Lost Kitchen Scrolls

This recipe originates from the late 17th or early 18th century, specifically from Mary Hookes, an Englishwoman active around 1680. The recipe is preserved in a household manuscript from between 1675 and 1725, a period when home baking was common among the gentry and middle classes. Recipes like this highlight the growing availability of sugar, dried fruit, and yeast-leavened baked goods in England after the Restoration. Little cakes such as these would have been served at tea, breakfast, or as a sweet treat for guests.

From the book

Receipt book of Mary Hookes

This recipe hails from the early 1700s in England, a period when preserving fruits as marmalades or fruit pastes was both a practical and luxurious art. Oranges, particularly the bitter Seville orange, were prized imports and made a frequent appearance in aristocratic kitchens. Apples provided bulk and natural pectin, ensuring a good set in the preserve. Such recipes were often handwritten in household manuscripts, passed from one cook to another, and reflect the evolving taste for sweet, fruit-based confections among the well-to-do.

From the book

Cookbook

This recipe is from 'El Cocinero Mexicano' (1831), a seminal Mexican cookbook that helped define domestic cookery in post-Independence Mexico. Compiled by Mariano Arevalo and Mariano Galvan Rivera, the text aimed to collect both traditional and contemporary dishes for the Mexican home, at a time when national identity was being shaped at the table. 'Rabos de cebolla' is a clever, rustic dish making use of the often-discarded green onion tops. Combined with day-old bread and modest spices, this recipe demonstrates the resourcefulness and depth of Mexican home kitchens of the era. It was typically served with poultry, transforming humble scraps into a flavorful sauce or braise.

From the book

El Cocinero Mexicano, Vol. 2

This recipe is drawn from "Megale amerikanike mageirike", a landmark Greek-language cookbook first published in New York in 1917 for the growing Greek immigrant community in America. The book served to familiarize Greek cooks—and their families—with American dishes, helping bridge cultures through food. The Hamburger Steak, popularized in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, showcases the adaptation of the German Hamburg steak to American tastes—simple, hearty, and suited to home cooks with limited resources but high culinary expectations. This recipe reflects the era’s values: thrift, efficiency, and the spirit of blending old-world skills with new-world ingredients.

From the book

Megale amerikanike mageirike dia mageirous kai oikogeneias

This recipe hails from 'Megale amerikanike mageirike,' a Greek-language cookbook published in New York in 1917 by Michael Gkines. The book was designed for Greek immigrants adapting to American life and kitchens, featuring both Hellenic tradition and practical solutions for the modern American household. The Athenian Soup is a classic example of resourceful home cooking, using affordable cuts such as fish or chicken heads and enriching the broth with the signature Greek avgolemono (egg-lemon) technique. This recipe reflects both the constraints and creativity of early 20th-century immigrant kitchens.

From the book

Megale amerikanike mageirike dia mageirous kai oikogeneias

This recipe, 'Bocaditos de Cuaresma,' appears in a handwritten recipe notebook from 1904 by Carmen Volante. The notebook, called '6o Cuaderno,' is a window onto the domestic cuisine of upper-middle-class Spanish households in the early 20th century. Cuaresma, or Lent, was a period traditionally marked by dietary restrictions that excluded meat, encouraging cooks to be inventive with egg and dairy dishes. This delicate preparation, rich in eggs and truffles, reflects the era’s fondness for refined yet meatless dishes suitable for penance while still offering indulgence for well-to-do families.

From the book

Cuaderno de Carmen Volante

This recipe hails from the late 18th-century Cuaderno de Cosina of Doña Ignacita, a fascinating manuscript cookbook produced in colonial Latin America. The collection captures both European influences and local adaptations found in the kitchens of the Spanish Americas. Buñuelos de Almendras—almond fritters soaked in syrup—reflect both the Moorish traditions inherited from Spain and the colonial penchant for extravagant sweets, demonstrating the luxurious use of eggs, almonds, and sugar in elite households. Recorded in 1789, these recipes belonged to an era when cookbooks were compiled by hand and used by skilled household cooks or mistresses to orchestrate elaborate feasts, often with local twists on Old World classics.

From the book

Cuaderno de Cosina de Dona Ignacita

This recipe hails from Henriette Davidis, one of 19th-century Germany’s most important domestic authorities. Her practical cookbooks were a staple in German-speaking households, guiding everyone from beginner cooks to experienced housewives. The Zwiebelsauce mit Speck is a classic example of everyday, hearty fare designed to accompany simple dishes, particularly boiled potatoes. It captures the resourceful, flavor-forward cuisine of the time, where inexpensive ingredients like onions and bacon could be transformed into something deeply satisfying.

From the book

Henriette Davidis praktisches kochbuch für die gewöhnliche und feinere küche

This recipe comes from an English manuscript cookbook with roots in both the late 18th and early 19th centuries, compiled in Camberwell, Surrey. The collection reflects the domestic economy and taste of a burgeoning urban middle class, combining both handwritten family favorites and borrowed printed texts. Such sauce recipes speak to both frugality—using readily available ingredients—and the influence of burgeoning commercial products like brown sauce and Bisto. The development of sauces like this one reflects a time before mass refrigeration, where onions provided a sweet depth and tomatoes added brightness, while accessible store-cupboard staples like malt vinegar and brown sauce brought tang and umami to simple home cooking.

From the book

Cookbook compiled in Camberwell, Surrey

This recipe hails from mid-18th century Britain, compiled before 1764 by Mary Puleston. During this time, making wine at home from local fruits and botanicals was a common practice for country households. Elder-flower wine was especially popular due to the abundance of elder trees and the distinctive floral character the blossoms imparted to beverages. Wine made from raisins—often from imported Spanish or Canary varieties like Malmsey—acted as a creative substitute for grape wine, which was expensive and reserved for the wealthy. Recipes such as this reflect both resourcefulness and the evolving culinary landscape of the period.

From the book

Cookbook of Mary Puleston

This recipe hails from an early 18th-century Dutch cookbook, a testament to the luxurious sweet pastries enjoyed in upper-middle-class homes of the Netherlands. The instruction reflects the high value placed on refined sugar and aromatic waters in Dutch patisserie, a result of the nation's world-spanning trade links. Such doughs were used for lining tartlets, as ‘onderkorsten’, and likely for sweet confections far from today’s mass-produced bakery fare. Published in 1725 in Leyden, this recipe captures both the flavors and the genteel aspirations of its age, where even the humblest crust might be perfumed with the essence of distant orange blossoms and bright, fresh lemons.

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Het Hollands, of Neederlands kook-boek

This recipe originates from Mistress Anna Campbell’s pastry book, written in 1707—a time when preservation was paramount and flavor was bold. Recipes like this showcase the resourceful, seasonal use of game meats, and the culinary tradition of 'potting,' which helped keep meat fresh before the days of refrigeration. Potted hare would grace the sideboards of well-to-do Scottish and English households, ready to be spread on fresh bread as a savory treat or taken on journeys, where its keeping quality and robust seasoning made it a cherished provision.

From the book

Mistress Anna Campbell her pastry book