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Another Cheesecake

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on March 11 2013

This “cheesecake” is easy and tasty.  As you can see from the above recipe from E...
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Lobscouse

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on March 03 2013

Ship’s bread or hard tack as it was known in the 19th century was a staple of the...
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A Pork Pie with a Standing Crust

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on February 10 2013

In a previous post, I presented three common types of pastry crust used in the 18...
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Suet, Part Four: A Few Recipes.

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on January 22 2013

While perusing several 18th century cookbooks, I’ve identified and included below...
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Suet, Part Three: Preparing it.

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on January 21 2013

Suet was apparently used both raw and rendered (refined) in 18th century cooking....
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Suet, Part two: What it is, What it isn’t, and What to Look For

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on January 20 2013

In my last post, I took a brief look at the important role suet had in 18th centu...
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Suet, Part One: Its role in 18th Century Foodways and Life

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on January 17 2013

Scan through almost any 18th century cookbook and you will find a recurring term: ...
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Salted Meat for a Long Journey at Sea

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on January 07 2013

I recently received an email from a fellow historical foodie, who…well, for effic...
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A Short Paste, a Delicious Pear Tart, and a Choice of Three Toppings

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on December 09 2012

I’ve mentioned in an early post that there were, for the most part, three types o...
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Three Dozen Mince Pie Recipes Later — the Fallacy of Precision

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on December 06 2012

I recently completely a side-by-side comparison of a number of 18th and early 19th cen...
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An 18th Century Cookbook Dedicated to the Sweet Tooth

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on December 05 2012

Here’s an interesting cookbook by Frederick Nutt, originally written in 1789, called ...
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The Complexities and Perils of Baking a Cake

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on December 03 2012

In her 1807 book “A New System of Domestic Cookery; Formed upon Principles of Eco...
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A Puff Paste Recipe (with a secret confession)

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on November 25 2012

Our third video series, “18th Century Cooking with Jas. Townsend & Son,” is e...
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Read Twice, Bake Once.

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on November 19 2012

When it comes to interpreting 18th century cookbooks, sometimes it pays to go with...
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A Standing Crust Recipe

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on November 18 2012

The standing crust was probably the oldest form of pastry in English cooking. Whi...
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Spices in the 18th Century English Kitchen

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on November 14 2012

Proper seasoning can make all the difference between a bland chunk of meat and a ...
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The Crust of Time

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on October 29 2012

While many foods (and people’s taste preferences for them) have changed dramatica...
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Did George Washington use Ketchup?

Jonathan Townsend

Posted on August 01 2012

O.k., so it may be an absurd question. The answer, however, is probably…but it ma...
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