Image: Mrs Rundell · Public domain
A New System of Domestic Cookery
- Year
- 1806
- Era
- 19th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- English 19th C
A New System of Domestic Cookery, formed upon Principles of Economy, and adapted to the Use of Private Families, was first issued by John Murray in 1806 and rapidly became one of the bestselling English cookery books of the nineteenth century. Aimed at middle-class housekeepers, it ran through innumerable authorised editions and unauthorised reprints on both sides of the Atlantic, and famously occasioned a protracted legal dispute between Rundell and her publisher over copyright.
Cooking from this book
A Very Fine Cake (Rundell's Pound Cake)
Signature dishMaria Rundell's rich pound cake became one of the defining bakes of Regency English households, and its presence in countless reprints and pirated editions helped fix it in the popular imagination. A dense, buttery loaf perfumed with brandy and dried fruit, it sat at the heart of middle-class entertaining, served with tea or wine. Its association with Rundell's book reflects how thoroughly her writing shaped domestic baking on both sides of the Atlantic.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
