Rhyming recipe
Encyclopedia
A rhyming recipe is a recipe
expressed in the form of a rhyming
poem. Now mainly a curiosity, rhyming recipes were a common expedient for homemaker
s to memorize recipes in the late 19th and early 20th century.
, an English
writer
and clergyman, who has been described as "a man of restless ingenuity and activity," and who is also known for being the founder of the Edinburgh Review
.
The poem is as follows:
The poem was reproduced in the book Common Sense in The Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery by Marion Harland, a pen name of Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune, which was to become the most successful American cookbook at the end of the 19th century, selling over 10 million copies.
Through this book Sydney Smith's recipe became quite popular amongst American cooks, who would know the above doggerel by heart.
Recipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...
expressed in the form of a rhyming
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
poem. Now mainly a curiosity, rhyming recipes were a common expedient for homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
s to memorize recipes in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Example: Sydney Smith's recipe for salad dressing
As an example, here is a poem that provides a recipe for salad dressing. The poem was written by Sydney SmithSydney Smith
Sydney Smith was an English writer and Anglican cleric. -Life:Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith and Maria Olier , who suffered from epilepsy...
, an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and clergyman, who has been described as "a man of restless ingenuity and activity," and who is also known for being the founder of the Edinburgh Review
Edinburgh Review
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...
.
The poem is as follows:
Two boiled potatoes strained through a kitchen sieve,
Softness and smoothness to the salad give;
Of mordant mustard take a single spoon,
Distrust the condiment that bites too soon!
Yet deem it not, thou man of taste, a fault
To add a double quantity of salt.
Four times the spoon with oil of LuccaLuccaLucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
crown,
And twice with vinegar procured from town;
True taste requires it and your poet begs
The pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs.
Let onion's atoms lurk within the bowl
And, scarce suspected, animate the whole,
And lastly in the flavoured compound toss
A magic spoonful of anchovy sauce.
Oh, great and glorious! Oh, herbaceous meat!
' Twould tempt the dying AnchoriteAnchoriteAnchorite denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, and—circumstances permitting—Eucharist-focused life...
to eat,
Back to the world he'd turn his weary soul
And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl.
The poem was reproduced in the book Common Sense in The Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery by Marion Harland, a pen name of Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune, which was to become the most successful American cookbook at the end of the 19th century, selling over 10 million copies.
Through this book Sydney Smith's recipe became quite popular amongst American cooks, who would know the above doggerel by heart.
External links
- The Rhyming Recipe, Nebraska State Historical Society
- Common Sense in The Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery by Marion Harland, New York: Scribner, Armstrong & Co., 1873.
- Rhyming Recipes Continue To Intrigue Readers, column by Abby Burnett
- Reion Allison Notebook Cookbook, article by Lou Sams — look under "DOUGHNUTS"