Of garden stuff

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To fry Artichoke Bottoms

First blanch them in water, then flour them; fry them in fresh butter, lay them in your dish, and pour melted butter over them. Or you may put a little red wine into the butter and season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt.

To fry Cauliflowers

Take two fine cauliflowers, boil them in milk and water, then leave one whole and pull the other to pieces; take half a pound of butter, with two spoonfuls of water, a little dust of flour, and melt the butter in a stew pan; then put in the whole cauliflower, cut in two, and the other pulled to pieces, and fry it till it is of a very light brown. Season it with pepper and salt. When it is enough, lay the two halves in the middle, and pour the rest all over.

To fry Celery

Take six or eight heads of celery; cut off the green tops, and take off the outside stalks; wash them clean, then have ready half a pint of white wine, the yelks of three eggs, beat fine, and a little salt and nutmeg; mix all well together, with flour, into a batter, and fry them in butter. When enough, lay them in the dish and put melted butter over them.

To fry Potatoes

Cut them into thin slices, as big as a crown piece, fry them brown, lay them in the plate or dish, pour melted butter, sack and sugar over them. These are a pretty corner plate.

To fry Onions

Take some large onions, peel them, and cut them into slices, about a quarter of an inch thick; then dip these slices into batter, or an egg beaten, without breaking them, and fry them of a nice brown.

To fry Parsley

Pick the parsley very clean, and see that it be young. Then put a little butter into a clean pan, and when it is very hot, put in the parsley; keep it stirring with a knife knife till it be crisp, then take it out, and use it as garnish for fried lamb, &C.

From The frugal housewife: or, Complete woman cook: Wherein the art of dressing all sorts of viands, with cleanliness, decency, and elegance, is explained in five hundred approved receipts ... Together with the best methods of potting, collaring, preserving, drying, candying, pickling, and making domestic wines. To which are added, various bills of fare, and a proper arrangement of dinners, two courses, for every month in the year (1796) by Susannah Carter

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Notes: “yelks” and “knife knife” appear thus in the original.

• As Mrs Carter writes, no crowns have been issued in Britain since 1751 because of a shortage of silver, and none would be issued until 1818. The George III crown piece she mentions would have been 39mm in diameter.