Published in 1829 in Philadelphia, Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts was an unknown “American physician’s” adaptation of a best-selling British reference book by Colin Mackenzie. The book is an all-encompassing miscellanea of household information specifically revised from its original British publication for use in the United States. Covering everything from gardening, metallurgy, and pickling and preserving to watercolors, medical cures, perfumery, brewing, and cooking, this early 19th century compendium was an essential guide for cooking and managing a household during this time period. With the extensive material covered, the tome was very well received in America, as was the original publication in the United Kingdom. This edition of Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the society is a research library documenting the lives of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection comprises approximately 1,100 volumes.
Even though the work was first published nearly 200 years ago, the recipes and advice have proven to be relevant today—lip balms citing the book as the recipe source can be found on the Internet, as well as numerous blogs referring to the brewing section of the book. While recipes such as Acorn Coffee, Clove Cordial, and Elephant’s Milk may only be of historical interest, Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts still has significance today beyond simple historical curiosity.
