mist.

_He has not presumed to recommend one receipt that has not been
previously and repeatedly proved in his own kitchen_, which has not been
approved by the most accomplished cooks; and has, moreover, been eaten
with unanimous applause by _a Committee of Taste_, composed of some of
the most illustrious gastropholists of this luxurious metropolis.

The Editor has been materially assisted by Mr. Henry Osborne, the
excellent cook to the late Sir Joseph Banks; that worthy President of
the Royal Society was so sensible of the importance of the subject the
Editor was investigating, that he sent his cook to assist him in his
arduous task; and many of the receipts in this edition are much improved
by his suggestions and corrections. See No. 560.

_This is the only English Cookery Book_ which has been written from the
real experiments of a _housekeeper_ for the benefit of _housekeepers_;
which the reader will soon perceive by the minute attention that has
been employed to elucidate and improve the _Art of Plain Cookery_;
detailing many particulars and precautions, which may at first appear
frivolous, but which experience will prove to be essential: to teach a
common cook how to provide, and to prepare, common food so frugally, and
so perfectly, that _the plain every-day family fare of the most
economical housekeeper_, may, with scarcely additional expense, or any
additional trouble, be _a satisfactory entertainment for an epicure or
an invalid_.

By an attentive consideration of "_the Rudiments of Cookery_," and the
respective receipts, the most _ignorant novice_ in the business of the
kitchen, may work with the utmost facility and certainty of success, and
soon become _a good cook_.

Will all the other books of cookery that ever were printed do this? To
give his readers an idea of the immense labour attendant upon this Work,
it may be only necessary for the Author to state, that he has patiently
pioneered through more than _two hundred cookery books_ before he set
about recording these results of his own experiments! The table of _the
most economical family_ may, by the help of this book, be entertained
with as much elegance as that of _a sovereign prince_.

LONDON, 1829.

FOOTNOTES:

[vii-*] "The only test of the utility of knowledge, is its promoting the
happiness of mankind."--_Dr. Stark on Diet_, p. 90.

CONTENTS.

Page

PREFACE