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''The Experienced English Housekeeper'' is a
cookery book A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...
by the English businesswoman Elizabeth Raffald (1733–1781). It was first published in 1769, and went through 13 authorised editions and at least 23
pirated Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
ones. The book contains some 900
recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...
s for: soups; main dishes including roast and boiled meats, boiled
puddings Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, inst ...
, and fish;
desserts Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts of ...
, table decorations and "little savory dishes";
potted meat Potted meat is a form of traditional food preservation in which hot cooked meat is placed in a pot, tightly packed to exclude air, and then covered with hot fat. As the fat cools, it hardens and forms an airtight seal, preventing some spoilage by ...
s, drinks, wines,
pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...
, preserves and
distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the hea ...
essences. The recipes consist largely of direct instructions to the cook, and do not contain lists of ingredients. The book is illustrated with three fold-out copper plate
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
s. The book is noted for its practicality, departing from earlier practice in that it avoids
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...
, consisting instead almost entirely of direct instructions based on Raffald's experience. It introduced the first known recipe for a
wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but ...
covered in
marzipan Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imit ...
and royal icing, and is an early use of
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...
. The book remains a reference for cookery writers.


Context

Raffald was born in
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
in 1733. Between 1748 and 1763 she was employed as a housekeeper by several families, including the
Warburtons Warburtons is a British baking firm founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 and based in Bolton, a town formerly in Lancashire, England, and now in Greater Manchester. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and it remain ...
of
Arley Hall Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook, and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adja ...
in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...
, where she met her future husband, John Rafford, Arley Hall's head gardener. In 1763 the couple moved to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, where Elizabeth opened a confectionery shop and John sold flowers and seeds at a market stall. They had 16 children, all girls. As well as her cookery book, she wrote a book on
midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many ...
and ran a register office in Manchester to place domestic servants with prospective employers. In 1773, she sold the copyright to the book to her publisher for £1400, equivalent to about £,000 in . Raffald writes in her Preface that she not only worked as a housekeeper "in great and worthy families", but "had the opportunity of travelling with them".Raffald, 1775. Page ii The
bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
William Carew Hazlitt William Carew Hazlitt (22 August 18348 September 1913), known professionally as W. Carew Hazlitt, was an English lawyer, bibliographer, editor and writer. He was the son of the barrister and registrar William Hazlitt, a grandson of the essayist ...
observes that in this way she "widened her sphere of observation". A 2005 article in ''
Gastronomica ''Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture'' is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal with a focus on food. It is published by the University of California Press. It was founded by Darra Goldstein in 2001. Awards The journal ha ...
'' described Raffald as "the most celebrated English cookery writer of the eighteenth century after
Hannah Glasse Hannah Glasse (; March 1708 – 1 September 1770) was an English cookery writer of the 18th century. Her first cookery book, ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy'', published in 1747, became the best-selling recipe book that century. It w ...
".


Book


Contents

The following page numbers refer to the 4th edition of 1775. Part I /nowiki>Soups, meat, fish, pies and puddings/nowiki> * Chapter 1: Soups. Page 1 * Chapter 2: Dressing Fish. Page 14 * Chapter 3: Roasting and Boiling. Page 52 * Chapter 4: Made Dishes. Page 79 * Chapter 5: Pies. Page 143 * Chapter 6: Puddings. Page 167 Part II /nowiki>Desserts_and_accompanying_dishes.html" ;"title="Desserts.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Desserts">/nowiki>Desserts and accompanying dishes">Desserts.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Desserts">/nowiki>Desserts and accompanying dishes/nowiki> * Chapter 7: Making Decorations for a Table. Page 186 * Chapter 8: Preserving. Page 209 * Chapter 9: Drying and Candying. Page 237 * Chapter 10: Creams, Custards, and Cheese-Cakes. Page 247 * Chapter 11: Cakes. Page 264 * Chapter 12: Little Savory Dishes. Page 280 Part III [Preserves,
pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...
, wines, distilled essences] * Chapter 13: Potting and Collaring. Page 293 * Chapter 14: Possets, Gruel, &c. Page 308 * Chapter 15: Wines, Catchup, and Vinegar. Page 317 * Chapter 16: Pickling. Page 342 * Chapter 17: Keeping Garden-Stuff, and Fruit. Page 358 * Chapter 18: Distilling. Page 364 ppendices* A correct List of every Thing in Season in every Month of the Year. Page 368 * Directions for a Grand Table. Page 381 * Index. Page 383 inis Page 397


Approach

The book begins without a table of contents, though the three parts are described on the title page. The front matter consists of a
dedication Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building. Feast of Dedication The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days f ...
"To the Honourable Lady ''Elizabeth Warburton''", occupying two pages, a three-page Preface to the First Edition, and a fold-out plate of a suitable stove, complete with a "''Description of the Plate''" on the facing page.
Plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...
was combated in later editions (from as early as 1775) with the declaration at the foot of the title page "N. B. No Book is genuine but what is signed by the Author", and a matching handwritten signature in brownish-black ink bracketing the heading of Chapter 1. Each chapter begins with a section of "Observations" on the topic of the chapter; thus, Chapter 3 has three pages of "Observations on Roasting and Boiling". The observations are close to instructions, as "when you boil mutton or beef, observe to dredge them well with flour before you put them into the kettle of cold water, keep it covered, and take off the scum". The rest of each chapter consists entirely of "receipts" (
recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...
s). These are usually named as instructions like "To roast a Pig", "To make Sauce for a Pig". Occasionally there is a comment, as in "A nice way to dress a Cold Fowl". The names of dishes are overwhelmingly in English, even when the dish is in fact foreign; thus "To make Cream Cakes" is the heading for the recipe for
meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream o ...
, beginning "Beat the whites of nine eggs to a stiff froth, then stir it gently with a spoon, for fear the froth should fall". Raffald is however not afraid to use foreign words for new techniques, as "to fricassee Lamb Stones", "to barbecue a Pig", "Bouillie Beef", "Ducks ''a-la-mode''", "To fricando Pigeons", "To ragoo Mushrooms". In explanation of this, she writes in the Preface to the First Edition: The recipes themselves are written entirely as directions, without lists of ingredients. They are generally terse, the reader being assumed to know how to beat eggs and to separate the white from the yolk, to boil starchy foods in milk without burning the pan, or to make a "paste" (
pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...
), all of which are required skills for this recipe for
sago pudding Sago pudding is a sweet pudding made by combining sago pearls with either water or milk and adding sugar and sometimes additional flavourings. It is made in many cultures with varying styles, and may be produced in a variety of ways. Southeast Asi ...
:


Illustrations

Official editions contained three engravings on pages that folded out, interspersed with the text. The first illustrated a stove; the other two, suggested table layouts for the first course and for the second course. Raffald explains in her ''Directions for a GRAND TABLE'' that: The book, intended for "a burgeoning middle class that required explanation and elucidation", provided an accurate description of how to serve an elegant meal ''à la française'', complete with two fold-out engravings of the layout of a table with 25 "prettily-shaped" and symmetrically-arranged serving-dishes "laid in generous profusion on the table", each annotated with the name of the appropriate recipe. It is not clear whether the term "cover" for the layout of such a "Grand meal" is an acknowledgement of the French ''couvert'', as it may simply mean, with
Hannah Glasse Hannah Glasse (; March 1708 – 1 September 1770) was an English cookery writer of the 18th century. Her first cookery book, ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy'', published in 1747, became the best-selling recipe book that century. It w ...
, "a large table to cover". The layout for the second course contains the dishes (from top):


Influence


Contemporary

''The Monthly Review, Or, Literary Journal'' of 1770 listed the book, commenting only that "The Reviewers are sorry to own, but their regard to truth obliges them to it, that there ''are'' subjects with which, alas! they are ''too little acquainted'', to pretend to be judges of what the learned may publish concerning them." ''The Experienced English Housekeeper'' was "extremely successful", going through 13 authorised editions and at least 23 pirated ones. To attempt to reduce the piracy, Raffald signed each copy on the first page of the main text in ink, and printed the message "N.B. No Book is genuine but what is signed by the Author" on the title page. Finally in 1773, she sold the copyright to her publisher for £1400, equivalent to about £,000 in . As well as direct piracy, the book inspired other "experienced housekeepers" to try to profit by publishing books of culinary advice. In 1795, Sarah Martin published ''The New Experienced English Housekeeper, for the Use and Ease of Ladies' Housekeepers, Cooks, &c. written purely for her own practice''. Similarly, Susanna Carter entitled her 1822 book ''The Experienced Cook and Housekeeper's Guide.'' It included 12 engravings "for the arrangement of dinners of two courses". As an illustration of how familiar Raffald had made the idea of the experienced English housekeeper, ''The Critical Review, Or, Annals of Literature'' of 1812 wrote that "The arranging of a dinner-table is attended in Iceland with little trouble, and would afford on scope for the display of the elegant abilities of an experienced English housekeeper. On the cloth was nothing but a plate, a knife and fork, a wine glass, and a bottle of claret, for each guest, except that in the middle stood a large and handsome glass-castor of sugar, with a magnificent silver top."


Firsts

''The Experienced English Housekeeper'' was the first book to contain a recipe for what became the classic
wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but ...
complete with
marzipan Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imit ...
and royal icing. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'' of 1888 credited Raffald as one of the earliest sources in English to mention
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...
in cookery.


On modern cookery

''The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English'' noted in 1999 that Raffald distinguishes her work as purely from practice, unlike books of untried recipes copied from elsewhere, and that she apologises for "the plainness of the style" in her introductory letter. The ''Guide'' observes, however, that "this is the essence of her lasting appeal, and her clarity and economy with words find an echo in the work of
Eliza Acton Eliza Acton (17 April 1799 – 13 February 1859) was an English food writer and poet who produced one of Britain's first cookery books aimed at the domestic reader, '' Modern Cookery for Private Families''. The book introduced the now-un ...
a century later." The cookery writer Sophie Grigson wrote in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' that her mother
Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...
made Raffald's ''Orange Custards'' "every year when the Seville orange season was in full swing, a treat to look forward to." In 2013, Raffald's former workplace, Arley Hall, brought some of her recipes including lamb pie, pea soup and rice pudding back to their tables. The general manager Steve Hamilton however said they would avoid Raffald's turtle and calf's foot pudding.


Publication

Raffald states in her Preface that she personally "perused very sheetas it came from the press, having an opportunity of having it printed by a neighbour, whom I can rely on". She writes that "The whole work being now compleated to my wishes", she must thank her friends and subscribers; she states that over 800 of them contributed, "raising me so large a subscription, which far excells my expectations".Raffald, 1775. Pages i–ii She was thus a
self-publisher Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...
.


Official

The official editions were largely published in London, with minor differences.
1st Edition
1769. Manchester: J Harrop. * 2nd Edition, 1771. London: R. Baldwin. * 3rd Edition, 1773. London: R. Baldwin. * 4th Edition, 1775. London: R. Baldwin. * 5th Edition, 1776. London: R. Baldwin.
6th Edition
1778. London: R. Baldwin. * 7th Edition, 1780. London: R. Baldwin. * 8th Edition, 1782. London: R. Baldwin. * 9th Edition, 1784. London: R. Baldwin.
10th Edition
1786. London: R. Baldwin. * 11th Edition, 1794. London: R. Baldwin. * 12th Edition, 1799. London: R. Baldwin. * New Edition, 1801. London: R. Baldwin. * 13th Edition, 1806. London: R. Baldwin.


Other editions

Many unofficial editions were produced in Britain and America, including: * London: A. Millar, W. Law & R. Cater, 1787. * London: A. Millar, W. Law & R. Cater, 1789. * London: A. Millar, W. Law & R. Cater, 1791. * London: W. Osborne & T. Griffin, 1794. * London: W. Osborne & T. Griffin, 1798. * Manchester: G. Bancks, 1798.
London: Brambles, Meggitt and Waters
1803. * York: T. Wilson & R. Spence, 1803. * London: Brambles, Meggitt and Waters, 1805. * London: R. & W. Dean, 1807.
London: Brambles, Meggitt and Waters
1808.
London: T. Wilson & R. Spence
1806. * London: T. Wilson & R. Spence, 1808. * London: Brambles, Meggitt and Waters, 1814.
Philadelphia: James Webster
1818.


Notes


References


External links


''The Experienced English Housekeeper'' at Archive.org

''Experienced English Housekeeper'' as a set of 23 audio podcasts on iTunes

Seven different editions
(Online Books, University of Pennsylvania) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Experienced English Housekeeper, The 1769 books British cookbooks English cuisine