Kidder's Receipts: An Eighteenth Century Recipe Book

Reprinted from an engraved copperplate version of the original edition of 1740, advertised on the title pages as 'For the use of his scholars', and really intended, in the editor's view, as a handbook for the professional cook or trainee chef engaged in large-scale catering rather than for domestic use. Jane Jakeman sets the book in its historical context, pointing out that unlike Hannah Glasse's cookery book (1747), which was intended for the general household ('Every servant who can read wilt be capable of making a tolerable good cook'), Kidder offers 'the preparation of more elaborate and dramatic creations, food that can be dished up with a flourish, with large-scale planning for many diners' - 'cuisine suitable for the corporate dinners of aldermen and lawyers...' It is understandable, perhaps, that all Kidder's addresses are within the City, adjacent to the Halls of the various Guilds of the Corporation of London and to the Inns of Court - prime consumers of what the editor identifies as 'Collegiate Cuisine'. And, as she points out, the cuisine suitable for the corporate dinners of aldermen and lawyers was also eminently adaptable to the colleges of the University'. The book is in fourteen sections, ranging from 'all sorts of Paste' to 'Broths and Pottages' and 'Florendines and Puddings', all of which are reproduced in facsimile. The editor has added a bibliography, an index to the recipe titles and a glossary containing 'some comments to help those who want to try contemporary versions of his recipes' with the added words of caution - modern cooks should feel free to make some adaptations to his instructions, for some of his recipes have strong flavours for our bland modem palates, and the combinations of ingredients are sometimes surprising'...