The Good House-wives Treasurie
- Year
- 1588
- Era
- 16th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- English pre-1800
The Good House-wives Treasurie, issued anonymously in 1588, is a slim Elizabethan compilation of household receipts encompassing cookery, preserving, and domestic physic. It belongs to the formative wave of vernacular English housewifery manuals printed in the later sixteenth century, addressed to the mistress of the middling household. Surviving copies are notably scarce, and the work offers valuable evidence of culinary vocabulary, ingredients, and domestic practice in late Tudor England.
Cooking from this book
Stewed Steak
Signature dishAmong the homely English dishes that typify this slim Elizabethan household manual, stewed steak stands out as emblematic. It is a slow simmered preparation of beef cuts cooked in ale or wine with onions, warm spices, and a little vinegar or verjuice, producing a richly seasoned, sweet-sharp gravy. The dish reflects the late Tudor taste for spiced meat pottages and the practical, hearth-side cookery that this treasury was compiled to guide ordinary housewives through.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
