The armchair kitchen
A Pile of Cooking Know-how There’s a surprising amount to learn from old cookery books. In 1865 Pierre Blot - a refugee from Napoleonic France - published The Handbook of Practical Cookery in America. Blot is an expert. He warns his readers (Ladies and professional cooks) that the study of cookery is ‘as uninviting and dry as the study of grammar at first’. His book is amusing and informative - anything but dry. He begins by telling cooks: Make use of everything goodWaste nothingHave no prejudicesBe careful, clean and punctualHe is opinionated: ‘No one can roast in an oven… an object cooked in an oven is baked.’  He explains: ‘When an object tastes greasy, it’s not because it has been fried in grease, but because there was not enough of it, or it was not properly heated.’I first came across this book in the Rare Books room of The British Library. Now through the miracles of modern technology it’s available free on Amazon. Click on the picture to find out more.

A Pile of Cooking Know-how

There’s a surprising amount to learn from old cookery books. In 1865 Pierre Blot - a refugee from Napoleonic France - published The Handbook of Practical Cookery in America.

Blot is an expert. He warns his readers (Ladies and professional cooks) that the study of cookery is ‘as uninviting and dry as the study of grammar at first’. His book is amusing and informative - anything but dry. He begins by telling cooks:

Make use of everything good
Waste nothing
Have no prejudices
Be careful, clean and punctual

He is opinionated: ‘No one can roast in an oven… an object cooked in an oven is baked.’  He explains: ‘When an object tastes greasy, it’s not because it has been fried in grease, but because there was not enough of it, or it was not properly heated.’

I first came across this book in the Rare Books room of The British Library. Now through the miracles of modern technology it’s available free on Amazon. Click on the picture to find out more.

Posted 1 month ago
Tagged: Pierre Blot, 19th century cooking, .