The Jane Austen Cookbook

Before August is over, I have one more book to include in the Austen in August reading challenge!  I have found yet another book about Jane Austen that I really enjoyed.  The only thing I like to read more about than gardening is cooking.  So, right after I read In the Garden with Jane Austen; I went to my local library and found this book, The Jane Austen Cookbook.  It might not be for everyone, but if you like history, cooking, and Jane Austen you will like this cookbook.   It was first published in 1995 by The British Museum Press.  This book was the perfect accompaniment to the first book I read, In the Garden with Jane Austen because the garden book made you familiar with the gardens and properties Jane visited and then the cookbook mentions them when it discusses her meals which were harvested from the kitchen gardens and the social visits she made to these properties. 

The heart of the cook book is based around Martha Lloyd's 'Household Book.'  Martha was a dear friend that lived with the Austen family for many years and recorded the recipes.  The actual book recorded by Martha is now on display at Jane Austen's house in Chawton.  A selection of the original recipes have been tested and modernized for today's cooks and are included in this cookbook.  The introduction describes Jane's interest in food, based on her novels and letters, and explains the social conventions of shopping, eating and entertaining in the late Georgian and Regency England.  Some of the recipes included that surprised me were: Macaroni (not quite like we make it now), several curry recipes (the British love their curries but I didn't realize how long that has been going on), onion soup (which we now only call French Onion soup (but it was served in Regency England), and Spruce Beer (of which in much searching the authors of the cookbook cannot trace the origin of the essence of spruce, so they had no equivalent to convert the recipe for).  All in all it was a fascinating read for us history buffs and gives you much insight into the Regency Era.

I had to squeeze in a picture of a sweet little Royal Albert teacup.   The pattern is Petit Point and it works beautifully with this post because every wonderful accomplished Regency Era lady could work her way around a needlepoint, as well as a piano, and the dance floor! 

This post was written by Sherry of The Charm of Home blog. 
She can also be found at Pinterest.com/charmofhome and Twitter@ SherryTCOH.