A Little Gravy in the Dish and Onions in a Teacup (Elizabeth Scott)25sep

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"A Little Gravy in the Dish and Onions in a Tea Cup": What Cookbooks Reveal About MaterialCultureAuthor(s): Elizabeth M. ScottSource: International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Vol. 1, No. 2 (June 1997), pp. 131-155Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20852879 .Accessed: 31/07/2013 10:07

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International ournal fHistoricalArchaeology, oL 1,No. 2, 1997

"ALittle Gravy in theDish and Onions in aTea Cup": What Cookbooks Reveal AboutMaterial Culture

Elizabeth MLScott1

Six British colonial and Anglo-American cookbooks from the period1770-1850provide insights nto the ways inwhich itemsofmaterial cultureoftenwere used in the ast. Themultiple unctions fmany items uggest heneed for critical reconsiderations of the functional typologies and status

markerso

heavily elied ponbyhistorical rchaeologists,s

wellas rethinkingof gender associations for some items of material culture.KEYWORDS: cookbooks;material culture;methodology; ender.

INTRODUCTION

Every once in awhile in historical archaeology, ne comes across anunexpected document r artifact hat pens all kinds of doors into pastsociety. Such was the case with several eighteenth- and nineteenth-centurycookbooks I first encountered several years ago in the process of dissertation research. Written in second person (with an "understood you" as sub

ject), these books engage the reader in a kind of mental conversation(almost s if ne were standing n the kitchen ith the author) aboutmanyof theways inwhich foods nd beverageswere prepared, erved, nd storedinBritish colonial andAnglo-American orth America.

For historical archaeologists, the cookbooks provide an engagingglimpse into eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Anglo-American householdswith a degree of detail that ssurprisingly lluminating, otonly aboutfood and beverage preferences and preparations, but also about the uses

1Zooarch Research, PO. Box 285, St. Mary, Missouri 63673.

131

l092-7697/97/060(M)131$115(V01997Plenum Publishing orporation

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132 Scott

towhich vesselsand utensils ceramic, lass,metal, andwooden) generallywere put. Although the picture onveyed y the cookbooks supports omeof the "acceptedwisdom" inhistorical archaeology bout material cultureand its functions, t lso calls someof it nto uestion.Therein lie the surprises.

THE COOKBOOKS

The six cookbooks I analyze here are not presented as a definitive

sample,even of late British colonial and antebellum

Anglo-Americansub

sistence ractices, ut rather s an illustration f the utility f thiskind ofdata and its implications or functional rtifact ypologies nhistorical rchaeology.

These cookbooks contain primarily ecipes for foods and beverages,but also include nstructions or hoosing nd buyingmeats and vegetables,recipes for remedies and food for the sick, and recipes for household com

modities (e.g., dyestuffs, insecticides, hair care). The books are availableinpublished ditions today; heiroriginal ublication ates range rom 1772to 1847.Of the sixbooks, three re oriented primarily o the urban northeastern United States, one to the rural South, and two to the urban andrural South. Three of the books are most reflective of upper-class foodways;twowere intended rimarily or themiddle and lower lasses; and onespans the range from lower- to upper-class foods.

A ColonialPlantation ookbook: The Receipt ook ofHarriott PinckneyHony, 1770, is literally book of recipes she kept from 1770 until about1820 (Hooker, 1984). It is the only "book" examined here that was nevera published cookbook.Harriott Hony was part of South Carolina's Anglo

American upper class and her recipes reflect this class membership, par

ticularly er choice of flavorings avoredby the English (frequent se ofnutmeg, mace, pepper, and cloves) and abundant use of butter, milk, andcream, the latter items being available in large quantities only to the wellto-do (Hooker, 1984, pp. 26-27). Thus, in Harriott Horry's collection wesee the cooking practices from a wealthy southern plantation in the late

eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.TheFrugalColonialHousewifewas published n 1772by SusannahCar

ter. JeanMcKibbin (1976,p. xviii)notes that arter's book "wasprobablyprepared for nd used by thewealthy egment f the populationwho livedin n elegantmanner thatmirrored nglish life," nd that er recipes were

very much in the English manner." She notes Carter's "lavish use of lemonsand oranges with the meats and fish;" citrus fruits were very expensive andwere out of financial reach for most people (McKibbin, 1976,p. xviii).



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What CookbooksReveal AboutMaterial Cvitme 133

Susannah Carter's book was printed inBoston and it isoriented towardan urban, upper-class audience.

American Cookery, also urban-oriented, as published in 1796 byAmelia Simmons, an orphan who had worked as a domestic servant mostof her life. er inexpensive ook combined "themost common and practical recipes nd those uited to specialoccasionsand tomore liberal oodallowances" (Wilson,1984,p. xi). Simmons ntended er book for personslikeherself r lesswealthywomen and cooks.This is clear inher Preface,inwhich she expresses the hope that

theLady of fashion nd fortune ill not be displeased, ifmany hints re suggestedfor the more general nd universal knowledge f those females n this ountry, hoby the oss f their arents, r other unfortunate ircumstances, re reduced to thenecessity f going into families n the line f domestics, r taking efuge ith theirfriends r relations, nd doing those thingswhich are really essential to theperfecting hem s goodwives, and useful members of society. Simmons, 1984, .3)

Of these three eighteenth-century ookbooks, two re urban-orientedand one plantation-centered; woreflect nd are intended or the upperclass and one the middling and lower classes. Susannah Carter's book contains the largest umber f recipes, nd those involving hemost complexsteps and sets of utensils. Harriott Horry's recipes are less varied and include the kinds of self-sufficient ractices to be expected on a plantation,such s salting nd smoking orkfrom hogs raised there. melia Simmons'book contains far fewer ecipes nd includes section ot found n arter'sbook: instructions orchoosing nd purchasing eats, vegetables, ndfruitsatmarket, omething robably ndertaken y domestic ervants nd by lesswealthy housewives ho did their wn shopping.

The American FrugalHousewife, published in 1833by Lydia MariaChild, a feminist nd abolitionist, as "written or the poor" (1833,p. 6)

and those f moderate means who were "not ashamed of economy" 1833,p. 1).Child lived inMassachusetts and her book is more urban-orientedthan rural, lthough he includes ariations n some recipes thatmight beoccasioned by living in "the country." Lydia Child also includes several es

says on "economical" uses of resources in a household and on a "frugal"way of life.

TheKentucky ousewife, ublishedbyLettice Bryan in 1839,seems tohave addressed the widest possible audience in terms of economic class. Itcontains over 1,300 recipes, some "quite plain and cheap" (Bryan, 1991, p.v), others complex and expensive, which reflect foodways in the uplandSouth, rural but not plantation-centered.

Finally, he CarolinaHousewife, ublished n 1847by Sarah Rutledge,reflects both urban and plantation environments in the lowland South. Al



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What CookbooksRevealAboutMaterial Culture 135

Simply ut, the data from hese ookbooks all into question some ofour long-held, lbeit often tacit, ssumptions bout the functions f variousceramic and glass vessels we excavate. It is not that tea cups, tea spoons,and wine glasseswere not used for drinking everages;what stands outhere is that these, nd other, tems admultiple functions.They were usednot only for drinking everages, orexample, ut also for measuring ingredients; preparing, oiling, nd baking foods; and serving oods.

Historical archaeologists ave devisedmany functional typologies oaid in the interpretation f archaeological assemblages,most based onSouth (1977), and some specifically oncerning eramics (e.g.,Yentsch,1990;Beaudry et al., 1988).However, such typologies o not allow for the

multiple uses of objects revealed in these cookbooks. Some scholars haveshown that archaeologists must take into account the various stages of uselife n objectmight have (e.g.,Orser, 1992)and the buying nd selling fused ceramics nd other items, specially npoorer urban neighborhoods(e.g.,Seifert, 994).However, the data from hesecookbookssuggest hat

wemust go one step further, llowing ormultiple useswithin household,thereby making more complex our interpretations of the archaeological re

mains from hat household,neighborhood, r community.

PREPARATION VESSELSAND UTENSILS: "PROVIDECHINACUPS, AND FILLTHEM WITH THE CLEAR

JELLY"

As might be expected, t s the preparation f foods and beverages aswell as remedies, dyestuffs, tc.) that receives themost attention n thecookbooks,with less attention evoted to serving nd storage f foods and

beverages. beginwith a discussion f items sed inmeasuring ngredients(detailed inTkble I), followed y discussion f items sed in actual preparation f those ngredients nto oods, everages,medicines, r other household commodities detailed inTkblc II).

Units of Measure

Spoons of various sizes (tea, table, salt, and dessert) are the most fre

quently used measuring utensilnoted here

(see Tkble I).Additional variations in measurement include those by the "large tea-spoonful,""tea-spoon (not heaped)," "small tablespoonful," and "large tablespoonheaping full."



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136 Scott

Table L Units ofMeasure

Utensil Used to measure

Spoonslea spoon

Table spoon

Spoonful

Salt spoon

Dessert spoon

Cups and mugsTea cup

Dry spices (e.g., curry powders, salt, mace, cloves, pepper,cinnamon, owdered sage)

Dry ingredients e.g., celery seeds, grated lemon, flour, aleratus,pearlash, soda, tea leaves,pulverized lum)

Liquid ingredients e.g., cream, brandy)Other ingredients e.g.,butter, okeberry elly)Dry spices e.g.,powdered sage,cinnamon, inger, ream of tartar,

allspice, mustard, mace, cloves, cayenne pepper)Dry ingredients e.g., flour, hopped parsley, grated horseradish,

rice flour, corn meal, brown sugar, powdered sugar, arrowroot,salt, grated bread, rough rice, corn, grated orange peel, carawayseeds, flaxseeds)

Liquid ingredients e.g.,water, vinegar, salad oil, sweet oil, rosewater, sweet cream, melted butter, white wine, prepared rennet,white brandy, honey, catsup, broth, clear gravy, hot milk, Jamaicarum, lemon juice, artichoke xtract, ime brandy, peach water,

molasses)Other ingredients e.g.,yeast, eachmarmalade, riceboiled topap,

butter, mashed sweet potato, cold hominy, raspberry elly, softboiled rice)

Dry spices (e.g.,whole white mustard seeds, pepper, mixed spice,mace, cinnamon, ginger, pulverized sassafras leaves, dried sage,

powdered thyme, urry owder)Dry ingredients e.g., sugar, flour, rown sugar, ground coffee,arrowroot powder, corn flour, wheat flour, rice flour, corn meal,rye flour, uckwheat flour, ndianmeal)

Liquid ingredients e.g., pepper-vinegar, inegar, nchovy catsup,warm water, sweet cream, milk, melted butter, white wine, sweet

cider, veal gravy, brandy, lemon brandy, rose brandy, sack, essenceof spruce, tomato catsup, rose water, orange flower water, New

England rum,molasses, rennetwater)Other ingredients e.g., grated tongue, urrant jelly, emonpickle,

butter, finely hopped suet, yeast,whipped eggwhite, white cakeicing, wood ashes, cough syrup, soy, lively emptings, chloride oflime, plaster of Paris, ashes stirred in cider, lard)

Dry spices e.g., salt)Dry ingredients e.g., grated horseradish)Dry spices (e.g.,salt, llspice, owdered mace, powdered innamon)Dry ingredients e.g., powdered sugar, flour, dried artichoke

flowers)Liquid ingredients (e.g., rose water, peach water, orange flower

water, wine, brandy, vinegar)Other ingredients e.g.,butter, east)

Dry spices (e.g. coriander eeds,powdered ginger)Dry ingredients e.g.,white starch, ice flour, hominy, ine readcrumbs, flour, sugar, brown sugar)Liquid ingredients e.g., arrowroot powder in water, boiling

buttermilk, milk, cream, Madeira wine, rose water, melted butter,molasses, stewed vinegar, flax seed tea)



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What CookbooksRevealAboutMaterial Culture 137

Table L Continued

Utensil Used to measure

Other ingredientseg., sago,yeast, apioca, eaven, oiled rice, utter)liquid ingredients e.g.,water, milk, sourmilk)

Dry ingredients e.g., coarse rice flour, ice,sugar, brown sugar)Liquid ingredients e.g.,dissolved aleratus,milk, cream)Dry spices e.g., caraway eeds)Liquid ingredients e.g., dissolved saleratus)Other ingredients e.g.,yeast)Other ingredients e.g.,Russian jelly)Other ingredients e.g.,boiled and strained arrots)Other ingredients e.g., cold hominy)

Dry spices (e.g.,ginger)Dry ingredients e.g., sugar)Liquid ingredients e.g.,water, milk, molasses, cream)Dry spices (e.g., ginger)Dry ingredients e.g.,wheat flour, ice flour, ndianmeal, sugar,

brown ugar, ice, chopped shallots r onions)Liquid ingredients e.g., sweet cream,wine, tomato catsup, boiling

water, beer, cider, rose water, milk, pepper tea)Other ingredients e.g.,butter, ively east, iceboiled soft, atfrom

meat drippings)Dry ingredients e.g.,hops)Liquid ingredients e.g.,beer formaking pancakes)

Large tea cupSmall tea cup

Half a tea cup

Good-sized tea cupCoffee cupLarge breakfast up

Small cup

Cup

Pint mugMug

Glasses and TumblersWine glass

Tumbler

Half a tumbler

Glass

Gil)

Half-gill

Bottles

Plates and Soup PlatesPlate

Soup platePots

Common-sized pot

Dry ingredients e.g., caraway seeds)Liquid ingredients e.g., rosewater, orange flower water, peach

water, brandy, osebrandy, emonbrandy, ine,whitewine, sherrywine, port wine, water, milk, coughmedicine)

Liquid ingredients e.g.,water, buttermilk, laret, port wine)Other ingredients e.g., toast nd water)Liquid ingredients e.g., sour orange juice, lime uice,water with

citric cid)liquid ingredients e.g., various kinds of wine, brandy, nd rum;

water, sweet cream, good sour wine, rose water, peach water, winethat had soaked calf s rennet)

Dry ingredients e.g., fine Indian meal, rice, rice flour, inegrits,wheat flour)

Liquid ingredients e.g., sweet cream, white wine, buttermilk,molasses, claret, Madeira wine, vinegar, warm water, brandy,lemon uke, rosewater, lemonbrandy, atsup, sweet oil)

Other ingredients eg., made mustard, weetemptings, eastliquid ingredients e.g., coldwater, brandy)Other ingredients e.g.,yeast,mustard)Liquid ingredients e.g.,muscat, sherry ine)

Dry ingredients e.g., grated brown bread)Other ingredients e.g., sweet potatoes to be baked, peeled and

finely ut up apples to be baked, shrimp obe boiled)Other ingredients e.g., peeled tomatoes)

Other ingredients e.g., anchovies)



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Table II.Materials Used inCooking and Baking

Utensils Vessels Miscellaneous items

SpoonLarge spoonDessert spoonIron spoonSilver spoon

Wooden spoonCleaverForkSilver forkVery sharp knife

Sharp penknifeSmall, sharp-pointed nifeSawFish-knifeBroad-bladed knifeSmall knifeKnifeMortar and pestle

JarStone jarEarthen jarQueensware jarHigh, small-necked arLarge jarPewter plateSmall tumblerlea cupRound-bottom tea cupSmall round-bottom tea cupCoarse tea cup of common sizeEarthen dish/panWine glassLarge glassSmall cupCupChina cupDeep china dishEarthen cupsPitchersTin plateTumbler

NeedleSharp scissors

Large needleHot pokerPin

In many cases ingredients were measured simply by the "spoonful."These include ot only foods nd beveragesbut also other household commodities. For example, plaster of Paris (to mend glass and china), wasmeasured by the "spoonful," swere ashes stirred n ider (to prevent nausea). Variations on these include measurements by the "large heapingspoonful," "good spoonful," and "moderate spoonful."

In the nineteenth-century cookbooks examined here, two additional

sizes of spoons were used: salt spoons and dessert spoons. Butter was measured by the "large dessert-spoonful," salt and lard by the "small dessert

spoonful," flour by the "common sized desert-spoonful," and supercarbonateof soda by the "dessert spoonful (not heaped)."

Various sizes of cups and mugs were used to measure ingredients, al

though ups and tea cupswere usedmost frequently see Ikble I).Glassesand tumblers ere used primarily omeasure liquid ingredients, ut alsofor dry ingredients. Variations in size were noted in liquid measurements

made by the "small wine-glass," "large glass," and "small glass.""Gills" were the unit of measure for both liquid and dry ingredients.

It seems likely hat liquidmeasurements alling for a pint, half-pint, ndquart would have beenmade by using bottles f those izes (seediscussionbelow).



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What Cookbooks Reveal AboutMaterial Culture 139

Plates, soup plates, and pots alsowere used to denote quantities offoodstuffs, sually foods thatwould be combinedwith others in a recipe,such as a "plateful" f shrimp hatwas to be boiled (seeUtble I).

Although not evident in the archaeological record, several measurements were taken, iterally, rom the hand of the cook. Ingredients uchas flour, erbs, mall fruits nd berries, ugar,hops, and bread crumbs ere

measured by the "handful," "large handful," "small handful," and "half ahandful." b make a fricandeau f veal, one was to "take a piece of a filletof veal about the thickness f twofingers" Rutledge, 1979, . 72). lb makebeef steakpie, onewas to "cut the beef in thin pieces, the size of the palmof your hand" (Rutledge, 1979,p. 74). Sometimes ooks were told to useingredients that were "blood warm." In one example, they were told to

make cornmuffins ith "bloodwarm water" (Rutledge, 1979,p. 25).Another category f measurements vident in the nineteenth-century

cookbooks involves sizes "known by heart." The recipes assume the cook's

knowledge of various items of food or material culture and uses those itemsas measurements. hus, we find that suet dumplings to be cookedwith

meat were to be "made into small round balls, very little larger than ahen's egg" (Bryan, 1991,p. 254). lb make a sauce for plum pudding, ne

was to use a piece of butter half as big as a hen's egg" (Child, 1833,p.65). Knowledge of the sizes of other bird eggswas assumed as well, including geese, pigeons, partridges, nd robins.

Various foods were to be made the size of a "nutmeg": coconut macaroons (Bryan, 1991,p. 289), almond cones (Bryan, 1991,p. 290), ratafiabiscuits Rutledge, 1979,p. 205), forcemeat alls (Rutledge, 1979,p. 69),and coconut cakes (Child, 1833,p. 119).For pickling hrimps, ne was touse "alum and saltpetre ach about the sizeof a nutmeg" Rutledge, 1979,p. 216).

The sizes of other foodstuffs were used as units of measure as well,lb make a bread sauce, one was to use "a bit of butter the size of a walnut"

(Rutledge, 1979,p. 89).When making a dessert alled anApple Charlotte,one was to "strew over it bits of butter about the size of a hickory-nut"(Rutledge, 1979,p. 118).A remedy or dysentery nd "cholera-morbus"called for "cork burnt to charcoal, about as big as a hazel-nut" (Child,1833, . 25), and a recipe for n emetic tea to cure croup [a larynx onditioncausing a harsh cough] instructed one to "drop in a piece of alum, a size

larger than a pea, and the same quantity of castile soap" (Bryan, 1991, p.

430).Tb dressa

calf's head,one was to

"cuthalf the head into

mallpiecesabout the size of an oyster" Rutledge, 1979, . 69).lb make Indiandumplings, one was to "make it into dumplings the size of a large biscuit" (Bryan,1991,p. 254).



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The recipes lso assume that the cook had access to or knowledge f

various items f material culture, specially the sizes of those items, bmake apple butter rolls, the cookwas to "Roll itup into scroll,makingthe roll about as large in circumference as a large glass tumbler, and about

eight inches ong" Bryan, 1991,p. 255). lb make fried ruitpies, one wasto cut the paste incircular ieces, "as large s a common sizedpatty an"(Bryan, 1991,p. 267). lb make orangewafers, ne was to "roll them utas thin s tiffany" a transparent auze of silk r muslin] (Rutledge, 1979,p. 164).Corn biscuits were to be made "into cakes about the size of asaucer" (Rutledge, 1979,p. 23).The batter for plain pancakes and velvet

cakes [pancakes]was to be poured or ladledout on the pan or griddle inan amount "as large as a common desert plate" (Bryan, 1991, pp. 256,311).Coconut puffs ere to be made "into small cones?say about doublethe size of a thimble" (Rutledge, 1979,p. 212).

The sizesof various coinsalsowere assumed tobe known by the cook,primarily he silver ollar. Tbmake pumpkin hips, one was to "cut theslices into chips about the thickness f a dollar" (Rutledge, 1979,p. 205).lb make a hot chocolate drink, ne was to use "a piece of chocolate aboutas big as a dollar" (Child, 1833,p. 83). lb make fried alt pork and apples,onewas to "cut inslices, cross thewhole apple, about twice r three imesas thick s a new dollar" (Child, 1833,p. 60).

Other coin sizes were used as well. For little coconut cakes, one wasto "make it nto mallcakes, about the ize in circumference f a half dollar, though ome thicker" (Bryan, 1991,p. 289). lb make a fish howder,one was to use "potatoes sliced as thin s a four-pence" Child, 1833,p.59). lb make coffee clear, one was advised to use "a bit of fish-skin as bigas a ninepence," thrown nto the coffeewhile boiling Child, 1833,p. 83).

When making lye oap,one could tell that the yewas strong noughwhenitwould "bear up an egg, or a potato, so that you can see a piece of thesurface s big as a ninepence" Child, 1833,p. 23).

Equivalent weights f various foodstuffs ere used frequently. etticeBryan (1991, p. 274) noted that, for cake-baking, "[s]cales and weights,measures, baking-pans of different sizes and shapes, coarse and fine grater,sieves and mortars, are all indispensable

" In both the eighteenth- and the

nineteenth-century cookbooks, especially for baking cakes, equivalentweights are given, indicating the use of some kind of scale. For example,tomake little pongecakes,one was to "take theweight of sixeggs in loafsugar" and "the weight of four eggs in flour" (Bryan, 1991,p. 284); tomake Indian Pound Cake, one was to take "the weight of eight eggs insugar, nd the weight of six in cornmeal" (Rutledge, 1979,p. 195).



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What Cookbooks RevealAboutMaterial Culture 143

Take a legof veal, bone it, nd take off all the skin and fat, take likewise wodozen of

fowls,r chickens feet

washed clean, and choppedto

pieces; put all intoa large stoving-pot, ith three allonsof soft water, and let it tovegently, ill themeat is so tender, s to separate.You must keep your pot tight overed, nd aconstant fireduring the time f its stoving; n bout sevenor eight hours, try ourjelly in a cup, and when quite cold, if it is so stiff, ou cannot cut itwith a knife,take it ff, nd strain t through sieve, nd take ff ll the fat nd scum first itha spoon, and then with philtering aper. Provide China cups, and fill them withthe clear jelly; et them n a gravy-pan r a large tew-pan f boilingwater over astove; in thiswater boil your elly n the ups, till t is s thick s glue.After which,let them tand in the water till they re quite cold:Before you turn hem ut ofyour cups, run the edge of a knife round them, o loosen them; then turn themupon a piece of new flannel,which will draw out all the moisture gradually.

(McKibbin,1976,pp. 73-74)Pieces of these ry cakes"could then e broken ff nd usedwhen neededby combining ith boilingwater tomake a broth r a soupbase.The BrownPortable Soup used beef instead f veal, and followed hesameprocedure,except that ne could use "China,or well glazed earthen cups" to fillwiththe jelly McKibbin,1976,pp. 74-75).

"Pitchers" were used for a variety of food preparations: to boil variouskinds of custard inside an oven or pan of water; make egg cream; boilorange ice cream; make gooseberry preserves; cool almond ice; hold par

tridgemeat pieces and water for partridge ea; and hold tamarind aterandmint, sage, and balm teas [usedfor the sick].As mentioned above, "China cups" or a "deep china dish" was to be

used to bake and boil severalkinds of custard; China"was used to baketarts as well. One recipe called for using an "earthen pan" to bake beefand another used the same to mix coconut snowballs. An "earthen dish"was to be used for beating egg whites and drying each jelly. "Tin orearthen pans" were used for baking corn bread and meat pies.

Many recipes alled for sing plates, dishes, nd bowls for baking but

do not specify whether these are ceramic, rather than metal, vessels. Insome instances herecipes pecify hat tin plates"were tobe used tobakecoconut and almond sweet-hearts, to spread pumpkin paste on to dry hardin a warm oven, and to bake philpy ricebread]; a "pewter late" was to

be used to cover a bell-metal stew-pan to give pear compote a red color.However, given the examples just noted of ceramic tea cups, pitchers, anddishes used to bake and boil foods, it is not unlikely thatmany of the"unspecified" plates and dishes in these recipes also were ceramic. Ceramicvessels were commonly used in baking and other kinds of cooking, as notedin the household hint

givenby LydiaMaria Child

(1833,p. 11)for eason

ing the vessels: "Put new earthen ware into cold water, and let it heat

gradually, until it boils?then cool again. Brown earthen ware, in particular,may be toughened in this way. A handful of rye, or wheat, bran, thrown



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144 Scott

inwhile it is boiling,will preserve the glazing, o that itwill not be de

stroyed y acid or salt."Other uses of ceramic vessels in food and beverage preparation werenoted. Raspberries were to be mashed in a "glazed or earthen pan." A"China or earthen vessel" was to be used to make quince cordial. Mushrooms were to ferment in a "stone or earthen vessel." An "earthen vessel"

was to be used to get yellow coloring from he saffron.Glass vessels, like ceramic ones, were used not only in measuring

ingredients, ut also in food preparation see Ikble II). "Wine-glasses"were used to cut out orange wafers. "Tumblers" were used to cut out

little cider cakes; Scotch cake dough; and tea, soda, souffle, nd Yorkbiscuits. A "small tumbler" was used to cut out suet paste and a "wineglass or tumbler" was used to cut out suet dumplings. A "large glass"was used to put boiling water and a portable soup square into, to makea broth.

Other items of material culture usually not considered by archaeolo

gists to be related to foods and beverages do, in fact, how up in thesecookbooks. "Needles" were used to pierce walnuts, tomatoes, black wal

nuts, and peaches, often before soaking them in brandy or vinegar; a"large needle" was used to pierce cherries. "Pins" were used to pierce

walnuts to see if theywere ripe enough for pickling, to pin muslin orpaper on a sieve to be used for straining, nd to pin white paper over apiece of roast beef so that it did not get too brown. "Sharp scissors" wereused to cut up raisins. A "hot poker" was used to heat rum and molasses-sweetened beer, to be put into pancake batter. Less visible archae

ologically would be the "broomstraw" and "sharp straw" used to pierceboiled citron and peaches to see if theywere done and the piece of"thread" used to disengage johnny ake and corn crisps rom the boardon which they ere baking.

These cookbooks contain numerous instructions for butchering various animals and preparing particular cuts of meat with knives, cleavers,and saws.Lettice Bryan's The Kentucky ousewife (1991)gives perhapsthe most numerous instructions for cutting out certain bones and sawingand chopping particular meat cuts. An interesting aspect of Bryan's(1991,pp. 28, 33, 79) book is the frequent instruction ocut or saw partially through the bones in a portion, always from the underside, so thatthe meat could be carved more easily at the table. One is tempted toconsider who was doing the carving at the table, and who did all the"work" of carving ahead of time back in the kitchen. Of course, women

aswell asmen may have been carving t the table, something uggestedby Lydia Maria Child's (1833,pp. 122-123) inclusion f carving nstructions in her book.



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What Cookbooks RevealAboutMaterial Culture 145

SERVING ESSELSANDUTENSILS: & ITTLEGRAVYINTHEDISH ANDONIONSNATEACUP"

This category rovided the fewest urprises bout the functions f particular vessels and utensils. Glass and ceramic dishes and bowls were usedto servemany kinds of trifles, ruit sauces, ellies (as in the dessert), andvegetables cooked and raw).Custard cups and glasseswere used to servecustards and creams. Tfea and coffee pots, soup and sauce tureens, and chaf

ingdishes all were used in expectedways.Distinctionswere made as tosize (large, mall,deep), function bowl,dessert dish, covered dish, plate,salad plate, vegetable dish, celery glasses), and material of manufacture(glass, "china").

However, there were some uses that were unexpected. "Cups" wereused to serve gravy, jelly, melted butter, mustard, and fine cream. "Tfea

cups" were used to serve raw onions and mustard. "Glasses," in additionto servingmany kinds of cream, custard, ce cream, syllabub, unch, and

mulled cider/wine, lsowere used to serve alf sand pig's feet ellies.Butterwas served on a "sallad dish." One was to use a "plate" to serve firm butter,raw salad (lettuce, tongue-grass, cress, etc.), plain pancakes, pastry shells,little

sponge cakes,leather hoe

cakes,Indian

muffins, waffles, toasts,bread

and butter, nd stewed crabs.A "large plate" was used to serve dandycakes and matrimonial cakes. Frozen orange punch and custards were tobe served with accompanying "tea-spoons"; a "tea-spoon or butter knife"was to accompany cold sweet sauce at the table.

RETHINKING CONSUMERCHOICE

Since the publication f George Miller's (1980,1991)exhaustive tudies detailing nineteenth-century rices for ceramics by vessel form nddecoration, it has become common for historical rchaeologists to relyheavily on mean ceramic indices when interpreting consumer behavior andthe economic status f particular ouseholds.Although the evidence romthese cookbooks most clearly addresses the function of vessels, it also suggests someways inwhich the index alues for n assemblagemight be affected. hile it scertainly rue hat hetea cups a cookused formeasuringor baking foods might have been of the older, out-of-fashion styles, howare we to know that from an archaeological context? How might we know

which teacups

arereally

the index of economic status for a household

(i.e., what the occupants could afford or chose to purchase) and which werethe ones kept around for se in the kitchen? nd what if ome folks sed

what archaeologists might call the "good" tea cups for both serving and



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146 Scott

food preparation? Could it be that hoiceswere influenced y the need

for a particular essel form rather hanby decoration and price, or thatpeople would buy for function n some purchases and for style nd pricein others?

RETHINKINGENDERASSOCIATIONSNDMATERIALCULTURE

The data in these cookbooks also caU intoquestion

someinterpretations of gender associations for particular groups of material culture. As

indicated n the earlier discussion f the cookbooks, they ere written foran audience of women and itwas understood that women would be carryingout the directions given. One artifact category, hand-held saws, is one that

archaeologists, ncluding yself, sually ttribute omen's activities (Scott,1994).In functional nalyses, uchuses clearly eed to be reevaluated ithan eye toward ifferent inds of saws: those used for butchering ersusthoseused for utting ood or metal. Are there ny differences e mightdiscern rchaeologically? ere hand-held awsgeneralmultipurpose tools

aswell? If the latter s true, henperhaps our gender association for aws(and other "tools") needs to be more flexible.

Some of the more thought-provoking studies on gender in historical

archaeology have been those byAnne Yentsch (1987, 1991a-c).Using astructuralist approach, she argues for the presence in the seventeenth and

eighteenth enturies f men's (publicand private) and women's (private)domains, symbolized npart by the kinds and colors of ceramics used ineach domain. Arguing that women, who were subordinate in status to men,prepared foods and beverages using earth-toned ceramic vessels and that

food and beverage serving nd consumption essels,used in entertainingguests inmen's public domain, were white-toned, she sets up a women =earth tones and men = white tones dualism.

The cookbooks, however, call both distinctions (preparation ves

sels/consumption vessels and women's vessels/men's vessels) into question. Women were using some of these white-toned "consumption"ceramics in food preparation, in the kitchen. China cups and dishes wereused not only to serve desserts and beverages, but also to bake puddingsand tomake glue-like portable soup. Tfea upswere used not only fordrinking tea, but constantly for measuring, and also in cooking, as well

as for rendering rennet. And wine glasses were used, in addition to drinkingwine or other spirits, ormeasuring ingredients nd cutting ut suet

dumplings.



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What CookbooksReveal About Material Culture 147

This is not to say that here ere not, lso, setsof fancier, hite-toned

dishes owned by themale head of household and used for public entertaining n that household.But how are we to know this archaeologically?

As discussed earlier, it could be the older, out-of-fashion "consumption"vessels thatwere used in food preparation, ut it lso could be that eopleused the "good china" in preparation activities as well. Perhaps itwas common for a youngwoman to accumulate a set of cooking equipment thatincluded odd tea cups, "china" dishes, wine glasses, various sizes of spoons,and so forth, obring to her new household at marriage, lthough havenot seen reference to this in historical documents.

Itmight well be that themovement between thesedomainsor

sets ofvessels went only one way; that is,white-toned consumption vessels wereused in thekitchen nfoodpreparation, ut earth-toned reparation esselsusually were not used in serving and consuming foods and beverages. How

ever, the fact that there was movement in even one direction suggests thatceramics found rchaeologically ay not signify heclear-cut gendered divisionswithin household that ome propose.

A final aspect brought nto uestion by the cookbooks is that f thetea party or ceremony. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth

centuries, these middle- and upper-class social gatherings, although con

ducted by women, included men as well as women and guests as well as

family. y the midnineteenth entury, owever, tea parties had becomesocialevents conducted y and forwomen (Wall, 1994,pp. 122-125).Since

we have seen ample evidence in the cookbooks of tea cups used in meas

uring, baking, and cooking foods, however, it would be difficult to inter

pret tea cup fragments found archaeologically, even if sets are represented,as evidence of such public tea-drinking. This is not to say that tea cere

monies did not occur; we know from documentation that they did. Nordoes itmean that sets of tea cups do not suggest uch activity, hown

convincingly yWall (1991,1994)and Burley (1989)for certain ocioeconomic and ethnic groups.The question, again, ishow to knowwhich teacupsmight represent household's set for ntertaining, hich they sedfor themselves, nd which was used in the kitchen for cooking; and itcould well be that the same set of tea disheswas used in all three or

more) ways.Archaeological interpretations about consumer choice and public tea

parties are more difficult for households of poorer economic means. For

example, in light of the use of secondhand or used ceramics in workingclass and poor households, ceramic price indices and tea ceremony considerations seem to have questionable application at best. Yet one wondersif the leisure time nd wealth of themiddle and upper classeswere trulyprerequisites for public tea-drinking; Were women in working class and



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What CookbooksReveal AboutMaterial Culture 149

STORAGEESSELS:"TOKEEPGREENPEASETILLCHRISTMAS_HAVE YOUR BOTTLESREADY"

The cookbooks examined here detail the preservation nd storage fvarious foods and beverages in ceramic and glass jars, glass bottles, and

kegs and casks (Tkble III). This use of various kinds of bottles nd jars,however, calls into question some of the accepted wisdom in historical ar

chaeology.Historical archaeologists sually identify ottles nd bottle glass by the

style nd the country nd date of manufacture, s well as by the liquidthey were manufactured to contain. However, we need not assume thatthe beverages initially intended for these bottles, i.e., wine, rum, gin,brandy, beer, etc., were actually in them at the time they were used anddiscarded. Olive Jones and Ann Smith (198S,p. 13) note that English"wine" bottles "were probably multipurpose containers used to contain anyof the alcoholic or nonalcoholicbeverages as well as other items uch asvinegar, inseedoil, or any substance old in quantities over a pint andunder a gallon." Bottles held, as did ceramic, metal, and woven containers,many kinds of commercial oodstuffs nd beverages Jones, 1993).The bot

tleswere reusable nd "were ften oldor returned or refunds r refilling"(Jones and Smith, 1985, p. 14; Busch, 1987, pp. 67-68). The cookbooksreveal that bottles alsowere reusedwithin the household in a variety f

ways.

LydiaMaria Child was themost explicit f the cookbook authors inher instructions bout the saving nd reuseof vialsand bottles. he advisedthe reader to "save vials and bottles. Apothecaries and grocers will givesomething or them. f the bottles re of good thick lass, they ill alwaysbe useful for bottling ider or beer; but if they re thin rench glass, like

claret bottles, theywill not answer" (1833,p. 14).As for their reuse, sheinstructs hehousekeeper to "alwayswash and scaldyourbottle clean afterithas contained our yeast" (1833, p. 80) and that bottles that have beenused for rose-water, hould be used for nothing lse" (1833,p. 14).Shealso noted that ials that ad heldmedicine "shouldbe put into old ashesand water, boiled, and suffered ocool before they re rinsed" (1833,p.17).

The other cookbook authors recommend the reuse of bottles as well,referring to the use of "junk bottles perfectly clean and dry," "dry bottlesand

corks,""small bottles washed clean, and dried," and

"pintbottles that

are clean and dry" to hold various fruits, spices, and liquids. The recipesfrequently pecify hich kinds of bottles to use for particular ontents ndwhat kind of covering hey ere to have (cork, ork tieddownwith leather



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150 Scott

or bladder, cork and the necks dipped inmelted rosin, r white paperdipped inbrandy).The usualmethod of preserving egetables r fruit hole (and sometimesdry) was to put them nto the bottles, ork or otherwise top themup, and then ut the bottles nto kettle fwater, with the water reachingup the necks but not to the corks,wherein they ere boiled for certainamount of time. n someof the recipes, the boiling occurred before thecorks were inserted.

Additional uses of bottles were noted. In a "common sized bottle" onewas to keep on hand a mixture of brandy or New England rum with herbs

and spices, as a remedy for digestive ailments. One could always make "asort f cold custard" n short notice "providedyou keep a piece of calf'srennet ready prepared soaking in a bottle of wine" (Child, 1833,p. 62).

Such items as plums, raspberries, currants, and pickled barberries werestored in "glasses." In "glass vessels, well corked" were kept those portablesoup squares, until they were needed to make broth or soup. Lydia MariaChild noted that glass ismuch better than arthen for reserves; they renot half as apt to ferment" (1833,p. 81), but "suet and lard keep betterin tin than in earthen" (1833,p. 15).

Vials were used to hold various homemade medicines, foodcolorings,and cologne waters. Barrels, kegs, and casks were used to make and store

a wide array of homemade wines, beers, and other spiritous beverages.

MISCELLANEOUSRECIPES ANDMATERIAL CULTURE

These cookbooks usually include section with recipes formedicinalremedies, hair care, dyestuffs, insecticides, and other household commodi

ties, in addition to the recipes for foods and beverages. I give exampleshere of those that mention items of material culture, most of which arerecovered by archaeologists.

A "large shallow plate" was used to make thin sheets of wax frommelted beeswax, to be used in making molded candles and wax flowers

(Bryan, 1991, pp. 444-445). A "large deep plate" was used to hold a mixture of poke-root, water, and molasses, which was to be set around thekitchen, pantry, etc., to kill cockroaches (Child, 1833, p. 19). lb get rid ofred ants, one was to place a dish of cracked shagbarks [probably referringeither to the bark or the nuts of the shagbark ickory ree] in the closet;

when the ants climbed onto it, one was to brush the contents into the fire;then ut "corrosive ublimate" n cup and with a feather rush it n allthe cracks from hich the ants had come; "bottleswhich have contained



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What Cookbooks Reveal AboutMaterial Culture 151

[corrosive ublimate] houldbe broken, nd buried; and the cup shouldbeboiled out in ashes and water" (Child, 1833,p. 21).

Recipes are includedfor cement to repair broken glass and uchina."One calls for n eggwhite and unslaked lime tomake a paste; another "abit of Russian gum isinglass, oiled in spirits f white rum" (Bryan, 1991,p. 441); and another alls for isinglass issolved in gin, or boiled in spiritsof wine" (Child, 1833,p. 19).The latter recipewas said tomend broken"glass, china, and sea-shells."

Recipes for good care of the hair also involve uses of alcoholic bev

erages other than archaeologists commonly assume, as well as some indi

cation of use of combs and brushes: "Tbo frequent se of an ivory ombinjures the hair. Thorough combing, washing in suds, or N.E. rum, and

thorough rushing, ill keep it inorder; and thewashing does not injurethe hair, as isgenerally upposed" (Child, 1833,p. 88).Child noted else

where that NewEngland rum, onstantly sed towash the hair, keeps itvery clean, and free from disease, and promotes its growth a great dealmore thanMacassar oil. Brandy isvery trengthening o the roots of thehair; but it has a hot, drying endency, hich N.E. rum has not" (1833,p.12).

LetticeBryan

recommended that, whencleaning

knives and forks, oneshould wash them clean in hot water and wipe them dry with a cloth,"avoidingwetting hehandles, r after sing them while, they ill becomeloose, and many times come off;" one was then to "rub them bright withrotten stone," or "with soft brick, that has been pounded and passedthrough sieve" (1991,p. 442).Another use for soft brick, hathas beenpounded and passed through sieve"was tomix itwith sourmilk and useit as "a very neat and inexpensive way to clean brick hearths" (Bryan, 1991,pp. 443-444).

Several items were used in making dyestuffs, including some "non

natural" materials. LydiaMaria Child suggested that "the purple paper,which comes on loaf sugar, oiled in cider, r vinegar,with a smallbit ofalum, makes a fine purple slate color" (1833, p. 39) and that "rusty nails,or any rusty iron, boiled in vinegar, with a small bit of copperas, makes a

good black [dye]" 1833,p. 40).Another use for "pin" isfound n household hint from hild, about

how to tellwhether a goose at market is tender. ne was to "pass thehead of a pin along the breast, or sides, and if the goose be young, theskinwill rip, ike ine paper under a knife" 1833,p. 53).A sign that ork

was notgood

was thepresence

of "littlekernels,

likenail-shot,

in the fat"

(1833,p. 122).Child also noted that "flowersmay be preserved resh intumblers or vases by putting a handful of salt in the water, to increase itscoldness" (1833, p. 115). Finally, she advised her readers to "keep a bag



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152 Scott

or box for old buttons, so that you may know where to go when you want

one" (1833,p. 19).

RETHINKING ALCOHOLCONSUMPTION

As the preceding discussion reveals, the data from these cookbooksalso have implications for archaeological interpretations of bottle glassfound on sites. How can we know whether the bottles represented at a siteresulted from alcohol consumption; from stored foods, beverages, spices,

ormedicines (either omemadeor commercial); r from storing corrosivesublimate" nd being intentionally roken and buried? Even if the bottlescontained alcohol, these cookbooks indicate that the uses of alcohol arebroader than archaeologists usually allow. Rum and brandy clearly not onlywere consumed as spiritous liquors, but also were used in cooking and inmedicinal remedies, and "constantly used to wash the hair" (Child, 1833,p. 12).One wonders whether those liquorbottles so often found in privydeposits really represent urreptitious rinking r if theymight be just onemore category of household refuse.

IMPLICATIONSOF THE COOKBOOK DATA

Very fewdistinctions ere noted between the eighteenth-century ndthe nineteenth-century books regarding functional uses of items of materialculture. larger amplemight allowdetection f finer istinctions, ut themultiple uses of these items s as prevalent nRutledge's 1847cookbookas it is inCarter's book of 1772. It is likely hat thismultiple use of itemsdiminished during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. A cursory

examination f later ookbooks e.g.,Farmer, 1896;Wallace, 1918)suggestsa shift toward more standardized cooking equipment. Perhaps, then, functional categories for late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century archae

ological assemblages, especially ceramics and glassware, would not need tobe modified to the same degree as those for earlier assemblages. However,it lso seems that reassessment f functional ypologies ngeneral iscalledfor by the evidence from these cookbooks.

The cookbooks clearly illustrate that archaeologists' functional categories must be made more flexible to allow for multipurpose artifacts. Thequestion is how to do this. Do we double- or triple-count artifacts thatcould have been used for more than one function, e.g., counting tea cupsas preparation, serving, and consumption vessels? How do we treat artifactsthat cross even the broader category boundaries, e.g., iron nails, which



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What CookbooksReveal AboutMaterial Culture 153

could have been used tomake black dye aswell as in some sort f architectural unction; r pins, needles, and scissors sed in food preparationaswell as sewing; r largeplates used in food-related ctivities swell asto hold insecticide?

Furthermore, ince functional ypologieshave been called into uestion for Anglo-American households,we should be even more cautious

when assigning function oartifacts rom householdsof other ethnic ndracialgroups. It isclear that stablishedmethodologies, nterpretations fvessel use, status studies, and analyses of gendered labor roles all need

thoughtful, critical reconsideration.2

SERENDIPITYNDARCHAEOLOGY

Iwould like to be able to say that his investigation eganwith a formof cultural arxism, seeking nterpretation f thepast through he rtifactsof daily life nd labor, reflecting s they o an underlying deology nd allsorts of economic and social forces at work. However, that is not the case.

Nor can Isay

that thisstudy began

as anattempt

to make women morevisibleor to apply feminist pproaches to archaeology.

Iwent to these ookbooksoriginally ith zooarchaeological uestionsinmind, hoping to ascertain the economic ranking of various meat cuts in

eighteenth-century ritish colonialNorth America. I just happened uponthematerial culture nformation hile reading recipes nAmelia Simmons'and SusannahCarter's books. Later, when I acquired the books by LetticeBryan, Lydia Child, Harriott Horry, and Sarah Rutledge, I continued thisanalysis with material culture and zooarchaeological questions in mind.

While far frombeing

a"representative" sample

or an exhaustivesurvey,the information n these ookbooksalmost begged to be heard by archae

ologists.I do not want merely to sound another cautionary note about archae

ologists' imposition of functional, economic, or gender categories onto artifacts of past societies. In spite of the rather serendipitous way it was

discovered, the evidence from these cookbooks strongly suggests that wehave to reconsider our interpretive strategies in light of information fromthe people who used the material culture we recover, lb disregard suchevidence, even if it complicates an already convoluted methodology, would

2A lively, ngaged debate about the issues raised here would be most productive. erhapsreaders with ideas, comments, riticisms, nd suggestions ould utilize the "Views and

Commentary" section of this journal to conduct a dialogue on the topic.



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154 Scott

be to claim a twentieth-century "scientific" privilege and arrogance that

has little asis in the past as itwas lived.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Portions f this articlewere presented in a paper entitled "ALittleGravy in theDish andOnions in a TfeaCup: Cookbooks, Subsistence, ndMaterial Culture," at the 1995Society forHistorical Archaeology conference inWashington, DC. Iwant to thank Janet D. Spector, Donald P. Held

man, Paul Mullins, and Charles E. Orser, Jr., for insightful comments andencouragement on earlier versions of this paper. Any omissions, errors, or

lapses in logic re, of course,my own responsibility.

REFERENCESCITED

Beaudry, M. C, Long, J., Miller, H. M., Neiman, E D., and Stone, G. W. (1988). A vessel

typology orearlyChesapeake ceramics: he Potomac Typological ystem. n Beaudry,M. C.

(ed.),Documentary rchaeologyn the New

World, Cambridge University ress,Cambridge, pp. 51-67.Bryan, L. (1991).The Kentucky ousewife, Facsimile of the 1839ed., University f South

Carolina Press, Columbia.

Burley, D. V (1989).Function, meaning, and context: ambiguities n ceramic use by thehivernant etis of the northwestern lains.HistoricalArchaeology 3(1): 97-106.

Busch, J. (1987).Second time round:A lookat bottle reuse.HistoricalArchaeology 1(1):67-80.

Child, L. M. (1833).The American Frugal Housewife, Carter, Hendee, Boston, reprint yApplewood Books, Bedford,MA.

Farmer, F. M. (1896).The Boston Cooking-School ook Book, Plume edition (1988),NewAmerican Library, New York.

Hooker, R. J.(ed.) (1984).

A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: TheReceipt

Bookof

HarriottPinckney orry, 1770,University f South Carolina Press, Columbia.

Jones, . R. (1993).Commercial foods, 1740-1820. istorical Archaeology 7(2): 25-41.Jones, . R., and Smith, . A. (1985).Glass of the ritish Military, a. 1755-1820.Studies in

Archaeology, Architecture, and History, Parks Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.McKibbin, J. ed.) (1976).TheFrugalColonialHousewife, y Carter, S. (1772),Dolphin Books,

Garden City, NY.Miller, G. L. (1980). Classification and economic scaling of 19th-century ceramics. Historical

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Miller, G. L. (1991).A revised et of CC index alues for lassification nd economic scalingof English ceramics from 1787 to 1880. istoricalArchaeology 5(1): 1-25.

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Ross, A. (1993). Health and diet in 19th-century America: A food historian's point of view.HistoricalArchaeology 7(2): 42-56.Rutledge, S. (1979).The Carolina Housewife, Facsimile of 1847 ed., University of South

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Scott, . M. (1994).Looking at gender and more: Feminist archaeology nd a 19th-centurymillwright's ouse. Paper presented t theConference f the Society forHistorical andUnderwater Archaeology, \bncouvcr, ritish olumbia.

Seifert, . J. 1994).Mrs. Starr's rofession. n Scott, . M. (ed), ThoseofLittle ote: Gender,Race, and Class inHistorical Archaeology,University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp.149-173.

Simmons, . (1984).TheFust American Cookbook, a facsimile f American Cookery 1796),Dover, New York.

South, S. (1977).Method and Theory nHistoricalArchaeology, cademic Press, New York.Wail, D. diZ. (1991).Sacred dinners nd secular teas:Constructing omesticity nmid-19th

century ew York.Historical Archaeology 5(4): 69-41.Wall, D. diZ. (1994).TheArchaeology f Gender, Plenum,New York.Wallace, L. H. (1918). The Rumford Complete Cook Book, Rumford Chemical Works,

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A Little Gravy in the Dish and Onions in a Teacup (Elizabeth Scott)25sep

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