Regency Meals: a Pride and Prejudice Project

Regency Meals: A Pride and Prejudice Project

"As for the ball, it is quite a settled thing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough I shall send round my cards."
-Charles Bingley, Pride and Prejudice, chapter 11

Dining at home and at balls was a common activity for the characters of Pride and Prejudice and others living during the Regency Period. It was a time for socializing, sharing family news and local gossip. Many of the dishes are still eaten in England today, but they are less common in America. Therefore, you will research and prepare a dish common in Regency England. Prepare a notecard to be placed with your dish; it must name the dish and its basic ingredients. Your class will share the dishes on February 14th and observe Regency table etiquette. Be sure to study table manners so as not to offend others by breaching social customs like Lydia Bennet and her mother!

Choose from the following dishes (others must be preapproved by Mrs. Ward):

Main dishes

· Cottage/Shepherd’s pie

· Bouillabaisse*

· Irish stew

· Pasties

· Mock turtle soup

· Beef ragout*

· White soup*

· Autumn vegetable soup*

· Welsh rarebit*

· Pork and apples*

· Spinach herbs quiche*

· Roasted pork ribs*

· Cold ham*

· Mulga-Tawny soup

· French Pottage*

Side dishes or snacks

· Apple sauce

· Pickled beets

· Asparagus all'Italiana

· Raspberry jam*

· Toast or bread and butter*

· Yorkshire pudding*

· Peach preserves*

· Barmbrack

· Gruel*

· Salamongundy

· English muffins*

· Sponge cake*

· Gooseberry cheese*

· Boiled eggs*

· Marmalade with biscuits*

· Black butter*

Desserts

· Baked custard*

· Pumpkin pie

· Sponge cake*

· Twelfth Night cake

· Baked apples*

· Apple snow*

· Strawberries and cream*

· Simnel cake

· Fruit cake*

· Fruit tarts or jam tartlets*

· Rice pudding*

· Ratafia cakes

· Mince pie

· Rout cakes*

· English trifle*

· Gingerbread cakes

Beverages

· Ginger tea*

· Punch*

· Lemonade

· Eggnog

· Raspberry shrub* (non-alcoholic)

· Hot chocolate*

· Wassail*

Resources

The Jane Austen Centre - http://www.janeausten.co.uk/ (See “Online Magazine” and “Regency Recipes”)

All Recipes.com - http://allrecipes.com//Recipes/world-cuisine/europe/uk-and-ireland/england/Main.aspx

*Denotes item specifically named in the text or in Austen’s letters or other works