I love second-had bookshops. I can spend hours there going through the rabbit hole and find lot of different and obscure out of print books that I never thought to look for. Forget about shoes and diamond rings, it’s the books that truly make me happy! So this is exactly what I do when I am in a need of a pick me up. It usually involves a glass or two of wine … or rum … or whisky and some bad monetary decisions. Which is how I came about acquiring Peggy Hickman’s book A Jane Austen Household Book with Martha Lloyd’s Recipes. I though it would be fun to cook from it and maybe take you along with it. However before I share any recipes from it, I think it would be a good idea to introduce you to Martha Lloyd and her book of receipts in case you don’t know who she was.

A daguerreotype of Martha Lloyd. Credit: Jane Austen's House Museum — A daguerreotype of Martha Lloyd. *Credit: Jane Austen's House Museum*

Martha Lloyd (1765 - 1843) was the daughter of Reverend Noyes Lloyd and Martha Lloyd, née Craven. After her fathers death, Martha with her mother and two sisters, Mary and Eliza, rented Deane parsonage from the Reverend George Austen, Jane Austen’s father. During this time both families became very close and as a result formed a lifelong bond. In fact two of the Lloyd sisters eventually married into the Austen family. In 1797 Mary, Martha’s sister, became Janes oldest brother James Austen’s second wife and later Martha herself became an Austen, when she married Sir Francis Austen in 1828 at the age of 62.

In 1805 Reverend George Austen and soon after Mrs. Lloyd passed away so Martha came to live with Mrs Austen, and her two daughters, Cassandra and Jane, first at Southampton and then at Chawton. During this time together with Cassandra she took on additional domestic responsibilities which helped to support Jane’s writing endeavours. It is believed that Martha started collecting recipes in the late 18th century. In her book of receipts she not only wrote down cooking recipes, but also medical remedies, beauty tips and even instructions to make household products such as for ones own ink, which Jane must have found very useful. Nowadays you can see this book at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton or if you are keen to try some of the recipes yourself, you might want to look at A Jane Austen Household Book with Martha Lloyd’s Recipes by Peggy Hickman publish by David & Charles in 1977.

I have bookmarked and started to cook some of the recipes from the book which I hope to share with you in the upcoming months. For now I thought I’d start with the easiest recipe on my list - macaroni. By Martha’s time pasta has become a staple in many households. It came in two general forms - vermicelli (long and thin kind) and macaroni (rolled and shaped kind). In the English cookbooks there aren’t great variety of sauces or applications for pasta. Vermicelli most commonly features in soups and macaroni eaten with cheese and butter or in a cream and cheese sauce. Below I have included few examples for the macaroni recipes of the period.

Macaroni from The Cook and Housekeepers Complete and Universial Dictionary by Mrs. Mary Eaton (1823) — Macaroni from *The Cook and Housekeepers Complete and Universial Dictionary* by Mrs. Mary Eaton (1823)

A dish of Macaroni from The Practice of cookery, pastry, pickling by Mrs. Fraser (1791) — A dish of Macaroni from *The Practice of cookery, pastry, pickling* by Mrs. Fraser (1791)

Macaroni from The New Experienced English Housekeeper by D. Boys (1795) — Macaroni from *The New Experienced English Housekeeper* by D. Boys (1795)

For Martha’s macaroni version I choose to make it with cream not gravy and make a one small alteration - to add black pepper before serving. It is something that I add in almost all dishes and felt like the dish would benefit for it as well. Otherwise I tried to stay true to the original as I could and it turned out delicious.

Macaroni recipe from A Jane Austen Household Book with Martha Lloyd’s Recipes by Peggy Hickman (1978) — Macaroni recipe from *A Jane Austen Household Book with Martha Lloyd’s Recipes* by Peggy Hickman (1978)

Martha’s Lloyds macaroni

serves 1 very generously

115 grams of macaroni
2 large spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese, grated plus extra
130 ml cream
small piece of butter
salt & pepper
milk

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan), preferably under grill setting.

Boil the pasta in salted water and milk (I used 2:1 proportion) as per packet instructions Meanwhile heat cream with 2 spoonfuls of cheese, butter and seasoning and stir until it has thickened. Once pasta is done mix it with the sauce and transfer it to an oven-safe dish, add the rest of the cheese on top and bake in the oven until cheese has browned.

Bon Appétit,
Līga

Disclaimer! I live in a small city apartment and cook on an electric stove-top and oven. The recipes have been recreated with modern appliances and ingredients from my local grocery shop as that is what was available to me at the time of writing. I only recently have started to cook from old cookbooks and still have much to learn so it is very much possible that I have misinterpreted a recipe and the fault is mine and not the recipes.

Notes

If you are more of a visual person I have included a couple of videos on the topic for you to enjoy.
1. "Macaroni" - A Recipe From 1784 by Townsends. In the video the presenter John Townsend cooks a macaroni dish from John Farley cookbook The London art of cookery and housekeepers complete assistant by John Farley in a reconstructed period kitchen.
2. How to Make Macaroni Cheese - The Victorian Way by English Heritage. Here internet sensation Mrs Crocombe cooks in her Victorian kitchen a old fashioned Georgian macaroni recipe.
3. 18th Century Mac & Cheese - Stump Sohla by Babish Culinary Universe. Lastly chef Sohla El-Waylly tries to make one of the most beloved American dishes with a 18th century twist.

Sources

Hickman, Peggy, A Jane Austen Household Book with Martha Lloyd’s Recipes, Readers Union, Group of Book Clubs, 1978
Boys, D., The New Experienced English Housekeeper, 1795
Fraser, Mrs, The Practice of cookery, pastry, pickling, 1791
Eaton, Mary, The Cook and Housekeepers Complete and Universial Dictionary, 1823

Jane Austen literacy foundation. Issue 34. Jane’s Austens Bff - Martha Lloyd by Zoe Wheddon. https://janeaustenlf.org/pride-and-possibilities-more-articles/2018/4/8/issue-34-jane-austens-bff-martha-lloyd (Article written on 9th April, 2018, accessed on 12th December, 2020)

Martha’s Lloyd’s Household Book.
https://janeaustenshousemuseumblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/martha-lloyds-household-book/ (Article written on 25th March, 2012, accessed on 12th December, 2020)