Dyets Dry Dinner
- Year
- 1599
- Era
- 16th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- English pre-1800
Dyets Dry Dinner, compiled by Henry Buttes and first printed in 1599, is an Elizabethan treatise surveying individual foodstuffs and their dietary qualities. Organised around discrete articles on meats, fruits, grains, fish, and drink, it draws on humoral theory to assess the virtues and dangers of each. The work stands as a notable late sixteenth century English contribution to dietary literature, bridging classical regimen writing and emerging vernacular cookery.
Cooking from this book
Roasted Quince
Signature dishAmong the many foods Henry Buttes anatomises in his Elizabethan compendium, the quince stands out as emblematic. Buttes treats this hard, golden fruit not as a mere sweetmeat but as a subject for humoral scrutiny, weighing its cooling and binding qualities against the temperament of the eater. The roasted or baked quince, taken at the close of a meal to settle the stomach, captures the spirit of a book that approaches every morsel as physic as much as pleasure.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.