''The Universal Cook'' is an English

cookery book A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...

written in 1773 by John Townshend. Townshend was the owner of the Greyhound Tavern in

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. On the title page of the book, Townsend stated that he was the "Cook to his Grace the

Duke of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named aft ...

Reception

The ''Universal Cook'' contains

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish (food), dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main r ...

s and household advice. One hint from Townshend was about how "To hinder wine from turning". His recommendation was to "put a pound of melted Lead in fair water into your cask pretty warm, and stop it close." In a commentary from 1807 by Thomas and Edward Percival, they note that "it must be supposed that Mr. Townshend is ignorant of the poisonous quality of Lead; but he is certainly deserving of censure for presuming to give receipts without better information."

Editions

* 1st edition, London: S. Bladon, 1773.

References

1773 non-fiction books 18th-century British cookbooks English cuisine {{food-book-stub