As the daughter of an 18th century English country parson, Jane Austen had to become an expert in household management. Because her father, Reverend George Austen received only a tiny annual stipend from the church, the family had to become almost self-supporting in the question of food. In addition to supplementing their income by farming the small plot of land that the church owned, the Austens learned to raise their own fruits, make their own cheeses, smoke their own meats and raise their own chickens. Various members of the family also became experts in making jams, wines, medicines, beer, soap, toothpowder and hand creams.

For many years, Jane's mother was an energetic housekeeper, but as she grew more frail her daughters took over the running of the house. Cassandra, the oldest daughter, was the mainstay, but when she went away from home on an extended visit in when Jane was 24 years old, Jane took over gladly. In a letter to her sister, Jane wrote "I am a very good housekeeper, because I really think it is my particular excellence. One of the reasons I am so good is that I always take care to provide such things as please my own appetite, which I consider as the chief merit in housekeeping".

In her letters to friends, Austen would frequently describe the meals she had eaten and in her novels food always played an important role in defining her characters. In "Pride and Prejudice", an enormous amount of dialogue centers about the subjects of oysters, lobsters, roast chickens, gooseberry tarts and cheesecakes. Throughout the book her characters seem to be continually dining on such treats as sweetbreads, roast beef or roast mutton, boiled chicken with oyster sauce and roast goose.

In "Emma", perhaps the most appetizing of Austen's books, many of the most important scenes occur against the background of meals and refreshments. Emma's father, the hypochondriacal Mr. Wodehouse, is portrayed as a man perpetually diverting his guests from wedding cake, asparagus, roast pork and baked custards, all of which he declares "unwholesome". His own preferences were for gruel, soft-boiled eggs or a bit of boiled meat with a small turnip. Jane Fairfax suffers the pains of concealed love against a constant input of baked apples from her aunt and over the pigeon pie and cold lamb of that thunderous picnic at Box Hill.

If guests were to drop in at the Austen residence, they would always find ample supplies of freshly baked bread, homemade butter, cold meats, lobsters and apple pies on hand. Jane's own favorite dishes included the thick pea soup her mother made, pigeon casserole, and the "small but exquisite strawberries that grew at the base of the fence that surrounded our little garden".

Pigeon Casserole
A traditional English dish known as "Pupton"

6 pigeons, trimmed
250 grams bacon, diced finely
2 large onions, chopped coarsely
250 grams whole-wheat bread, without crusts, crumbled
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons sage, chopped
2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg , grated
rind of 1 large lemon, grated
1 1/2 cups chicken or pigeon stock, ideally homemade
salt and pepper to taste
250 grams mushroom caps, quartered
250 grams carrots, chopped finely

Bone and halve the pigeon breasts. Remove and finely chop the meat from the legs.

Place the bacon in a large heavy skillet over a low flame and when the fat begins to liquefy, add the onion. Saute until the onions are soft. Remove from the flame and add the breadcrumbs, parsley, sage, thyme, nutmeg, lemon rind. Pour in just enough of the stock to moisten the mixture, mix well and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Place 1/3 of this mixture in the base of a casserole dish. Over this lay half of the mushrooms and carrots and on these lay the pigeon breasts in an overlapping line in the center. Around the sides of the dish lay the chopped leg meat. Cover with the remaining carrots and mushrooms and then with the remaining breadcrumb mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in an oven that has been heated to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 1 1/2 hours.

Discard the aluminum foil, raise the oven temperature to very hot and cook for 1/2 hour longer. Serve piping hot. (Serves 6).

Note: This dish can also be made with quail or chicken. If using chicken, you will need only three chicken breasts and six legs.

© Daniel Rogov