An Ancient Favourite: Cheesecake

By Lauren Gilbert

Cheesecake could be considered the quintessential American dessert. However, that would be denying the incredibly long history of this dessert, a true culinary evolution. Cheesecake may have been the earliest wedding cake. Ancient cheese molds dated about 2000 b.c. were excavated in Greece, and cheese making existed centuries before then. Considered a source of energy, it appears that cheesecake was served to athletes in the Olympic games in 776 b.c. They combined cheese, honey, wheat and flour and baked it into a cake. The first recipe was written by Athenaeus in approximately 230 a.d. and instructed the baker to pound the cheese until smooth, mix with honey and spring wheat flour, heat into a mass, cool and serve. Clearly it was a very simple dish.

Libum-Sweet Cheesecake Ingredients and Recipe

Of course, the Romans took cheesecake along with everything else when they conquered Greece. They added their own ingredients to the recipe, including eggs, baked it under hot bricks and served it warm. The mixing technique included crushing the cheese. Marcus Porcius Cato, who died 149 b.c., wrote De Agricultura (or De re Rustica) discussing farm management, and included what is considered the oldest known Roman cheesecake recipe: “(LXXV) This is the recipe for cheese cake (libum): Bray well two pounds of cheese in a mortar, and, when this is done, pour in a pound of corn meal (or, if you want to be more dainty, a half pound of flour) and mix it thoroughly with the cheese. Add one egg and beat it well. Pat into a cake, place it on leaves and bake slowly on a hot hearth stone under a dish.” (1) Clearly, the Romans enjoyed savoury as well as sweet cheesecake, as honey does not appear in this recipe. Sometimes, the mixed ingredients were poured into a pastry shell and baked that way.

Cheesecake accompanied the Romans to Europe, Great Britain and Scandinavia by 1000 b.c., as they conquered and traded. Different locations meant different cultures, different tastes, and different ingredients caused adjustments to the recipes. The earliest English cookbook, Forme of Cury (1390), compiled by the master cooks of King Richard II and written on vellum, included a recipe that involved a pastry shell baked with a filling of cheese, egg yolks, saffron, ginger and salt. In 1545, A Propre new booke of Cokery was printed (the first printed cookbook) with, of course, recipes for cheesecakes. A subsequent edition was issued in 1557. One recipe is called (in modern English) to make a tart of cheese. This recipe calls for hard cheese with rind removed and sliced, milk or water, egg yolks, sugar and sweet butter. The cheese was placed in a shallow dish, the milk or water poured over, and set aside to soak for 3 hours. The cheese was drained and pounded in a mortar, then mixed with the egg yolks. The mixture was strained, then mixed with the sugar and butter. This filling was poured into a blind-baked pastry, then baked until the cheese filling had set.(2) This recipe seems to be the recipe supposedly used in Henry VIII’s kitchen. The sugar and spices used would have made cheesecake a luxury dish, as these were very expensive ingredients.



English recipes included cheeseless options, as well as options using drained curds. The curds would have been softer, which would have made preparation easier for the cook. An Elizabethan recipe was made up of drained curds, butter, currants, rosewater and nutmeg, and baked in a pastry case. In a 17th century recipe, the instructions start with combining milk and rennet to make curds, then blending the drained fresh curds with thick cream, sweet butter, eggs, currants, cloves, nutmeg and mace (spices beaten), sugar, and rosewater. After mixing well, this was poured into a puff paste and baked.(3) Another 17th Century recipe for curd-cakes is a variation, and involved making a batter of curds, eggs (minus some of the whites), sugar, nutmeg and flour mixed, then fried in a little butter. (4) The cheeseless option sounded very much like a custard pie, as it contained a filling of cream, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, pepper and currants, baked in a pastry “coffin”. (5) Samuel Pepys was known to be passionate about cheesecake, writing in his diary about places that served it multiple times.

By the 18th century, cheesecake was firmly established as a national favourite. Recipes abounded in cookbooks, including Eliza Smith’s THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE, and Hannah Glasse’s THE ART OF COOKERY MADE PLAIN AND EASY. Martha Lloyd, a friend of Jane Austen’s who lived with Jane and her family before marrying Jane’s brother Francis, had multiple recipes for cheesecakes. The effects of cheesecake on the figure were also well known. A caricature by Isaac Cruikshank titled “The Rage, or Shepherds I have lost my waist” was published December 1, 1794, bewailed the need to forgo jellies, cheesecakes and other sweets to satisfy a fashionable dressmakers requirements. It clearly had evolved to a dessert recognizable today, and, within England, regional twists were common. Cheesecake was also carried to the colonies, including America, as demonstrated by a tavern called the Cheesecake House established in Philadelphia in the 1730s and the first American edition of Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy published in 1805 in Alexandria Virginia with multiple cheesecake recipes.


Something Like A Valentine by George Cruikshank

In 1849, George Cruikshank published a caricature, “Something Like a Valentine,” in which he avoided sentiment and listed the material advantages to marriage, including money, jewelry, a grand piano and cheesecake. Unaccountably, as the 19th century progressed, the popularity of traditional cheesecake began to wane and by the middle of the 19th century, recipes were not as prevalent. Of course, by the late 19th century, cream cheese had been invented in America, starting the evolution to the modern cheesecake known today. Back in England, traditional recipes could, and still can, be found in specific locales, such as Deptford cheesecake, a traditional cake made with curd cheese, although fresh ricotta is shown as an acceptable alternative. (You can find a modern recipe in “The Devil at Work in Deptford” – link below.) Another local favourite is Yorkshire Curd Tart, which is also made with curd cheese, and spiced with allspice. (A modern recipe is available in “Yorkshire Curd Tart”- link below.) Both of these articles contain instructions for making curds to use in the recipes if a local source for fresh curds or curd cheese is not available.

Sources include:

World History International. Project Gutenberg e-book. ROMAN FARM MANAGEMENT THE TREATISES OF CATO AND VARRO DONE INTO ENGLISH, WITH NOTES OF MODERN INSTANCES BY A VIRGINIA FARMER, 1918. Released April 25, 2004. (Footnote 1) Here.

A PROPER NEW BOOKE OF COKERYE Classic Tudor Cookery. Kindle Edition. by Dafyd Lloyd Evans. Nemeton: June 27, 2012. This is a facsimile edition of the volume published in 1557, based on the 1545 edition. (Footnote 2)

A Boke of Good Cookery presents 17th Century English Recipes. “To Make Cheese-Cakes-the best way.” From The Accomplish’d Lady’s Delight in Preserving, Physick, Beautifying, and Cookery, 1675. (Footnote 3) Here. “To make Curd-Cakes.” From A True Gentlewomans Delight, 1653. (Footnote 4) Here. “To make Cheese-cakes.” From A True Gentlewoman’s Delight, 1653. (Footnote 5) Here.

Google Books. Goldstein, Darra, ed. OXFORD COMPANION TO SUGAR AND SWEETS. Oxford University Press, PP. 124-125. Here.

Food Timeline. “Cheesecake.” Here.

Google Books. England Under the House of Hanover; Its History and Condition During the Reign of the Three Georges. Illustrated from the Caricatures and Satires of the Day. Vol. II. Wright, Thomas, esq. London: Richard Bentley, 1849. p. 316 Google Books. England Under the House of Hanover; Its History and Condition During the Reign of the Three Georges. Illustrated from the Caricatures and Satires of the Day. Vol. II. Wright, Thomas, esq. London: Richard Bentley, 1849. p. 316 Here. (The caricature described can be viewed clearly Here. Scroll down!)

Hickman, Peggy. A JANE AUSTEN HOUSEHOLD BOOK with Martha Lloyd’s recipes. Newton Abbot: David & Charles 1977.

Life and Food. “The Devil at Work in Deptford” by David Porter. October 13, 2011. Here.

British Food-A History. “Yorkshire Curd Tart.” February 9, 2014. Here.

All images from Wikimedia Commons:

Libum-Sweet Cheesecake Ingredients and History. Here. (Uploaded December 28, 2013 by Marcus Cyron)

Curds and Whey by Thomas Rowlandson 1820. Here. Held by British Library, released to public domain.

Something Like A Valentine by George Cruikshank 1848, from A Comic Almanack of 1849. Here.

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Lauren Gilbert's first published book, HEYERWOOD A Novel, was published in 2011. A RATIONAL ATTACHMENT is due out in early 2017. Please visit her website Here. She lives in Florida with her husband, with fresh herbs and roses in the garden.

SOME LIKED IT HOT! Cooking Curry in Jane Austen's Time

by Lauren Gilbert

On my first trip to England, one of the first things I wanted to try was Indian food, particularly curry.  I used to think that trying spicy food from other places was a modern taste, and it was not a concept that I associated with typical English cuisine of Jane Austen’s time.  However, history proves me wrong.  Cookbooks and recipes from the 18^th and 19^th centuries show that flavorful food was important, and herbs and seasonings were as important to cooks then as they are today.  Trade and colonies yielded new seasonings and tastes.   Travellers and immigrants had brought different seasonings and dishes into England, as did returning soldiers, sailors and traders.  Spices, especially pepper, at different times were an exchange item, valued as money.  Clearly, strong, distinct, spicy flavors had been incorporated into the culinary landscape, and hot seasoning was a part of that.  I had intended to present a broad overview of the use of herbs and spices in cooking during Jane Austen’s day.  However, I was distracted by Martha Lloyd’s curry recipes, so today our focus will be curry in Jane Austen’s time.

           There is a perception that the popularity of spices in earlier times was based at least in part on their value as preservatives, which is actually not correct.  It was driven by flavor and medicinal values.  Lack of refrigeration resulted in the “high” (tainted) flavor of meat, fish and poultries, so seasonings were used to disguise the taste.  (Spices were not effective as preservatives, and were too expensive to use in a quantity required for preserving, the way salt is used).  Cubeb and cayenne are both hot and spicy, and are listed in Culpeper (which indicates they could be grown in England). Uses of sauces and strong tastes, such as nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon etc. produced complex, sophisticated flavors that appealed to the wealthy.  When combined with the supposed medicinal values (hot spicy seasoning balanced cool moist humours of meat and fish), we can see how the desire for spices grew.

            Before 13^th century, the taste for spice came back with the crusaders. Originally, the spice trade was controlled by the Arabs in the Middle East, but the Dutch and Portuguese became competitors, with the Dutch ultimately assuming control.   In order to participate in (and to try to ultimately control) the spice trade, the British East India Company was formed in 1600 to compete with the Dutch.  In 1608, the British East India Company established its first base in India, and, for the first time, Britain had access to spices that were not controlled by the Dutch.  Spice trade was driven by the craving for varied and exotic tastes as well as the medicinal values of various spices (spice was the first globally-traded commodity, one of the first pushes to globalization).  It is interesting to note that hot peppers (capsicum-cayenne peppers) were introduced into Asia by European traders after they were found in the New World (the name “Indian peppers” relates to the New World, not India).  English traders began to settle in India in the early 1600’s. 

           Indian seasonings gained increasing popularity in England as their flavors were brought with returnees from India who desired to recreate flavors they had come to enjoy, and shared them.  The cost of spices remained high in spite of English control of spice trade-almost constant warfare disrupted trade and consequently affected cost and availability.  There is disagreement on the origin of the word “curry”, but it was applied to Indian dishes with spiced sauces by the English in the 17^th century.  The Hindostanee Coffee House was opened by Dean Mahomed in London in 1809, advertising Indian dishes better than any curries made in England before. (Hookah pipes could also be smoked there.)  Although Mr. Mahomed went bankrupt in 3 years (people did not dine out then as commonly as now), this restaurant remained open for some years under various owners.  Popularity spread to middle classes, in spite of cost.  (Note that the cachet of spices lessened somewhat as their perceived medicinal value declined due to improved modern medical knowledge, a loss of status which may have resulted in a slightly reduced monetary value that may have allowed them to be a bit more easily purchased by other than the wealthy classes. However the cost did not reflect any significant decline during the Georgian era, thanks to war, blockades and piracy.)  

          Curry was an established element of English cooking in the Georgian era.  In the 1^st edition of of Hannah Glasse’s THE ART OF COOKERY MADE PLAIN AND EASY, she included a recipe for “Fowle Rabbit Currey” in which rabbit is stewed with rice flour (thickener), coriander seeds and black peppercorns, which would have been very mild (in the 4^th edition, ginger and turmeric are included).  Hannah Glasse’s original recipe may have been one of the earliest examples of changing a recipe to suit a different population’s taste.  The 1774 new edition contains a recipe for “To make a currey the Indian way” (chicken with turmeric, ginger, salt and pepper) and for “A Pellew the Indian Way” (rice pilau with pepper, mace and cloves) on page 101.  

           John Mollard’s THE ART OF COOKERY Made Easy and Refined, 2^nd edition had a recipe for “currie” (curried chicken) on page 81, referring to 2 T of “currie powder”, and cayenne pepper to taste, which seems to indicate an increasing fondness for the Indian spices and for heat.  There is also a “Currie of lobster” on page 83 and “A Peloe of rice” (pilau of rice) on page 95, while on page 254 there is a recipe for Currie (Pepper Water) which is apparently a version of what became known as Mulligatawny Soup.  Available information indicates that curry powders were widely known and subject to individual tastes; recipes for curry powder were highly variable.

           Curry is mentioned in Martha Lloyd’s household book: curry powder, curry soup, curried chicken. Martha was Jane Austen's friend, and lived with Jane, her mother and sister, before she finally married Jane's brother Francis.  It is safe to assume Jane Austen would have had curry dishes.  Note that Martha mentions use of cayenne and black pepper “to your taste...” so it seems evident that the heat level was a personal matter even then.  Martha’s recipe for curry powder contains turmeric, galangal (a ginger relative), cayenne pepper and rice flour.  (The use of few spices could be a matter of taste or a matter of cost, or elements of both.)   I made it up and used it in a dish similar to “A Receipt to Curry after the Indian Manner” from THE JANE AUSTEN COOKBOOK.  It is very mild, and has a nice flavor, perfect for someone who has never tried curry or for someone who doesn’t care for a strong or pungent curry.  The flavor could be deepened by increasing the turmeric and/or galangal, or by adding other Indian spices, such as cumin, coriander, or other spices.  One source indicated the rice powder would be a thickener of the sauce but I noticed very little thickening effect.  

           Curry maintained its popularity through the 19^th century, coming to a peak in Victoria’s reign.  It declined in the early 20^th century, but has become a staple of British cuisine again.  While the flavors may be somewhat different than those with which Jane Austen and her family may have been familiar, the concept and the spices combined to make curry would not be foreign to her.

Sources:  

Black,Maggie & Le Faye, Deirdre.  THE JANE AUSTEN COOKBOOK.  1995 : McClelland & Stewart Ltd., Toronto, Canada. 

Hickman, Peggy.  A JANE AUSTEN HOUSEHOLD BOOK with Martha Lloyd’s recipes.  1977: David & Charles Inc., North Pomfret, Vermont.

Tannahill, Reay.  Food in History.  1988, 1973: Three Rivers Press, New York, New York.

GoogleBooks.com. THE ART OF COOKERY Made Easy and Refined.  By John Mollard.  2^nd edition, 1802.  https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=3nEEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en

GoogleBooks.com.  THE ART OF COOKERY MADE PLAIN AND EASY.  By Hannah Glasse.  A new edition, 1784.  https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=xJdAAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en

A History of Curry.  (Undated, no author shown.) http://www.indepthinfo.com/curry/history.shtml

BBC News Magazine.  “How Britain got the hots for curry”, by Rumeana Jahangir.  (Page last updated 11/26/2009)  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8370054.stm 

National Bureau of Economic Research website.   “The Worldwide economic impact of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars”  by Kevin H. O’Rourke.  May 2005.  Dept. of Economics and IIIS, Trinity College, Dublin, and CPER and NBER.  http://www.nber.org/papers/w11344

The Curry House Online.  “A History of Curry” by David W. Smith, 2012.  http://www.curryhouse.co.uk

The East India Company website.  “East India Company Timeline”. Undated and no author shown.  http://www.theeastindiacompany.com/24/timeline

 YaleGlobal Online.  “SPICES: How the Search for Flavors Influenced Our World” by Paul Freedman, posted March 11, 2003.  http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/print/396

Image from Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Curry_Ist.jpg/320px-Curry_Ist.jpg

Lauren Gilbert lives in Florida with her husband, who has actually eaten and survived vindaloo curry.  She is the author of HEYERWOOD: A Novel, her first published book.  Her second novel is due out later this year.  Visit http://www.heyerwood.com!