The Home Cook Book: Canada's First Community Cookbook (125th Anniversary Edition)

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“A badly-cooked dinner, the records of crime will show, has caused
nearly half the suicides of the nation, and matrimonial infelicities may
be traced to the same direct cause.”

The above passage is one of the first things a reader sees in this
book, which was originally published in 1877 as a fundraiser for
Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. By 19th-century standards, it
was a monster hit, with more than 100,000 copies selling in less than 10
years. In Chapter 1, “HOUSEKEEPING—Exact Science, Watchfulness,
Promptness, Home Feeling, Comfort, Clothing, Food, Servants,” the
broad duties of the 19th-century homemaker are laid out with military
clarity. Another chapter, “SOCIAL OBSERVANCES—Cards and Calling,
Afternoon Tea Service, Accept or Decline, Entering Room and afterward,
Escorting, etc.” is a guided tour through the deadly social minefield
of Victorian manners.

The majority of the book consists of recipes, many of them contributed
by members of the original hospital committee that published the book.
The recipes are listed by categories such as soups, meats, sweet
pickles, puddings, and desserts. Canadian nutritional tastes have
obviously evolved as much as the art of recipe writing since 1877. For
example, there are no fewer than nine different recipes for suet
pudding; the one by Mrs. J. Kent is typical: “One cup of suet, one cup
of sour milk, one-half spoon soda, one cup sugar, nutmeg and salt, and
flour to stiffen.”

Unfortunately, as a seasoned homemaker herself, Mrs. Kent naturally
assumes that the reader will know how to cook this concoction. If not,
the reader must make an educated guess from the other pudding recipes,
which are variously steamed, boiled, and baked. There are also some very
handy home-remedy chapters at the back of the book where one can learn
the latest Victorian cures for everything from a toothache to a
lightning strike.

This book is a fascinating (and sometimes unintentionally hilarious)
insight into 1877 Canadian middle-class values and tastes. An
introduction by culinary historian Elizabeth Driver precedes the
original text. Both history fans and cooking enthusiasts will find much
to enjoy in this engaging book.