‘The Art of Distillation’: Alchemy in Eighteenth-Century Recipe Books

By Katherine Allen Two aspects of eighteenth-century recipe books that interest me are the use of distillation in domestic medicine and the relationship between print and manuscript sources of medical and scientific knowledge. Rebecca Tallamy’s recipe book beautifully illustrates the union of both these aspects as she recorded her recipes in a 1691 edition of … Continue reading ‘The Art of Distillation’: Alchemy in Eighteenth-Century Recipe Books

To Preserve Quinces, White or Red?

By Rebecca Laroche Through a current collaboration with Thomas Ward (United States Naval Academy), I have found something of interest in early modern quince preserves.[i] Across the Wellcome Library Digitised Collection, examples of recipes “To preserve quinces” evenly divide between two (or three types), “To preserve quinces red” and “To preserve quinces white” (the third … Continue reading To Preserve Quinces, White or Red?