Historical authenticity was very important to us, and the dishes in our Little Women cookbook were based on 19th-century sources. In case a fellow nerd among you is interested, here’s a list of their references! It’s no surprise that a huge number of recipes were based on The Young Housekeeper’s Friend, the most excellent of historical cookbooks.
Recipes from The Little Women Cookbook
MEG
- Omelet: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Ice Cream: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Wedding-Cake: Cake: The Good Housekeeper, Practical American Cookery; frosting: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Lemonade: The Good Housekeeper
- Mutton Curry: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Bread-Pudding: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Hash: Directions for Cookery, The Good Housekeeper
- Currant Jelly: Practical American Cookery, The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Alamode Beef: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Summer Squash: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- String Beans: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Little Cakes: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
JO
- Molasses Candy: Directions for Cookery, Practical American Cookery
- Gingerbread Nuts: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Corned Beef: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Lobster Salad: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Boiled Potatoes: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Boiled Asparagus: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Roast Beef: Directions for Cookery, The Good Housekeeper, Practical American Cookery
- Tomato Catsup: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Mashed Turnips: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Stewed Onions: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Dried Peach Pie: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Seed-Cakes: Modern Cookery, Practical American Cookery
BETH
- Cheese Toast: Practical American Cookery
- Baked Squash: Little Women
- Beef-Tea: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Boiled Chicken: The Good Housekeeper
- Vegetable Soup: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Hot Lemonade: Practical American Cookery
- Toast Water: Directions for Cookery
- Apple Water: An American Frugal Housewife
- Pickled Limes: Modern Cookery, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, Practical American Cookery
- Apple Jelly: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
AMY
- Roast Chicken: Chicken: Practical American Cookery; drawn butter: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Cold Tongue Sandwiches: Tongue: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend; French rolls: Directions for Cookery
- White Mountain Cake: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Raspberry Ice Cream: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- French Chocolate: Practical American Cookery; The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Quenelles de volaille au consommé: Le calendrier gastronomique
- Saumons au beurre de Montpellier: The Art of French Cookery, Le cuisinier royal, La cuisine classique
- Fonds d’artichauts à l’italienne: The Art of French Cookery, Le calendrier gastronomique
- Charlotte Russe: The Modern Cook, The Royal Parisian Pastrycook and Confectioner, Le Cuisinier Royal
LAURIE
- Blanc-Mange: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Peach Pickles: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Pink Ice Cream: Practical American Cookery
- White Ice Cream: Practical American Cookery
- Federal Cake: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- French Bonbons: Nouveau manuel complet du confiseur et du chocolatier, The Royal English and Foreign Confectioner
- Potato Rolls: Tit-Bits
- Potted Ham: Miss Leslie’s Lady’s New Receipt-Book
- Cucumbers: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Pickled Eggs: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Pound Cake: Directions for Cookery
- Turn-Overs: The Improved Housewife, The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
THE MARCH FAMILY
- Cale-Cannon: Directions for Cookery
- Coffee: The Good Housekeeper
- Good Family Bread: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Fish-Balls: Practical American Cookery
- Buckwheat Cakes: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Muffins: Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Gruel: The American Frugal Housewife
- Turkey: Directions for Cookery; gravy: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Plum-Pudding: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Cranberry Jelly: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Biscuits: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Gingerbread: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend, Miss Leslie’s Lady’s New Receipt-Book
- Tarts: Practical American Cookery, Miss Leslie’s Lady’s New Receipt-Book
- Ham Pie: Directions for Cookery
- Cookies: The Young Housekeeper’s Friend
- Tea: Directions for Cookery, The Good Housekeeper, The Little Women Treasury, Practical American Cookery
Historical Cookbooks Consulted
Acton, Eliza. Modern Cookery. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1868.
Alcott, Abba May. Abigail May Alcott’s Receipts & Simple Remedies. Concord, MA: Nancy L. Kohl and the Louisa May Alcott Foundation, 1980.
Beauvilliers, A. B. The Art of French Cookery. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1827.
Beeton, Isabella. Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. London: S. O. Beeton, 1861.
Brisse, Léon. Le calendrier gastronomique. Paris: Bureaux de la Liberté, 1867.
Cardelli, P. and J.-S. Lionnet-Clémandot. Nouveau manuel complet du confiseur et du chocolatier. Paris: Librairie encyclopédique de Roret, 1862.
Carême, Marie-Antoine. The Royal Parisian Pastrycook and Confectioner. London:
F. J. Mason, 1834.
Child, Lydia Maria. The American Frugal Housewife. Boston: Carter, Hendee, & Co., 1832.
Cornelius, Mary Hooker. The Young Housekeeper’s Friend. Boston: Brown, Taggard and Chase, 1859.
Dubois, Urbain. Cuisine artistique. Paris: E. Dentu, 1872.
Dubois, Urbain, and Émile Bernard. La cuisine classique. Paris: E. Dentu, 1882.
Francatelli, Charles Elmé. The Modern Cook. London: Richard Bentley, 1846.
Francatelli, Charles Elmé. The Royal English and Foreign Confectioner. London: Chapman and Hall, 1862.
Hale, S. J. The Good Housekeeper. Boston: Weeks, Jordan and Company, 1839.
Hall, Elizabeth M. Practical American Cookery. New York: C. M. Saxton, Barker & Co.
Knight S. G. Tit-Bits. Boston: Crosby and Nichols, 1864.
Leslie, Eliza. Directions for Cookery, In Its Various Branches. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1840.
Leslie, Eliza. Miss Leslie’s Lady’s New Receipt-Book. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1850.
Leslie, Eliza. Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats. Boston: Munroe and Francis, 1828.
Viard, A. Le cuisinier royal. Paris: Gustave Barba, 1840.
Webster, A. L. The Improved Housewife. Boston: Phillips, Samson, and Company, 1855.
What Shall We Eat? A Manual for Housekeepers. New York: G. P. Putnam & Son, 1868.
36 Eggs 