The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual
Public-domain ebook
The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual
English2,823 downloads on Project GutenbergDownload EPUB
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #28681.
About this book
The work is a comprehensive nineteenth‑century manual that blends practical cookery with a health‑oriented philosophy. Its opening pages announce a corrected edition of “The Cook’s Oracle; and Housekeeper’s Manual,” a volume that promises “receipts for cookery, and directions for carving” along with detailed instructions for broths, sauces, pastries, preserves and pickles. The preface makes clear that every recipe is measured by weight and volume, the result of experiments in William Kitchiner’s own kitchen and adapted for an American audience by a “medical gentleman.” The author frames cooking as an “analeptic part of the art of physic,” arguing that proper preparation of food is as vital to health as any medical treatment. The text therefore positions itself not merely as a collection of recipes but as a guide to wholesome, economical, and scientifically grounded kitchen practice.
The voice is earnest, didactic, and steeped in the language of early‑1820s England and America, with frequent references to medical authorities and moral imperatives. Its style combines lengthy, clause‑filled sentences with a catalogue‑like precision, reflecting the period’s penchant for exhaustive explanation. Readers who enjoy historic culinary literature, especially those interested in the intersection of diet, medicine, and domestic management, will find the book rewarding. It will also appeal to scholars of early nutrition theory and to cooks who appreciate a meticulously measured approach to classic recipes.
The opening · free to read
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of corrections is found at the end of the text. Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated words is found at the end of the text. Oe ligatures have been expanded.
Text surrounded with ~ was printed in Greek in the original book. Text surrounded with = was originally printed in a black-letter typeface.
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