Great Valley

Penn State Great Valley to host virtual presentation on historical recipes

ABINGTON, Pa. — Marissa Nicosia, assistant professor of renaissance literature of Penn State Abington, will share recipes from manuscript recipe books produced between 1600 and 1800, in a virtual presentation at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 10, as part of Penn State Great Valley’s NoonTimeU webinar series.

Marissa Nicosia, assistant professor of renaissance literature at Penn State Abington. Credit: Marty MooreAll Rights Reserved.

Nicosia runs "Cooking in the Archives: Updating Early Modern Recipes (1600-1800) in a Modern Kitchen," a public humanities project that curates transcribed and updated recipes from early modern English household manuscripts for modern audiences. The website sets out to find, investigate, update, cook and write about recipes from manuscript recipe books, which are full of intriguing, strange, and familiar concoctions, such as recipes for syllabubs, turnip cordial water, jumballs, and carrot pudding.

Launched in 2014, the site currently provides access to more than 80 transcribed, researched and tested recipes, and has been featured in The Washington Post, Atlas Obscura, Edible Philly, and more.

“Cooking in the Archives: Bringing Historical Recipes to Life in a Twenty-first Century Kitchen” will be held at noon via Zoom. The event is free to attend, but advance registration is required. Click here to register.

Last Updated February 3, 2021