Book for Receipts, 1731

The Book for Receipts is a recipe book written in England in 1731. At least two owners added to this work (the names of owners remain unknown) because the handwriting changes in the last third of text. Some recipe contributors are named, such as: Lady Westmorland, Mrs. Catherine Sanderson, Mrs. Allston, Mrs. Gilbert, and Sr. Orlando Gees. Recipes focus largely on delicacies-not on staple meals-and home remedies. Categories of recipes include: pickles and preserves, cakes, biscuits, jellies, creams, and beverages (wines). One noteworthy example of a home remedy entitled The famous American Receipt for the Rheumatism appears in the volume and, according to the author, is very famous in America; a Hundred Pounds have been given for the Receipt. Recipes also indicate the availability of foodstuff in the eighteenth century-as seen through the use of several pounds of good Jamaican Sugar.