Cooking with Jane Austen

(Hardback)

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Description

Explores cooking in Jane Austen's England and provides more than 200 recipes One of the greatest writers of all time, Jane Austen drew upon her domestic culture to colour her works. Food is central to her novels, just as it was to everyday life in Austen's England. And just as her fiction continues to captivate modern audiences, her world of breakfasts and banquets captures the imagination of contemporary readers. Many of her fans will love to recreate the meals she describes in her novels, while school students will similarly gain greater appreciation for her works by learning about her food culture. Through more than 200 recipes, this book transports readers to Jane Austen's England and brings her world to contemporary kitchens. The book begins with some introductory chapters on cooking and eating in Austen's world. It then presents chapters on broad categories of food, such as beef and veal, seafood, pastries and sweets, and beverages. Each chapter includes extracts from Austen's works and from cookbooks of her period, accompanied by easy-to-follow modernized recipes. These include relatively common dishes and more exotic meals. The volume closes with some sample menus; glossaries of ingredients, sources, and special tools; and a bibliography of period cookbooks and modern studies.; First title in the Feasting with Fiction series; Overviews cooking and food culture in Jane Austen's England; Includes food-related quotations from Austen's works; Provides excerpts from period cookbooks; Includes easy-to-follow recipes for present-day readers.; Recipes range from the common and traditional to the exotic

Reviews

Altogether 23 menus are given, and great fun they are too for the many people who are interested in both Jane Austen and cookery [the book] can be enjoyable and instructive to dip into. * The Jane Austen Society News Letter *
[A]n enticing account of the entire gastronomic spectrum The book is a must For the recipes, each section is given a light historic note, then a personal angle from one of Austen's characters, then each recipe is prefaced by an irresistible quotation from a novel or letter. It is the choice of these excerpts which gives the book its charm, and makes it a sheer delight. * JASA Chronicle *
Cooking with Jane Austen.[s]hows how Austen drew upon her domestic experience to color her works. Readers of Austen know food is central to her novels: Cooking with Jane Austen packs in not only recipes for the dishes featured in her works, but discusses their background, appearance in her writings, and importance to her times. A compelling, unique coverage. * Midwest Book Review *
A must have for schools and libraries where Austen or the Regency period is part of the curriculum. * VOYA *
Anyone who believes the maxim you are what you eat might expect Austen's diet to have consisted only of tart foods, but this volume, which is full of recipes for roasted meats, puddings and pies, proves otherwise. The text begins with introductory chapters on cooking and eating in Austen's time, and then provides recipes referenced in Austen's novels or popular in her day. Each chapter and recipe includes extracts from Austen's works and from cookbooks of the period, accompanied by modernized recipes. * Reference & Research Book News *
[D]eals with the food culture of Austen's times and adapts recipes for such dishes as stewed cucumbers, pigeons in a ragout of crawfish, and the sinister-sounding liver and crow. * Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin *

Author Bio

KIRSTIN OLSEN is an independent author, who lives in California