One Hundred Delightful Tastes of Tofu: How Doable Was an Early Modern Japanese Recipe?

By Sora (Skye) Osuka Tofu Hyakuchin (豆腐百珍, One Hundred Delightful Tastes of Tofu Recipes), originally published in 1782, is often considered the first cookbook that only focuses on one ingredient and the beginning of the Hyakuchin-mono (百珍物, One Hundred Recipes of Delightful Tastes) series. Harada Nobuo, Eric Rath, and other historians of Japan have argued … Continue reading One Hundred Delightful Tastes of Tofu: How Doable Was an Early Modern Japanese Recipe?

“Astonishable composed posset”: Comestible, Curative, and Poison

By Bethan Davies We might think of posset as an early ancestor of eggnog. Posset was made by pouring hot and spiced cream over eggs, sugar, and alcohol. The receipt book of Ann Fanshawe (1651-1707), well known for containing an early recipe for hot chocolate, contains many variant recipes for possets. One recipe for ‘sack … Continue reading “Astonishable composed posset”: Comestible, Curative, and Poison

Novel Liquids: Brandy, Shrub, and Early Modern “Cocktails”

Tyler Rainford Everyone has a favourite drink. Whether it’s a pint of pale ale, a smooth glass of merlot, or a certain cocktail for when we’re feeling fancy, we know what we like and what we’d rather avoid. We’re also very particular about how we drink it. Hold the ice. Shaken not stirred. Deviations from … Continue reading Novel Liquids: Brandy, Shrub, and Early Modern “Cocktails”

Liquids: Natural States Series Part I

Welcome to a special series on natural states of matter: liquids, solids, gasses, plasma. Over the course of this occasional series, we’ll be exploring recipes relating to all of these  substances, and how people have imagined, made, shaped, and used them in different times and different places. The first in the series is liquid, a … Continue reading Liquids: Natural States Series Part I