A Gathering of Medieval English Recipes

Recipe books did not appear in any quantity in Europe until the late fourteenth century. Hieatt has edited a number of Middle English recipes from a variety of manuscripts. Many of them have never been printed before. She introduces each group of recipes by manuscript; each manuscript is carefully described and located. The recipes are in the original language with notes on spelling variants as well as content. Those looking for modern recipe approximations with store-bought ingredients and measurements should go elsewhere. Scholars and cooks interested in authenticity will be enthralled by this view of medieval daily life, perhaps even enough to consider flaying an eel and cutting it into "gobbets" for Tuesday dinner. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)