Practical vegetarian cookery — Edition Insights

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In Category - Historical Cookbooks

Authors: Davis, Kate Buffington, 1856- [Editor], Wachtmeister, Constance, 1838-1910 [Editor] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2023 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Vegetarian cooking; Cookbooks Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 38,485

Reading time 168 min

Text sections 56

The source record for Practical vegetarian cookery — Edition Insights measures this digital text at 38,485 words, 2 hr 48 min estimated reading time, and 56 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 21.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Vegetarian cooking,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #69812

This 1897 cookbook, edited by Kate Buffington Davis and Countess Constance Wachtmeister, offers a comprehensive collection of vegetarian recipes. The preface's epigraph from Light of Asia signals a moral stance against flesh-eating. The index reveals a structured approach, with sections for soups, savories, mushrooms, eggs, omelets, sauces, cheese dishes, and breads. The bread recipes show precise, step-by-step instructions, emphasizing technique (e.g., 'beat well,' 'knead thoroughly'). The book

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg69812

Read the Text

THE COUNTESS CONSTANCE WACHTMEISTER KATE BUFFINGTON DAVIS

“Thus the King’s will is: There hath been slaughter for the sacrifice And slaying for the meat, but henceforth none Shall spill the blood of life nor taste of flesh, Seeing that knowledge grows, and life is one, And mercy cometh to the merciful.”

Mercury Pub. Co., 414 Mason St., San Francisco, Cal. Theosophical Book Concern, 26 Van Buren St., Chicago, Ill. Theosophical Pub. Co., 65 Fifth Ave., New York. K. Buffington Davis, Minneapolis, Minn. Theosophical Pub. Co., 26 Charing Cross, London, Eng.

Electrotyped by The Printers Electrotyping Co. Minneapolis, Minn.

Stock for Clear Soup 5

Potato with Dumplings 8

Clear Soup with Nouilles 9

Bean Purée with Nouilles 10

Bean Purée with Tomato 10

Cream of Green Peas 13

Cream of Asparagus 14

Cream of Lima Beans 16

Bean Purée with Tomato 10-17

SAVORIES AND RELISHES.

Vegetable Sweet Breads 19

Winter Vegetable Pie 24

Vegetable Sausages 26

Curried Rice with Eggs 27

Chestnut Croquettes 28

Aunt Susan’s Mushroom Pie 32

Mushrooms in White Sauce 33

Mushrooms with Lemon 33

Poached, Spanish Style 39

French with Tomato 40

French with French Peas 40

French with Mushrooms 41

Eggs and Asparagus 43

SAVORY SAUCES AND GRAVIES.

Brown Butter Gravy 47

Potato with Cheese 50

SALADS AND SALAD DRESSINGS.

Mayonaise Dressing 56

Cooked Salad Dressing 56

Aunt Susan’s Salad Dressing 56

Nut and Celery Salad 59

Plain Celery Salad 60

Potato Celery Salad 60

Salad of Grape Fruit and Walnuts 61

Salad of Lettuce and Grape Fruit 63

Creamed Vegetables 65

Escaloped Onions, Cauliflower, or Asparagus 65

Asparagus on Toast 66

Asparagus with White Sauce 66

Creamed String Beans 67

Boston Baked Beans 67

Green Corn, Steamed 69

Cabbage in White Sauce 71

Egg Plant with Egg and Cracker 73

Peas in White Sauce 74

Wachtmeister Potatoes 77

Potatoes in White Sauce 78

Lyonaised Potatoes 78

Escaloped Potatoes 78

French Fried Potatoes 79

Sweet Potato Curry 81

Sweet Potato Croquettes 81

Glaced Sweet Potatoes 81

Browned Sweet Potatoes 81

Warmed Up Sweet Potatoes 82

Young Onions in White Sauce 82

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes 85

Fricasseed Tomatoes 86

Escaloped Tomatoes 86

Tomato and Rice Fritters 86

English Unfermented Griddle Bread 91

Whole Wheat Muffins 92

Graham or Rye Gems 93

Baking Powder Biscuit 93

Boston Brown Bread 95

Cheese and Mustard 101

Water Sponge Cake 107

Miss Farmer’s Sponge Cake 112

Opera Caramel Frosting 113

Neufchatel Cheese Pies 118

Neapolitan Pudding 121

Steamed Cabinet Pudding 123

Cold Cabinet Pudding 124

Washington Pie--Chocolate Filling 124

Strawberry Cream Cake 125

Charlotte Russe Pie 125

Steamed Fruit Pudding 126

Connecticut Indian Pudding 126

Cream Rice Pudding 127

Sweet Potato Pudding 128

French Bread Pudding 129

Currant Jelly Sauce 130

Baked Apple Dumplings 132

Rachel’s Short Cake 134

Wachtmeister Frozen Pudding 137

Strawberry Sherbet 138

Pine-apple Sherbet 138

Butter Scotch 142-143

Coffee Cream Caramels 144

Chocolate Caramels 144

Pine-apple Frappé 150

Egg and Lime Water 156

Flax-seed Lemonade 158

The Way to Test Hot Fat 159

Substitutes for Meat Ingredients--

Pastry Shortening 160

Herbs and Soup Powder 161

To Prepare Onions for Salads 161

The Way to Dry Corn 161

Weights and Measures for Cooks 162

Coloring for Soups and Gravies 162

Boiling Vegetables 162

Menus for One Week 165

Menus for Plain Living 170

Menus for Formal Luncheons 176

Menus for Formal Dinners 178

The aim of this book is to demonstrate the nutritious and appetising possibilities of vegetable foods. Cattle are becoming so diseased that apart from a humane revulsion against the consumption of meats in daily food, man is being driven for his own welfare to seek purer food substance. Any physical habit indulged in for generations is difficult to overcome, and the transition period between daily meat eating, and pure vegetarianism is a difficult one. We have endeavored to suggest such a variety of tasty and nutritious foods as will materially aid in making the change.

We do not claim this to be an exhaustive treatise on Vegetarian Cookery; only a clear and practical aid in the better preparations of some of the delicious products of the Vegetable Kingdom. Many children show a natural dislike to meats, and Mothers are at a loss how to supply them with proper nourishment when they reject the meat. Requests have come to us for aid through this very fact; and was one of the incentives to the bringing out of this book.

Mothers will have no difficulty in finding a plentiful variety of relishable and nutritious foods for the children if they will study the following pages. Equally easy will the formal dinner appear when one wishes to entertain Vegetarian friends.

Continue Reading →

Practical Vegetarian Cookery opens with an epigraph from Edwin Arnold's Light of Asia, declaring that 'knowledge grows, and life is one, / And mercy cometh to the merciful.' This moral framing, paired with the book's 1897 publication, situates it within a late-Victorian movement that linked diet to ethical and spiritual reform. The editors, Kate Buffington Davis and Countess Constance Wachtmeister, were both active in Theosophical circles, and the list of distributors includes Theosophical book concerns in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and London.

The index alone reveals a carefully organized work: soups occupy the first ten pages, followed by savories, mushrooms, eggs, omelets, sauces, cheese dishes, and breads. The bread section, excerpted here, shows a methodical, instructional voice. Recipes like 'Baking Powder Biscuits' and 'Pop-Overs' emphasize technique—'cutting it in with bread knife,' 'beat well'—and assume a reader familiar with basic kitchen equipment but needing precise guidance.

A Moral and Practical Framework

The book's opening epigraph is not mere decoration. It establishes a clear ethical stance: vegetarianism is presented as a form of mercy, aligned with the idea that 'knowledge grows.' This moral tone is reinforced by the editors' Theosophical affiliations, which linked dietary reform to spiritual evolution. Yet the recipes themselves are resolutely practical. The preface (not fully excerpted) likely bridges this moral vision with the kitchen work that follows. The index shows no separate section for 'philosophy'—the ethical argument is condensed into the epigraph, after which the book dives into recipes. This suggests the editors expected readers already sympathetic to the cause, needing instruction rather than persuasion.

Instructional Voice and Recipe Structure

The bread recipes illustrate the book's instructional voice. Instructions are sequential and precise: 'sift together twice,' 'rub in one tablespoonful of shortening until fine, like meal,' 'cutting it in with bread knife.' The language is imperative but not condescending. The recipe for 'Pop-Overs' advises that 'the more the milk and flour are beaten the lighter the puffs will be,' revealing an understanding of underlying principles. Measurements are given in cupfuls, tablespoonfuls, and saltspoonfuls—standard for the period. The book assumes a literate cook who can follow steps but may need reminders (e.g., 'butter as soon as taken from the iron' for waffles). This voice is consistent across the excerpted recipes, suggesting a uniform editorial hand.

Variety and Structure in the Index

The index reveals a broad scope: 56 text sections covering soups, savories, mushrooms, eggs, omelets, sauces, cheese dishes, and breads. Soups alone include 25 varieties, from 'Tomato Bouillon' to 'Black Bean.' The 'Savories and Relishes' section includes 'Nut Loaf,' 'Vegetable Cutlets,' and 'Vegetable Sausages'—dishes that mimic meat textures, a common strategy in early vegetarian cookbooks. Mushrooms receive their own section, with seven recipes. The egg section offers 16 preparations, from 'Curried' to 'Swiss Eggs.' This variety suggests the book aimed to show that vegetarian cooking could be diverse and satisfying, not limited to boiled vegetables. The structure—grouping by ingredient or dish type—makes it easy to navigate.

Readers approaching this edition will find a cookbook that balances moral conviction with practical instruction. The recipes are period-specific in measurements and technique, but the underlying principles—beat well, knead thoroughly, bake in a hot oven—remain sound. The index is a useful starting point: note the emphasis on soups, eggs, and breads, and the presence of meat-substitute dishes like 'Nut Loaf' and 'Vegetable Sausages.' The book rewards a sequential reading, as techniques introduced in early sections recur later. For modern cooks, adjusting oven temperatures and ingredient availability may require experimentation, but the clear instructions provide a reliable foundation.

Leafing through the 1897 Practical Vegetarian Cookery, I find myself oddly wistful for its careful, precise bread recipes—that era’s quiet faith in method and patience. There’s a similar, homely comfort in the straightforward approach of 30 Tempting Spaghetti Meals: Easy, Economical, Delicious — Key Ideas to Explore, which feels less like innovation and more like remembering how good simple things can be.