The Experienced English Housekeeper
Title page, 1775 edition
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| Author | Elizabeth Raffald |
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| Country | England |
| Subject | English cooking |
| Genre | Cookery |
| Publisher | Elizabeth Raffald Sold by R. Baldwin |
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Publication date
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1769 |
| Pages | 397 |
The Experienced English Housekeeper, is a cookery book by the English businesswoman Elizabeth Raffald (1733–1781). It was first published in 1769, and went through 13 authorised editions and at least 23 pirated ones.
The book contains some 900 recipes for: soups; main dishes including roast and boiled meats, boiled puddings, and fish; desserts, table decorations and "little savory dishes"; potted meats, drinks, wines, pickles, preserves and distilled essences. The recipes consist largely of direct instructions to the cook, and do not contain lists of ingredients. The book is illustrated with three fold-out copper plate engravings.
The book is noted for its practicality, departing from earlier practice in avoiding plagiarism, consisting instead almost entirely of direct instructions based on Raffald's experience. It introduced the first known recipe for a wedding cake covered in marzipan and royal icing, and is an early use of barbecue. The book remains a reference for cookery writers.
Raffald was born in Doncaster in 1733. Between 1748 and 1763 she was employed as a housekeeper by several families, including the Warburtons of Arley Hall in Cheshire, where she met her future husband, John Rafford, Arley Hall's head gardener. In 1763 the couple moved to Manchester, where Elizabeth opened a confectionery shop and John sold flowers and seeds at a market stall. They had 16 children, all girls. As well as her cookery book, she wrote a book on midwifery and ran a registry office in Manchester. In 1773, she sold the copyright to the book to her publisher for £1400, equivalent to about £160,000 as of 2016.
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