What is a recipe book?

A recipe book, or receipt book, is a handwritten collection of recipes that are culinary, medical, domestic, and magical in nature. Most often written and maintained by women in the Early Modern era (1500-1750), they’re one of the first examples of the women’s medical writing genre. Recipe books are tangible reflections of their authors and communities; the collaborative knowledge practices at that time; and the Early Modern world they lived in. They are as much a diary as they are a textbook.