tfajr wrote:
> Some years ago I joined this group when I had a project that was put
> on the back burner but now have a bit more vigor and am planning on
> finishing it this time. Yall answered quite a few questions. I
> inherited my great, great grandmothers receipt book and am intent on
> getting it published as a cookbook, along with my grandmother's
> receipt box (and a few from my mother's). GG grandmother lived on a
> large rice plantation in Low Country SC and as far as I can determine,
> they date from the 1840's to 1870's. My grandmother catered to
> Savannah society for over 50 years and have inherited her receipts
> also. What I am looking for is any advice on how best to approach this
> project. It is my idea to scan all the hand written receipts and
> annotate the scans with translations, then to organize them along
> traditions ways with receipts of the three generations side by side
> for comparison.
>
> Many of the older receipts of course are a bit obscure, and I was
> wondering if it would be necessary to create modern versions of them
> or do most people really just like to read cookbooks with very little
> actual cooking done from them? Converting them into modern terms would
> be a pretty large undertaking and would require skills much greater
> than that which I possess. If any have suggestions to point me in the
> right direction, I would be most grateful.
>
> And if any of yall are volunteers that I enlisted in the past--I
> apologize for not following through but would like to hear from you
> again. I lost my computer years ago and all my correspondence. From
> now on, I am going to rely on the best backup system the world has yet
> produced--paper.
> Tommy Armstrong
This sounds like a fun project. One idea you might want to pursue is a
parallel 'translation' - original recipe followed by the modern version
for those who cannot get the old ingredient list, or where one of these
ladies noted quantities for more people than the modern family cook
usually caters for. Both my Roman cookbook (translations from Apicius)
and my mediaeval cookbook (various sources) do this. You COULD do a
special section on feeding crowds for the recipes that start, 'Take 20
eggs... '.
One thing you might like to explore is collaboration with a cook who has
done this sort of thing before. Ring a few cookbook publishers
(publisher's details can be found in the books) and ask them if they
might be interested. They would also know where to find an interested
cook. It might be fun to make a 'coffee table' cook book that can
really be used. I have several like this, as well as more utilitarian
ones. Interspersing the recipes with historical notes on the life and
times of the various grannies and photographs where they are available
might provide you with more general interest and a wider audience.
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!