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Page 12 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 5, 1986
19th century household tips
First Jewish cookbook amusing, historical
by Richard Bono
1 SI stall writer
When broiling or roasting meat
or poultry “skillful management
of the fire” is a chief concern.
Broiling in particular “requires a
steady clear fire, free from flame
and smoke. The gridiron should
be quite hot before the article is
placed on it. And the gridiron
should be held aslant to prevent
the fat from dripping into the
fire.”
Such are the cooking direc
tions of an English “Lady,” who,
in 1846, penned what is thought
to be the first Jewish cookbook
ever printed in English.
Never in the original volume
of "The Jewish Manual or Prac
tical Information in Jewish and
Modern Cookery with a Collec
tion of Valuable Recipes and
Hints Relating to the Toilette”
(London: T. & W. Boone, 1846)
is it revealed that the author is in
fact Lady Judith Montefiore, w ife
of Sir Moses Montefiore. The
Montefiores were a prominent
English couple in the world of
the 19th century. Orthodox and
keepers of a kosher home, they
were also known for their untir
ing efforts to help the poor and
needy throughout the globe. Her
identity is revealed in the for
ward to the reprinted edition.
The 250 recipes or “receipts”
as Lady Montefiore calls them,
are written in an elegant English,
the uses of words and phraseol
ogy typify the rich Victorian
splendor of mid-19th century
England.
"The Jewish Manual” is the
ultimate “how to” book for the
19th century Jewish English
woman. It is notable also for the
history it includes. While writers
of Jewish history acknowledge
the volumes of literature on Jews
of East European. German and
Russian descent, they also note
how little is known about the
Jews of England’s past.
In the preface, the Lady editor
begins, "Among the numerous
books on Culinary Science al
ready in circulation, there have
been none w hich afford the slight
est insight into the Cookery of
the Hebrew kitchen.
"Replete as many of these are
with information on various im
portant points, they are complete
ly valueless to the Jewish house
keeper, not only on account of
prohibited articles and combina-
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tions being assumed to be neces
sary ingredients of nearly every
dish, but from the entire absence
of all the receipts peculiar to Jew
ish people.
“This deficiency, which has
been so frequently the cause of
inconvenience and complaint, we
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“All difficult and expensive
modes of cookery have been pur
posely omitted, as more properly
belonging to the province of the
confectioner, and foreign to the
intention of this little work; the
object of which is to guide the
young Jewish housekeeper in the
luxury and economy of ‘The
Table,’ on which so much of the
pleasure of social intercourse
depends.”
“The Jewish Manual” has been
republished through the efforts
of Lila Gold, a New Yorker, who
discovered the cookbook quite
by happenstance during a visit to
the Jewish section of the New
York Public Library.
“I never set out to look for
anything like this,” Gold told
The Southern Israelite. “When I
read the first page of the book, 1
was struck by the English. The
language is exquisite. My reac
tion was ‘what kind of Jew could
have written such fine language
in 1846?’”
Gold decided to invest in re
publishing a facsimile of the
long-forgotton “Jewish Manual.”
“1 made a vow as a human and
a Jew that if 1 could prove this
book to be what 1 thought it was,
that I was going to bring this
back alive,” she said. “My life is
totally remote from publishing.
This is my gift.”
Gold crisscrosses the country
in an on-again, off-again promo
tional tour for “The Jewish Man
ual,” hoping to recoup the $40,000
she invested. “I’d like the book to
pa\ for itself. If it happens, it
happens.”
Lady Montefiore’s “Jewish
Manual” contains many recipes
that can be prepared by Jewish
cooks today. Thankfully, though,
some of the recipes have been
swept awav with time.
OX TAIL SOUP: Have two
well-cleaned tails and a neat's
foot, cut them in small joints and
soak them in water, put them in a
large stew-pan with a large piece
of clarified suet or fat, and let
them simmer for ten minutes,
then put in them between three
or four quarts of cold water,
four onions, a hunch of sweet
herbs, a carrot, a turnip, a head
of celery, and season with
whole pepper, allspice, two or
three cloves, and salt: let it
ad stew until the meat is tender
Continued next page.
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