ABSTRACT
Household management and economics – the way families managed the flow of goods and services within and across households – required careful attention from men and women of all classes. The recipe/remedy books kept by the Clough/Hornyold family in late seventeenth-century England and by the Drayton family in early nineteenth century-America show a similar preoccupation with the nutrition and health of household members. Unsurprisingly, the preparation and preservation of food were important to households, but the treatment of everyday ailments was also an essential function of households. Since at least the middle ages, the recording and collection of recipes and remedies – usually by women – was a part of regular household functions in England. Life-cycle service was an important phase of most young women's lives allowing them to learn skills, earn money and amass household goods. Manners' diary also underscores the importance of neighbours' labour in large projects such as hanging meet or felling trees.
