Mrs Dalgairns's Kitchen: Rediscovering "The Practice of Cookery"

When The Practice of Cookery first appeared in 1829, reviewers hailed it as one of the best cookbooks available. Catherine Emily Callbeck Dalgairns was born in 1788 and lived in Prince Edward Island for twenty-two years. Mary Williamson reclaims Dalgairns and her book's Canadian roots, offering insights into the world of early nineteenth-century publishing and updating Dalgairns' recipes for the modern kitchen.

Format: Hardback
Length: 608 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2021
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

When The Practice of Cookery first graced the Edinburgh and London editions in 1829, reviewers hailed it as one of the finest cookbooks available. The book stood out not only for its entirely original content but also for its wide culinary influences, drawing recipes from British North America, the United States, England, Scotland, France, and India. Catherine Emily Callbeck Dalgairns was born in 1788. Though her contemporaries recognized her as a Scottish author, she spent her early years in Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown was her home for much longer than the twelve years she spent in London or her mere six years of residency in Dundee, Scotland, by the time of the cookbooks debut. In Mrs. Dalgairns's Kitchen, Mary Williamson reclaims Dalgairns and her book's Canadian roots. During her youth, the popular cookbook author would have encountered Acadian, Mi kmaq, and Scottish Highlands foods and cooking methods. Her mother hailed from Boston, inspiring the cookbook's numerous American recipes; Dalgairns's brothers-in-law resided in India, reflected in the chapter dedicated to curry recipes. Williamson consults the publisher's surviving archives to offer insights into the world of early nineteenth-century publishing, while Elizabeth Baird updates Dalgairns's recipes for the modern kitchen. Both an enticing history of the seminal cookbook and a practical guide for readers and cooks today, Mrs. Dalgairns's Kitchen offers an intimate look at the tastes and smells of an early nineteenth-century kitchen.

Weight: 1166g
Dimension: 181 x 242 x 48 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228005339