Let’s Feast! Historical Cooking Challenge

In March the library staff took on the challenge of cooking from historical recipes (read about it here). Adapting historical measurements and ingredients proved to be great fun.

Now we throw that challenge out to you. Choose a recipe, make your feast, and let us know how it turns out! Send us your modern adaptations of Rare Recipes from our Cookbook Collection. Connect with others and share your feasts (or failures!) on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag: #roaarfeast

McGill’s Rare Books and Special Collections is home to around 3,000 cookbooks dating from the early 19^th through to the late 20^th century, and covers a range of culinary traditions. Try a boiled pudding from the 1880s, or a jiggling jewel from the gelatine era with Knox gelatine : desserts, salads, candies and frozen dishes, by Charles B. Knox Gelatine Co, 1933.

Here are some suggested recipes to get you started:

• Turkish Delight from The Art of Sweetmaking (1909)
• Levain de Patate from Recettes Ogilvie Pour la Cuisiniere Moderne (1909) 
• Un Bon Pain de Gruau à L’Écossaise – La Cuisinière Five Roses (1915)
• Orange Jelly in Baskets – Knox gelatine : desserts, salads, candies and frozen dishes (1933)
• For the truly courageous cook: Mock Turtle Soup – Cookery, by Amy Richards, 1895.
• A Canadian Classic: The female emigrant’s guide, and hints on Canadian housekeeping / by Mrs. C.P. Traill.(1854)

Historical Cookbook Resources

• Canadiana.org – Explore the full Libary and Archives Canada Cookery Collection
• McGill Library’s Cookbook Collection in the Internet Archive
• OCLC Cookbook Finder
• The Sifter – A new resource developed by Barbara Wheaton. An open-access, searchable database of European Language cookbooks and other historical food documents.