> > And if any of yall are volunteers that I enlisted in the past--I
> > apologize for not following through but would like to hear from you
> > again. I lost my computer years ago and all my correspondence. From
> > now on, I am going to rely on the best backup system the world has yet
> > produced--paper.
> > Tommy Armstrong
>
> This sounds like a fun project. One idea you might want to pursue is a
> parallel 'translation' - original recipe followed by the modern version
> for those who cannot get the old ingredient list, or where one of these
> ladies noted quantities for more people than the modern family cook
> usually caters for. Both my Roman cookbook (translations from Apicius)
> and my mediaeval cookbook (various sources) do this. You COULD do a
> special section on feeding crowds for the recipes that start, 'Take 20
> eggs... '.
>
> One thing you might like to explore is collaboration with a cook who has
> done this sort of thing before. Ring a few cookbook publishers
> (publisher's details can be found in the books) and ask them if they
> might be interested. They would also know where to find an interested
> cook. It might be fun to make a 'coffee table' cook book that can
> really be used. I have several like this, as well as more utilitarian
> ones. Interspersing the recipes with historical notes on the life and
> times of the various grannies and photographs where they are available
> might provide you with more general interest and a wider audience.


Thanks for the ideas. Kind of what I had in mind but was thinking
along creating a printed version with resource cd or dvd with the
actual scans of the originals so that one could get a flavor of how
they recorded them--along with a few audio files that I have from my
grandmother as well as some other interviews. I have not really done a
lot of research into cookbooks but was wondering if that kind of thing
is now commonplace. In other words, kind of have the "footnotes" and
original source on the dvd.

Tommy Armstrong