Acton, E. (1860). Modern Cookery in All Its Branches: Embracing a Series of Plain and Simple Instructions to Private Families and Others, for the Careful and Judicious Preparation of Every Variety of Food as Drawn from Practical Observation and Experience (S. J. B. Hale, Ed.). J. E. Potter. PDF retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/07023611/.
The holidays were a wonderful time for families to gather and partake in the festivities over a well-prepared meal. This resource is a recipe book that gives detailed instructions on how to prepare some of the items that Mrs. Bob Cratchit would have served at the family table. This meal contrasts starkly with how many students have seen Christmas or other holiday meals prepared in today’s society. This comparison ties very nicely into exploration of how a family uses food to celebrate, share, and show love; the story of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens does so in many ways. This primary source will demonstrate the preparation of a turkey and the Christmas pudding.
This is a cookbook from the mid 1800s. The cover bears the statement “Modern Cookery in All Its Branches: Embracing a Series of Plain and Simple Instructions to Private Families and Others, for the Careful and Judicious Preparation of Every Variety of Food as Drawn from Practical Observation and Experience.” The piece addresses everything from recipes to butchering to table settings.
Food preparation in Victorian England was often complicated and time-consuming. Much thought, love, and preparation went into feeding one's family in the mid 1800s:
- Though invented in the fifteenth century or perhaps even earlier, the Christmas pudding reached its height of popularity in the Victorian era.
- Over time, the Christmas pudding has gone from being a savory dish containing meats and preserved in an animal bladder to a sweeter dish containing dried fruits and using a floured towel for preservation.
- In the Victorian era, many women would work to save precious pennies throughout the year in order to buy the ingredients for the much-awaited Christmas pudding.
- Though the wealthy might have enjoyed venison or even swan for their Christmas dinner, turkey or goose was more traditional for those who were less fortunate.
- By the Victorian era, Christmas parties had slowed down, and many were opting for more intimate family gatherings to celebrate the holiday.
While there are 418 pages in this cookbook, our focus questions and subsequent connections are based on thirteen specific pages:
Boiled Pudding Directions (images 255–256)
Cottage Christmas Pudding (image 264)
- How does food shape familial relationships?
- Did the extensive labor involved in food preparation during the Victorian era imply that the person who prepared it had a greater love for their family?
- Is food preparation still a symbol of pride and love in family dynamics?
- How did Dickens utilize the family table and food to demonstrate the need for charity and good will?
Common Core State Standards
RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Students can make a comparison between the nonfiction text from the Library of Congress about how meals were prepared and how the same item is prepared today. Students should pull textual evidence from the primary source.
RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development; provide an objective summary of the text.
- A primary focus for this artifact is to hone in on the theme. Students should be able to identify the fact that families in the Victorian era prepared food carefully and with much diligence and then came together to celebrate with that food. This is a central focus in A Christmas Carol as Scrooge is missing this aspect of life.
W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- As students begin to see the differences between the preparation of food in the Victorian era and today, have them write about it, citing evidence from the Library of Congress primary source as well as evidence from A Christmas Carol.
W.9-10.1.b Develop claims and counterclaims fairly, supporting evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
- Allow students to form claims and counterclaims about why Scrooge might have been visited by the ghost of Marley and the other ghosts based on the knowledge they have gained from the primary source about food preparation and the lack of familial ties Scrooge had.
- As a class, look at the recipes for preparing poultry and Christmas pudding. Make a list of the things that are different from the time when the cookbook was published in 1860 to present-day American living standards. Using a T-chart on the whiteboard as students brainstorm differences as a class could be very effective. For a higher-level class, print the pages from the primary source and ask students to annotate the piece, focusing on the preparation of a turkey and the Christmas pudding. Ask them to list items in the margin that are different from what they experience today in order to be prepared for a class discussion.
- Upon completion of the class discussion, begin a new line of thought with students involving why a family goes to the trouble of preparing a meal for one another. Have students brainstorm on this topic in table groups. Most will come up with the same answers: to show that they care about one another, or to spend time with one another. In turn, lead students in a discussion of how the second ghost's job is to show Scrooge that he is missing out on these crucial moments by being selfish.
- Direct students back to the Library of Congress primary source and ask about the amount of work involved in putting together a meal during the 1800s. Have them try to figure out the time it might have taken Mrs. Cratchit to prepare the meal that her family was so grateful for. Once they have completed this task in their small groups, ask them to write independently about how witnessing this joyful family meal, which required so much effort on Mrs. Cratchit's part, might have affected the cold heart of Scrooge.
- This assignment could be extended to include a study of how a recipe is constructed. Students would look at the Library of Congress primary source recipe that has been provided and a recipe from the present year to see what is important in any recipe. They then would interview a family member (or other trusted adult) to collect a recipe that is important to them. Then they can either share directly with the class or prepare a short audio recording sharing their family recipe and story.
Challenges could arise based on the study of a meat-based meal if a family is vegetarian or vegan. In this case, provide a meatless recipe that meets the same goal.
- If a more American alternative is needed, consider this White Fruit Cake recipe that can be used in place of the Christmas pudding recipe. It can be used in the same capacity.
- For students who are vegetarian, this recipe for substitute turkey from 1914 shows how meals might have been prepared in the Victorian era by vegetarian standards and supports reaching the same goals as the original assignment.
- https://www.history.com/news/the-holiday-history-of-christmas-pudding
- Read up on the history of the Christmas pudding on this very informative History.com article before teaching students the background of the tradition.
- https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/A-Victorian-Christmas/
- Additional information on Victorian Christmas practices can be found here at Historic UK.