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The Victorian Kitchen
Published alongside the BBC TV series of the same name, this book takes a look "below stairs" to find out what domestic life was really like in Victorian times. The book describes in detail the meals the kitchen staff had to prepare, and includes a section on preserving and a list of recipes.
190 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 21, 2014
A deeply lovable book that is the companion to the excellent BBC series of the same name. I have for a long time used the dvd of the series to write about historic food methods (it contains examples of 'tammying' for example, the long-winded process whereby two kitchen maids would sieve food through a cloth by rubbing with a wooden spoon!) Having transcribed that dvd episode by episode, it was great to pick up the book recently and re-visit Ruth Mott, the surly but kindly cook and her long-suffering delicate assistant, Alison.
I notice that this and a few other absolute gems of historic cookery were produced by the UK store Past Times. I for one lament their passing.
I notice that this and a few other absolute gems of historic cookery were produced by the UK store Past Times. I for one lament their passing.
January 16, 2017
A companion book to an 80s television series on the Victorian era isn't perhaps the most enticing book description, but this one is worth reading.
Strange to contemplate, but in the 80s there were still alive many women who had served as kitchen maids and scullery maids in the kitchens of great houses in the first quarter of the 20th Century, kitchens so old fashioned as to have little changed from the Victorian era.
This book combines their reminisces and observations with other more traditional historical sources to present a vivid and fascinating domestic history.
Strange to contemplate, but in the 80s there were still alive many women who had served as kitchen maids and scullery maids in the kitchens of great houses in the first quarter of the 20th Century, kitchens so old fashioned as to have little changed from the Victorian era.
This book combines their reminisces and observations with other more traditional historical sources to present a vivid and fascinating domestic history.
February 4, 2015
The BBC series of this name was excellent; so, unsurprisingly is this book. Copious b/w illustrations and colour photographs bring the text to life, and enable us today to get quite sentimental and misty-eyed about what must have at the time been very hard work. This is the story of a ‘Big House’ kitchen and its staff. How urban middle and working class families fed themselves is not covered.
It would be nice to see a follow-on volume now: “The Elizabethan (II) Kitchen”. I look at how the nineteenth century kitchenmaid made spun sugar (a decoration for desserts) & think how very much harder it must have been back in those days before sugar thermometers, when the boiling of sugar to the correct temperature was entirely dependent upon eye, feel, and experience. I realise how very dependent I’ve become on both my alcohol-in-glass and my electronic (resistance) thermometers!
What a period of innovation and invention that century saw, as gas began to replace coal for fuel. Cake tins which had a central metal cone to conduct heat and speed & even up cooking; the preservation of food in tin cans, and by freezing; the design of a marrow spoon; surely hot beef marrow has to be one of the most delicious parts of the animal.
This book presents a sound overview, and a good bibliography for ‘jumping off” into its subject. It also dovetails neatly with its companion volume, “The Victorian Kitchen Garden.”
It would be nice to see a follow-on volume now: “The Elizabethan (II) Kitchen”. I look at how the nineteenth century kitchenmaid made spun sugar (a decoration for desserts) & think how very much harder it must have been back in those days before sugar thermometers, when the boiling of sugar to the correct temperature was entirely dependent upon eye, feel, and experience. I realise how very dependent I’ve become on both my alcohol-in-glass and my electronic (resistance) thermometers!
What a period of innovation and invention that century saw, as gas began to replace coal for fuel. Cake tins which had a central metal cone to conduct heat and speed & even up cooking; the preservation of food in tin cans, and by freezing; the design of a marrow spoon; surely hot beef marrow has to be one of the most delicious parts of the animal.
This book presents a sound overview, and a good bibliography for ‘jumping off” into its subject. It also dovetails neatly with its companion volume, “The Victorian Kitchen Garden.”
January 19, 2013
I absolutely enjoyed this book. I found some of the series posted on You Tube and the history geek in me fell in love with that Kitchen, Allison, and the indomitable Mrs. Mott. The book adds to the stories told in the tv documentary rather than repeat everything said in the show. I do hope the BBC saved all those letters from people who were in service and told their stories. Some of the ways to do things are staggering (3 days to make a consomme broth!) For history lovers and those who just want to appreciate our foremothers, this is a great source. Ms. Mott makes the series too. She really does and was quite a find for the series.
December 8, 2017
I can't tell you how much I truly enjoyed reading through this book! There was so much new and interesting material---I learned so much! I've told all my pen pals about it since I finished.
The book tells all about the lives and routines of servants, describes the many appliances and implements used in a Victorian kitchen, and gives detailed descriptions on everything one would need to know in order to be a true Victorian kitchen person! I was especially intrigued by the many evolutions of the kitchen stove. It's amazing how many innovative designs preceded our modern electric stove!
There were some pretty outrageous recipes and preparation techniques described. I was especially and most disgustedly intrigued by the ox tongue. HOW is this at all appetizing and how ever is it served?? Does each person get their own tongue or is it cut up and shared? Gag me with a spoon!
Lovely read!
The book tells all about the lives and routines of servants, describes the many appliances and implements used in a Victorian kitchen, and gives detailed descriptions on everything one would need to know in order to be a true Victorian kitchen person! I was especially intrigued by the many evolutions of the kitchen stove. It's amazing how many innovative designs preceded our modern electric stove!
There were some pretty outrageous recipes and preparation techniques described. I was especially and most disgustedly intrigued by the ox tongue. HOW is this at all appetizing and how ever is it served?? Does each person get their own tongue or is it cut up and shared? Gag me with a spoon!
Lovely read!
October 31, 2019
I loved the TV series of this, but I only came across the tie-in book by accident, and it's a complete delight. It's very well researched and written, it includes way more detail than ever made it to the TV show, and I learned a lot. Recommended for anyone interested in social history/historical cooking.
August 6, 2022
I wasn’t expecting that this book would be so good! I read it in one afternoon and I loved it!
It gives a good idea of what it was like to work in a kitchen of a big house during the Victorian era. I love all the anecdotes and photos and illustrations!
At the end there is a good selection of recipes that I am excited to try!
It gives a good idea of what it was like to work in a kitchen of a big house during the Victorian era. I love all the anecdotes and photos and illustrations!
At the end there is a good selection of recipes that I am excited to try!
May 26, 2022
I have lost count of the times I have read this book!
August 12, 2018
Great resource for writers of Victorian fiction.
August 9, 2013
This book has some useful insights into the daily work of scullery maids, kitchenmaids and cooks in Victorian households. It was written to accompany a TV series, so the writing isn't particularly scholarly and Davies often makes broad generalisations from a particular cook's personal experiences which is not always useful.
May 11, 2016
I liked the series on PBS and so jumped at this companion book. It has lots of period pictures. It's a relaxing read and provides insight into the cooking of the early 20th century. I took a couple of cooking classes at Fort York and Gibson House, and I'll vouch for the fact that the cooks needed kitchen maids, or daughters and sisters, to get even the simplest meal on the table.
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June 25, 2013A lovely book which provides a great introduction to how Victorian kitchens were run, especially in large houses.
I hope to find copies of the tv series which was made by the BBC in the 1980s and which this book is meant to accompany.
April 15, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. Interesting, informative, with wonderful photos and illustrations. Really explained the elaborate and mysterious workings of what went on "downstairs" in the Victorian home.
October 16, 2015
I read this book voraciously one summer a couple of years ago - a fascinating, well-researched look into the pragmatics and social dynamics of a Victorian kitchen staff. Everything from why the larder as kept locked to weird vegetables no longer grown...
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews