Williamsburg Art of Cookery

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic offering from Williamsburg!
Review: First of all, they print and publish this little gem on property down in Colonial Williamsburg. You can visit the printing shop and watch them make the books right there! Second, the recipes and introductions to the sections are right out of old time Virginia. Not only are there a multitude of recipes to choose from with accurate sources named, but the advice on how to serve and the style with which these dishes were offered is incredible.

Each section is given a page or two of an intro on how a certain food (soup, meat, fish, etc.) was used in Colonial Williamsburg and across Virginia. There would be a little history and even some documented accounts from those that lived during the times on specific foods, venues, and the like. It really is a trip back in time. The recipes themselves are kept in the same language, so a few of them use terms and phrases no longer used in this day and age. A good dictionary or a culinary guide should get you through those recipes. Still, most are easily understandable and not difficult to make at all. Best of all, they keep true to the originals from way back when. Some of the entries even have alternate ways of preparing the same dish, either more updated or using differing ingredients.

Overall, this is a fantastic cookbook, not only chock full of recipes, but with a wealth of knowledge about the area and the times. If you like history and cooking (especially themed cooking), this is a must-have and should be on your shelf right away. Happy eating and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic offering from Williamsburg!
Review: First of all, they print and publish this little gem on property down in Colonial Williamsburg. You can visit the printing shop and watch them make the books right there! Second, the recipes and introductions to the sections are right out of old time Virginia. Not only are there a multitude of recipes to choose from with accurate sources named, but the advice on how to serve and the style with which these dishes were offered is incredible.

Each section is given a page or two of an intro on how a certain food (soup, meat, fish, etc.) was used in Colonial Williamsburg and across Virginia. There would be a little history and even some documented accounts from those that lived during the times on specific foods, venues, and the like. It really is a trip back in time. The recipes themselves are kept in the same language, so a few of them use terms and phrases no longer used in this day and age. A good dictionary or a culinary guide should get you through those recipes. Still, most are easily understandable and not difficult to make at all. Best of all, they keep true to the originals from way back when. Some of the entries even have alternate ways of preparing the same dish, either more updated or using differing ingredients.

Overall, this is a fantastic cookbook, not only chock full of recipes, but with a wealth of knowledge about the area and the times. If you like history and cooking (especially themed cooking), this is a must-have and should be on your shelf right away. Happy eating and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Cookbook!
Review: This is a recent reprinting of an old book.

Colonial Williamsburg's interest in early American Cookery began with the desire to serve foods based on early Virginia recipes at the Travis House and the Williamsburg Inn. Home Economics clubs at Virginia high schools were approached for old family recipes, local housewives offered present-day favoires that had been handed down for generations, and recipes were culled from cookbooks known to have been owned by 18th century Williamsburg residents.

When Helen Bullock compiled this volume, Colonial Williamsburg owned only 2 early cookbooks. Mrs. Bullock perasuaded rare book librarians at the Library of Congress, Harvard University, and the University of Virginia to loan early printed and manuscript cookbooks for research purposes, promising to keep the borrowed volumes in a fireproof building at all times.

Some of the recipes were tested in an experimental kitchen and somewhat modernized so that today's cooks can reproduce tipsy cakes, chicken pot pie, and Tansies. Recipes for dishes such as "An Egg as Big as Twenty" and "Solomon's Temple in Flummery" were reprinted in their original form for their historical and antiquarian interest. Mrs. Bullock also included introductory remarks about early Virginia food and drink andn commented on Virginia hospitality.

When Colonial Williamsburg published this compliation of traditional recipes and historical notes in 1938, Mrs. Bullock anticipated that it would interest readers and hoped as well that a facsimilie-type edition would sell widely. No one imagined that demand for this now classic volume would grow steadily for over a half a century.

The typographical style, reminiscent of The Compleat Housewife or Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion published by Willliam Parks in Williamsburg in 1742 , adds to the Cookbook's charm. The text is set in Caslon, an eighteenth century type similar to one used by Parks, the paper resembles paper manufactured at Parks's mill near Williamsburg, and the illustrations by Richmond artist Elmo Jones are drawn with line cuts, or cross-hatching in imitation of a technique used by eighteenth-century engravers.