The introductory texts reproduced here were written by the original Feeding America team to contextualize the books that were selected for inclusion as part of the 2001 digitization project.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Containing Contributions from Two Hundred and Fifty Ladies in Virginia and her Sister States, Distinguished for Their Skill in the Culinary Art, and Other Branches of Domestic Economy.
By Marion Fontaine Cabell Tyree
Richmond, VA: J.W. Randolph & English, 1878.
Virginia has been blessed not only with great cooks, but with great cookbooks. We have already discussed the earlier masterpiece by Mrs. Randolph (See The Virginia Housewife 1838). Here we address one of the post Civil War Virginia classics. Compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree, granddaughter of Patrick Henry, this volume contains more than 1700 "favorite recipes from 250 famous families of Virginia." Mrs. Tyree collected recipes from her lady friends and acquaintances, listing the names and locales of each contributor. There are a few men among the contributors as well as at least one recipe from a servant, which is written in Black dialect.
What recipes there are! The Bread chapter reads like a Southern litany: Batter Breads, Beaten Biscuits, Cracklin-bread, Grit or Hominy Bread, Old Virginia Loaf Bread, and St. Nicholas Pone. There is Okra, Gumbo, Catfish, Virginia Mode of Curing Ham, Jowl and Turnip Salad, Barbecue Shoat, Fried Chicken, Brunswick Stews, Black-eye Peas, Confederate Sponge Cake, and Ambrosia.
This book went through a number of printings and was very popular. It is still considered a Virginia classic. I have always wondered if this book had been written to raise funds for a charitable cause and thus could be considered a Charity, but there is no internal evidence to that effect.
