28-414: Mary Randolph (August 9, 1762 – January 23, 1828) was a Southern American cook and author, known for writing The Virginia House-Wife ; Or, Methodical Cook (1824), one of the most influential housekeeping and cook books of the 19th century. Many of the recipes used local Virginia ingredients including Tanacetum vulgare virginia pudding, pickled nasturtiums and desserts with the native gooseberry . She
56-545: A Revolutionary War officer and tobacco planter. The newlyweds lived at Presquile , a 750-acre plantation that was part of the Randolph family's extensive property in Chesterfield County, Virginia . Over the course of their marriage, Mary and David had eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Around 1795 President George Washington appointed David Randolph the U.S. Marshal of Virginia and by 1798,
84-807: A Virginian — model for southern readers. Although her occasional explanations of uniquely southern foods suggests she anticipated an audience beyond her region, [Randolph's work] appealed to the women of the rural South who were the majority of her readers." Randolph's recipes exhibited a uniquely Virginian style , using Virginia produce for dishes influenced by African, Native American, and European foods. The book included recipes for Southern classics such as okra, sweet potatoes, biscuits, fried chicken, barbecue shote (young pig), and lemonade. European influenced recipes included gazpacho , ropa vieja , polenta , and macaroni . Six curry recipes were included in The Virginia House-Wife; these were
112-719: A boarding house in Richmond. In March 1808, an advertisement appeared in The Richmond Virginia Gazette : "Mrs. RANDOLPH Has established a Boarding House in Cary Street, for the accommodation of Ladies and Gentlemen. She has comfortable chambers, and a stable well supplied for a few Horses." David was in England during the 1810 census which listed Mary as the head of a Richmond household that included nine slaves. In May 1815, Harriott Pinckney Horry spent
140-479: A few days at the Randolph's boardinghouse and described Randolph's refrigerator in her journal. Inside a 4 by 3 1/2 foot box there was another box four inches smaller. The space between the two was packed with powdered charcoal and the refrigerator was filled with ice daily to cool butter, meat and other foods. In the 1825 2nd edition of her cookbook, Randolph included sketches for a refrigerator and bath tub. Years later an author claimed (falsely) that Randolph invented
168-421: A popular method of preservation in the mid-nineteenth century. Although Randolph was a knowledgeable cook, the majority of the labor in her kitchen was done by black women. While it is impossible to speculate on Randolph's relationship to these women, Melissa Blank of Colonial Williamsburg sees "evidence that enslaved cooks had a significant influence on how Mary prepared food." Karen Hess 's introduction to
196-421: A popular method of preservation in the mid-nineteenth century. Although Randolph was a knowledgeable cook, the majority of the labor in her kitchen was done by black women. While it is impossible to speculate on Randolph's relationship to these women, Melissa Blank of Colonial Williamsburg sees "evidence that enslaved cooks had a significant influence on how Mary prepared food." Karen Hess 's introduction to
224-759: A southern — specifically, a Virginian — model for southern readers. Although her occasional explanations of uniquely southern foods suggests she anticipated an audience beyond her region, [Randolph's work] appealed to the women of the rural South who were the majority of her readers." Randolph's recipes exhibited a uniquely Virginian style , using Virginia produce for dishes influenced by African, Native American, and European foods. The book included recipes for Southern classics such as okra, sweet potatoes, biscuits, fried chicken, barbecue shote (young pig), and lemonade. European influenced recipes included gazpacho , ropa vieja , polenta , and macaroni . Six curry recipes were included in The Virginia House-Wife; these were
252-542: The Library of Virginia's " Virginia Women in History ". In 1999, the state of Virginia erected a historical marker in her honor near the site of her birth in Chesterfield County . The Virginia House-Wife The Virginia House-Wife is an 1824 housekeeping manual and cookbook by Mary Randolph . In addition to recipes it gave instructions for making soap, starch , blacking and cologne. The Virginia House-Wife
280-594: The 1984 edition of the Virginia housewife notes "The black presence was infinitely more subtle in Virginia cookery than in that of New Orleans or the West Indies, but ... the culture was sufficiently imbued with it to condition the palate of the entire community. Hess cites gumbo , eggplant , field peas , yams and possibly tomatoes as crops that accompanied enslaved Black people to the Americas. Hess also notes
308-422: The 1984 edition of the Virginia housewife notes "The black presence was infinitely more subtle in Virginia cookery than in that of New Orleans or the West Indies, but ... the culture was sufficiently imbued with it to condition the palate of the entire community. Hess cites gumbo , eggplant , field peas , yams and possibly tomatoes as crops that accompanied enslaved Black people to the Americas. Hess also notes
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#1732793557868336-420: The West Indies forged a connection between Spanish, French, Creole, and Southern cooking. The Virginia House-Wife The Virginia House-Wife is an 1824 housekeeping manual and cookbook by Mary Randolph . In addition to recipes it gave instructions for making soap, starch , blacking and cologne. The Virginia House-Wife was first published in 1824; it was republished at least nineteen times before
364-621: The book also explained how to make soap, starch, blacking and cologne. Conventional wisdom has claimed that early Americans ate few vegetables and overcooked the few they did eat. The Virginia House-Wife gives recipes for dozens of vegetables and seventeen aromatic herbs. This dietary diversity can be confirmed with Thomas Jefferson's notes on the produce for sale in Washington's markets. Randolph specifically recommended short cooking times for asparagus and spinach; Karen Hess points out that overcooking didn't become common until canning became
392-562: The book also explained how to make soap, starch, blacking and cologne. Conventional wisdom has claimed that early Americans ate few vegetables and overcooked the few they did eat. The Virginia House-Wife gives recipes for dozens of vegetables and seventeen aromatic herbs. This dietary diversity can be confirmed with Thomas Jefferson's notes on the produce for sale in Washington's markets. Randolph specifically recommended short cooking times for asparagus and spinach; Karen Hess points out that overcooking didn't become common until canning became
420-556: The family had moved to Richmond, where they built a house called "Moldavia" (a combination of Molly, a nickname for Mary, and David). Mary Randolph was a celebrated hostess in Richmond . David Randolph was a Federalist and an open critic of his second cousin Thomas Jefferson . After Jefferson's election to the presidency, he removed David Randolph from office and the family's fortunes declined. In 1807, Mary Randolph opened
448-604: The first curry recipes published in the United States and suggest curry was already a popular seasoning in the region. Specialties from other parts of the US included a recipe entitled "Dough Nuts - A Yankee Cake." The Virginia House-Wife also included the first fried chicken recipe published in the USA though this was a recipe without seasonings and the first ice cream recipe published by an American author. In addition to recipes
476-444: The first curry recipes published in the United States and suggest curry was already a popular seasoning in the region. Specialties from other parts of the US included a recipe entitled "Dough Nuts - A Yankee Cake." The Virginia House-Wife also included the first fried chicken recipe published in the USA though this was a recipe without seasonings and the first ice cream recipe published by an American author. In addition to recipes
504-473: The outbreak of the Civil War . The book was 225 pages long, included nearly 500 recipes, and resulted from Randolph's "practical experience as keeper of a large establishment, and perhaps in the hope of further augmenting the family income." The Virginia House-Wife is considered the first regional American cookbook. According to historian Cynthia A. Kierner, "Randolph presented a southern — specifically,
532-473: The refrigerator and that her design was stolen and patented by a Yankee who stayed in her boardinghouse. By 1819, the Randolphs had given up their boardinghouse and moved to Washington to live with their son William Beverly Randolph. While in Washington, Mary Randolph completed her cookbook and in 1824 The Virginia House-Wife was published. Randolph's influential housekeeping book The Virginia House-Wife
560-425: The standard for tomato cookery over the next three decades." In a 2014 essay for National Geographic , restaurateur José Andrés cited Mary Randolph as an influence. Andrés serves Randolph's gazpacho at his America Eats Tavern and believes that Randolph's "Gazpacho recipe demonstrates just how far back the notion of this country as a cultural melting pot goes." In 2009 Randolph was posthumously honored as one of
588-636: The years that followed. Two of the most important were The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryan (1839) and The Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge (1847). In 1982, James Beard praised Mary as "a far-seeing culinary genius" in The Richmond News Leader . He was particularly impressed by her use of tomatoes, writing "At a time when few people thought of tomatoes at all, she provided food recipes for tomato ketchup, tomato marmalade and tomato soy." According to culinary historian Andrew F. Smith, Randolph's wide range of tomato recipes "set
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#1732793557868616-723: Was an overall household guide and in addition to recipes it also explained how to make soap, starch, blacking and cologne. Randolph spent the last years of her life caring for her son Burwell Starke Randolph, who had been disabled while serving in the Navy. Randolph was the first person known to be buried at what would become Arlington National Cemetery , at the home of her cousin George Washington Parke Custis , stepgrandson of George Washington and father of Mary Custis , wife of Robert E. Lee . Southern cookbooks similar to The Virginia House-Wife were published in
644-485: Was first published in 1824 and it was republished at least nineteen times before the outbreak of the Civil War. The book was 225 pages long, included nearly 500 recipes, and resulted from Randolph's "practical experience as keeper of a large establishment, and perhaps in the hope of further augmenting the family income." The Virginia House-Wife is considered the first regional American cookbook. The Virginia House-Wife
672-469: Was first published in 1824; it was republished at least nineteen times before the outbreak of the Civil War . The book was 225 pages long, included nearly 500 recipes, and resulted from Randolph's "practical experience as keeper of a large establishment, and perhaps in the hope of further augmenting the family income." The Virginia House-Wife is considered the first regional American cookbook. According to historian Cynthia A. Kierner, "Randolph presented
700-490: Was handed down to her daughter Jane Randolph Walke. Mary Randolph was the oldest of Thomas and Anne's 13 children. Her brother Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. married Martha Jefferson (daughter of Thomas Jefferson ) and became a Congressman and Governor of Virginia. One sister, Virginia Randolph Cary , was a noted essayist and another, Harriet, married Richard Shippey Hackley who became US Consul and they lived in Cadiz, Spain. She
728-543: Was orphaned at a young age and raised by Thomas Jefferson's parents who were distant cousins. Her father also served in the Virginia House of Burgesses , the Revolutionary conventions of 1775 and 1776, and the Virginia state legislature. Anne Cary Randolph was the daughter of Archibald Cary , an important Virginia planter. Anne's grandmother, Jane Bolling Randolph completed a cookbook manuscript in 1743 which
756-881: Was probably the source of the Spanish recipes in Randolph's cookbook. Her sister, Ann Cary "Nancy" Randolph , was the wife of Gouverneur Morris and mother of Gouverneur Morris Jr. Ann figured in a scandal involving her brother-in-law and distant cousin, Richard Randolph of Bizarre, in which he was accused of "feloniously murdering a child said to be borne of Nancy [Ann] Randolph." Randolph grew up at Tuckahoe Plantation in Goochland County, Virginia . The Randolphs were known to hire professional tutors to teach their children. Mary would likely have learned reading, writing, and arithmetic in addition to domestic skills. In December 1780, 18-year-old Mary Randolph married her first cousin once removed, David Meade Randolph (1760–1830),
784-433: Was the first person known to be buried at what would become known as Arlington National Cemetery . Mary Randolph was born on August 9, 1762, at Ampthill Plantation in Chesterfield County, Virginia . Her parents were Thomas Mann Randolph Sr. (1741–1794) and Anne Cary Randolph (1745–1789). The extended Randolph family was one of the richest and most political significant families in 18th century Virginia. Mary's father
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