Early vegetarian recipes - Anne O'Connell

The literature of vegetarian cookery starts with Thomas Tryon’s 1690 Wisdoms Dictates but then is virtual blank until the second half of the nineteenth century when vegetarianism became more widespread. This book offers a selection of recipes culled from manuals dating broadly from 1856 to 1908. The author does not explore the non-meat based recipes of some 18th-century books, nor the dietary suggestions of 18th-century physicians who were sometimes in favour of a less meat-based cuisine. Rather, she concentrates on the food-reformers of the late 19th century and the early 20th.I t is arranged in logical chapters covering Soups; Salads; Beans, Lentils and Rice; Cheese and Egg Dishes; Cutlets, Croquettes and Sausages; Moulds and Galantines; Pies and Pastries; Vegetable Dishes; Sauces; Bread; Sweets; Porridge, Gruel, etc.; and closing with menus for banquets and celebrations including Christmas Dinner. This book will be of interest to those curious about the history of vegetarianism. Those with longer memories will recall that vegetarian cooking, for instance after the Second World War, was surprisingly tasty and adventurous (they could work miracles with a nut cutlet). This book will give some hint as to how they achieved their ends.