A Quaker Woman's Cookbook

Book excerpt: In this long-awaited paperback edition, food historian William Woys Weaver revises and expands the lengthy material that supplements a reprint of Elizabeth Ellicott Lea's 1845 cookbook Domestic Cookery. In his introduction, Weaver reveals new information on Lea, her Quaker world, and her cookbook. A glossary traces the origins and histories of the foods in Lea's book, placing them in cultural context. The cookbook is a quintessential example of rural American folk cookery of the nineteenth century, representing a mingling of southern Pennsylvania and Tidewater cuisine. Modern kitchen conversions are included.