ABSTRACT
Initsessencearecipeisablueprintandaninspiration,acontradictory mixtureofgivenrulesandcreativepossibility.Therootofthewordinthe Latinverbrecipere,totakeortoreceive,suggestssomethingofits complexpotential.Itisnowonderthatcookbooksprovidefavourite bedtimereading,whentheyprovidesuchanopportunityforimaginative creationofaestheticvisual,oralandalimentarysatisfactions.Written recipeshavethepeculiarmetaliterarystatusofanticipatingthecreationof materialentitiesandeventsbeyondthetext.ButasSusanLeonardipoints outinherwittyandperceptive1989article,'RecipesforReading',arecipe isgenerallyanembeddeddiscourse;itgivesandisgivenlifeandmeaning byitscontext.Whateverarecipe'sprovenance,itisthecontext-beit cookbook,letter,foodprogrammeormagazine-thatprovidesanecdotes, illustrativetalesofparticularmealsormouth-wateringaccountsoftastes, smellsandingredients.1
