5725]

A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell, 1819 [BCL D5725]

The Complete Confectioner and Family Cook, John Caird, 1809 [SB 6415 Cai]

The Complete Confectioner and Family Cook, John Caird, 1809 [SB 6415 Cai]

The Complete Confectioner and Family Cook, John Caird, 1809 [SB 6415 Cai]

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

Handbook of Practical Cookery, Matilda Lees Dods, 1906 [Watt 099 Dod h]

In the Soup

Domestic Economy and Cookery, By a Lady, 1827 [SB 6415 Cook]

Domestic Economy and Cookery, By a Lady, 1827 [SB 6415 Cook]

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, 1907 [J Carr a]

Poisonous Pickles

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, Fredrick Accum, 1820 [SB 64101 Acc]

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, Fredrick Accum, 1820 [SB 64101 Acc]

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, Fredrick Accum, 1820 [SB 64101 Acc]

Sauces

The Consequences of Sauces, Launcelot Sturgeon, 1822 [SB 64101 Stu]

The Consequences of Sauces, Launcelot Sturgeon, 1822 [SB 64101 Stu]

The Consequences of Sauces, Launcelot Sturgeon, 1822 [SB 64101 Stu]

UOA Collections