The Book of Marmalade

by Anne Wilson

Marmalade is particularly British creation, even though its origins lie abroad, and its charms have been exported to the wider world. C. Anne Wilson’s book was first published in 1986 by Constable, reissued in Britain (Prospect) and the USA (Pennsylvania UP) in 2000, and now takes its place in Prospect’s ‘English Kitchen’ series. It offers a history of marmalade in Britain from its origins as a quince conserve in medieval times, through its first commercialization in Scotland in the 18th century, to its dominant place in the British jam cupboard and on the breakfast table in the modern era. The first edition has been updated to take account of most recent developments.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Food

178 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Anne Wilson is a cookbook editor.

For the author of works on food history, see C. Anne Wilson

Reviews

[Gina Ruiz]

Really great little history (linguistic and origins) of marmalade.

[Stephen]

British publisher Prospect Books does a service by releasing "The English Kitchen" series. Author C. Anne Wilson's book about marmalade is one of the series. The title deserves full attention: "The Book of Marmalade: Its antecedents, its history, and its role in the world today together with a collection of recipes for marmalades and marmalade cookery." The first edition was published in 1985; this is the second revised edition. It is not primarily a recipe book but rather an academic history. Much of the material from which it is drawn comes from old dusty university libraries of 16th century books. This is consistent with the author's occupation as the person in charge of the collection of historic cookbooks at the Brotherton Library at Leeds University. Wilson works expertly and hard to answer the question of from where marmalade came. Is it British, or more particularly Scottish, or Portuguese, or Asian? Linguistic study can assist in investigations like this, but "marmalade" and its cognates mean different things in different languages. For example, in the 16th century Portuguese "marmelada" was made entirely of quince and no orange. Only the last thirty pages of the book are recipes. Of special interest among them is a collection of recipes which use marmalade as an ingredient: in hot drinks, in sauces for meat, in puddings and cakes, even in sandwiches. Wilson's writing style is delightful, British and academic. One has to wish to know a great deal about the history or marmalade and its role in the world today to make it worthwhile to read this book. Another book which might be more helpful to those seeking guidance in crafting their own marmalade is Sarah Randell's "Marmalade: A Bittersweet Cookbook" (Headline, 2014).

[Gary Miller]

One good look at me would confirm a deep love of (or weakness for) food. Including many lovely things, like Marmalade. Being a bit of a bibliophile, loving to know details, and having read a number of books about ingredients, foods, recipes, cookbooks, etc., I was bound to run across this wonderful book. Anything you might wan to know about marmalade is discussed in this book. Including its history and development over time. This book is very well written, the type of book so well and deeply researched, the words just flow. I was very impressed, and enjoyed reading it very much. I am very happy to give it the five stars it deserves.

[Kate Parr]

Fascinating but pretty dry after a while. About half way through I started to suspect this had originally been written as a thesis of some kind. It bounces about through time and geography: I think I would have preferred a straightforward beginning to end narrative (in the penultimate page we suddenly skipped back to Australia in the 19th century). The content was interesting but a tad repetitive, there's only so many times you can hear about changing tastes and the different combinations of orange, apple, quince, lime, lemon and grapefruit before you need a breather. Her final statement about protecting marmalade from the incursions of the dastardly EU was probably a bit much too.

[Kate]

In its genre, a must-read.

[Kat]

Thoroughly researched but rather repetitive. I feel well informed about the history of marmalade now, and a little sad that it is likely to go extinct soon as only old people really enjoy it now.

[Rebecca Tolley]

read my review on my blog, here: http://www.potlikkery.com/2012/01/the...

[John C]

At first read the text is dry and one worries where research began and derivation took over. In the progression of time on book that worry diminished, and my interest piqued to the subject because I began to delve into making marmalade. Not good marmalade, but marmalade, nevertheless. The experience of actually making marmalade was what dispelled my so-so interest in the book. It became clear to me that the writer had done the research necessary to educate the reader and confirm her bona fides. As I learned, this was not her first leap into the craft of educating others in a subject new to them.

If I were a maker of marmalade dealing with the public in a personal, I.e. a Farmer’s Market, I would have this book on display for educating that public audience on the beauty of creating the myriad types of marmalade in a home setting.