"Sweet potato pie, 17th century style" Topic

"Elizabeth Grey was one of Queen Elizabeth's attendants before her marriage, and one of Queen Anne of Denmark's favorites after. She was also a good friend of the indomitable Lady Anne Clifford. As an aristocrat at the courts of two queens, Elizabeth Grey didn't really do a lot of hands-on cooking herself. She was, however, an avid collector of recipes both medicinal and culinary. After her death in 1651, her collection of medical recipes was published and was so popular it went through 22 editions. Piggybacking off the countess' posthumous success as a home pharmacologist, publisher W.J. Gent had a runaway success with her collection of cooking recipes. It was a huge best-seller as well, going through 21 editions in 55 years.

She didn't actually write any of these books, as she was dead at the time, and there's a solid chance the cookbook's recipes weren't so much collected by her as written by her chef, Robert May, or made up by Gent himself. Attribution to Elizabeth Grey mattered far more as a promotional tool than on any factual basis. Increasing literacy and average incomes created a burgeoning market among consumers with a little money in their pockets hoping to get their piece of the lifestyles of the rich and famous…"

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Armand

Interesting, thanks Tango

A votre service mon cher ami…

Armand