ABSTRACT
England’s nineteenth-century culinary pacesetter Elizabeth Acton, author of Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845), introduced exact measurement of ingredients, specific cooking temperatures and times, and pioneered the modern cookbook. A native of Sussex, she was born on April 17, 1799 at Battle. Her father, John Acton, an Ipswich brewer, moved his family back to Suffolk, but Elizabeth, who suffered from physical weakness in childhood, was sent to France for recuperation. While living abroad, she became accustomed to French cuisine, which may have initiated her interest in cooking.
