Episode 210: Manuscript Cookbooks

A Taste of the Past is back for a new radio season with host Linda Pelaccio welcoming guest Stephen Schmidt to the studio for a thorough talk on manuscript cookbooks. Stephen is the Principal Researcher and Writer for The Manuscript Cookbooks Survey, which catalogs pre-1865 English-language manuscript cookbooks. An ongoing project, Stephen shares that the site aims to give culinary historians, food writers, and others enhanced access to these important, fascinating materials, which too often lie neglected in libraries, historical sites, and other public institutions. Have recipes really changed that much through the eras? Tune in for a fascinating discussion! This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market.

“A manuscript cookbook is a cookbook that exists in a manuscript, meaning that it is hand-written.  These cookbooks go back to the fourteenth and thirteenth century.” [4:00]
“The truth about it is, the printed recipes reveal a much more sophisticated cooking than is done today in homes.” [23:15]
–Stephen Schmidt on A Taste of the Past

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