HEALTH'S IMPROVEMENT: or, RULES Comprizing and Discovering the NATURE, METHOD AND MANNER of PREPARING all sorts of FOODS Used in this Nation Corrected and Enlarged by Christopher Bennet, Doctor in Physick, and Fellow of the College of Physicians in London

Moffet, Thomas (Doctor in Physick)

Published by T. Osborne, London, 1746

About this Item

398 pages. 17 x 10 cm. Early English works at the intersection of dietetics, domestic household management, and what we could now call nutritional advice, framed entirely within Galenic humoral theory and early modern medical practice. Because Moffet died in 1604, the original text is an Elizabethan/early Jacobean composition that circulated in manuscript and only reached print later, with Bennet editing and "correcting" it for publication and then for subsequent reprints like this Osborne edition. The book is essentially a systematic survey of foods consumed in England, categorized and described from a physician's standpoint, with advice on their proper preparation and use. Classification by food type is described as: Cereals and breads (wheaten bread vs. coarse breads), flesh meat (beef, mutton, veal, port, venison, poultry), fish and seafood (sea vs. river fish, shellfish), milk and dairy (milk, butter, cheese), fruits and garden produce (apples, pears, stone fruits, herbs, roots), "confections," wines beers, and other drinks. Each item discusses its "nature" in humoral terms: hot/cold, moist/dry, and degree thereof; effects on different bodies (children, the aged, the choleric, the phlegmatic, the studious, etc.); suitability for the sick vs. the healthy; best season and proper preparation (roasting vs. boiling, spicing, mixing with other foods to correct imbalances). There are continuous references to digestion, sleep, exercise, and regimen. Capturing an English dietary world on the cusp of change: pre-potato in everyday terms, pre-tea and coffee as common beverages, with a strong emphasis on bread, ale/beer, and meat. A rare, detailed witness for the pre-modern medical reading of food: how a learned physician conceptualized and hierarchized everyday items on the table. Front cover detached but present. Interior toned with light foxing. Covers and spine heavily rubbed. [BITING 327] [OXFORD pg. 27 - 1655 edition].

Seller Inventory # 4867

Bibliographic Details

• Title: HEALTH'S IMPROVEMENT: or, RULES Comprizing and Discovering the NATURE, METHOD AND MANNER of PREPARING all sorts of FOODS Used in this Nation Corrected and Enlarged by Christopher Bennet, Doctor in Physick, and Fellow of the College of Physicians in London
• Publisher: T. Osborne, London
• Publication Date: 1746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brown calf, raised bands. Fair
• Seller catalogs:
  • FOOD AND DRINK::COOKING::REFERENCE
  • ERA::18TH CENTURY
  • HEALTH::NUTRITION
  • FOOD & DRINK WRITING
  • REGION::EUROPE::BRITISH ISLES