Image: Hannah Woolley · Public domain
The Cook's Guide
- Year
- 1664
- Era
- 17th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- English pre-1800
The Cook's Guide, issued in London in 1664, ranks among the earliest English cookery books written and published under a woman's name. Hannah Woolley, a working gentlewoman and household instructress, offers receipts for preserving, pickling, candying, and dressing meats alongside practical kitchen counsel. Its appearance marked a significant step in the emergence of female authorship within the professional culinary trade, anticipating Woolley's later, more ambitious household compendia.
Cooking from this book
Marrow Pudding
Signature dishA rich baked pudding of beef marrow bound with cream, eggs and sweet spices, often layered with currants and candied peel, was a hallmark of the genteel English table in Woolley's era. It appears as an emblem of her work because it shows the refined, slightly courtly style she championed: nourishing yet elegant fare suited to the gentlewoman's household she trained, and a dish she helped popularise in print.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
