Recipe Books

One of the highlights of the Thackray Museum of Medicine’s archive is a collection of unusual yet fascinating recipe books, compiled by individuals from the 17th century onwards. Long before the introduction of formal methods of accessing medicine and healthcare, many people between the 17th-19th centuries relied on home remedies, as they could not afford to see the doctor. The books contain contain lists of formulae used to make food, drink, medicines and remedies, and in some cases are connected to historical events – one book contains advice on discovering whether animals have Cattle Plague, which at the time the book was compiled, was a major disease affecting the United Kingdom. 

The recipe books highlighted below were selected and researched by a group of MA students from the University of Leeds working in partnership with the museum, who added further context to the cataloguing, digitised pages from the books, and also made some of the recipes as part of their project, following the methods from the books and using the same ingredients.