Further evidence that Baker was using her recipe book in a practical manner is in the markings next to certain recipes if they had been tested and found successful, often marked with an 'X'. in the margins or just beneath the recipe. In an age before consumers could purchase the cookbooks of celebrity chefs, the common housewife was forced to rely on her own, and shared, experiences of recipe construction, in order to maintain a healthy and happy home – at least to a greater degree than would otherwise be the case. The manuscript was to be shared with those in close proximity to Baker, and perhaps to be passed on to a daughter or even a daughter-in-law at a later date, although Leong also makes the point that men were sometimes the inheritors of recipe books[6].

THE EARLY MODERN CONTEXT OF HEALTHCARE

Another reason behind collecting as many recipes as Baker has was likely to ensure that a solution to a variety of ailments could be found, which may otherwise have caused great harm, and possibly even have proven fatal.[7] Even if treated, there was a chance that a poorly crafted or incorrect cure for the ailment would cause even more harm. Often a trip to the doctor was impossible, and this may have been due to practical reasons or financial, due to the costs of a doctor’s aid. Baker provides an example of an actor knowledgeable enough to provide an alternate solution, both for her and for those she chooses to share her extensive knowledge with. It was often deemed that a doctor’s aid was unnecessary, as people felt their own, handcrafted cures were suitable. There was no guarantee of a doctor of sufficient quality to provide a cure, and often the patient wanted to avoid the potentially painful and invasive methods of physicians[8], and medicinal recipes provided a solution to this, and allowed the household to take care of its own health, rather than relying on external aid.

CONTRIBUTIONS

However, one of the first things we would notice in Baker’s work was that it was certainly not a solitary effort. As noted previously, it was often the case that a family recipe book would be shared with close friends and neighbours. Often it is found that there are contributors from outside the household, and this is evidence that the construction of recipe books were far more communal than the modern reader might expect. There is a collection of contributors from sources that were seemingly trusted to a significant extent, though the nature of these sources varies through Baker’s work. We would find a range from the Ladies and doctors, all the way to her familial connections – a subject that will be looked at more closely in this project. Unfortunately, there is very little information that we can provide on Baker’s sources, as our attempts to identify and examine even those we would expect to be most likely to have left a mark in the registers of history were difficult, if not impossible, to locate, due to a lack of information records such as a census during this period. Finding sufficient information on any of these actors that related to Baker or recipes in general was an action of even greater difficulty. Regardless, the inclusion of multiple credited contributors is useful to The Baker Project, as it begins to provide an answer for how exactly Baker was able to compile such a lengthy list of recipes.

EFFICACY

What is of greater significance to the research group, as a unit, was what it meant for Baker to have included her sources as part of her recipe book. Was she looking for greater credibility in using the name of the local elites? There is certainly some basis to this argument if we are to follow the idea that Baker intended to distribute the book more widely than her direct locality. However, it is more likely that the names were included as a sign of efficacy, as a statement that these recipes had been tried by the names credited, before being passed on to Baker. The names of important people certainly add a stamp of credibility to her work, although we should not assume that an elite is able to provide a higher quality recipe than that of a knowledgeable laywoman. However, if we assume that the recipe book was simply intended to be used amongst Baker’s family and friends, we would probably be forced to concede that the names assigned to individual recipes were likely more a sign of giving credit where credit was due, as Baker likely requested and collected recipes, as part of an exchange. The Baker Project must not be looked upon as an analysis of a single woman’s work. Although she may not have discovered or created all of the recipes herself, she collects them and conducts them into a single piece, which illustrates the extent of a woman’s connections in this period, and the presence of knowledge sharing.

WHAT IS A RECIPE?

A key mistake to make in examining Baker’s recipe book is defining the term ‘ recipe’ only in the modern sense of food preparation. It is clear from the manuscript that Baker’s Recipe book contains a wide variety of instructions and aid in the crafting of all manner of things that a household might require. People today generally use ‘recipe’ in terms of food preparation, and rarely in a different context. However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a ‘recipe’ can be defined as either ‘a set of instructions for preparing a dish’ – the common usage – or ‘something likely to lead to a particular outcome’. But the second definition may be open to interpretation, as a recipe could by defined simply as a step-by-step guide to a certain stated final product. We must remember that the language of 1675 used by the British people is not a mirror of the language that is used today – we must provide room for alternative interpretation. To Baker it seems that a recipe is anything that she could provide instructions for, and virtually all of the content of Baker’s Recipe Book fits the mold – a clear set of instructions that lead to the desired end product.

Through Margaret Baker’s Recipe Book, The Baker Project has opened a door to greater understanding of British society in the early modern period. Through her manuscript, we can understand what people ate, what sicknesses were common, and how they were treated; how religion and the supernatural were blurred in everyday belief; how animals were used and treated, and how they were perceived in society; and even what products were be crafted and used for beauty purposes. While the Baker Project provides only a single case study, it is useful for thinking about social history and domestic life in the early modern period, particularly in the household. The Baker Project has created this webpage to express the significance of analysing recipe books, and in doing so we have provided a greater understanding of early modern life.

Alex Boon