The Caules recipe book menorcan cuisine of the 18th century.

Synopsis

This volume brings us another Balearic cookbook, and one of exceptional historical significance: it is the earliest documented source to record the use of mayonnaise (salsa maonesa), providing compelling evidence that its origins are Menorcan rather than French, as has sometimes been claimed.

In the Caules manuscript, mayonnaise is still referred to by its Menorcan name, salsa de peix crua (“raw fish sauce”). To date, it constitutes the oldest known written testimony describing its method of preparation. It is highly likely that the sauce was served not only with fish but also with stews and chicken dishes—a version that would later be published in France in 1811 under the name poulet mayonnaise.

This cookbook, whose author remains unknown, contains 251 recipes featuring a wide variety of ingredients, as well as an example of a French-style menu intended for use by a wealthy family in Maó with cultural connections to different parts of the world. The work was conceived as a practical guide to the culinary arts, adapted to the needs and aspirations of the Menorcan upper-middle class during the final third of the eighteenth century. Its primary aim was to present, in a clear and practical manner, the ingredients and procedures required to prepare each of the recipes included.

We are pleased to offer this English translation in order to make this exceptional historical and culinary document accessible to a broader international audience, enabling scholars, food historians, and culinary enthusiasts from around the world to engage with one of the most significant cookbooks in the Mediterranean gastronomic tradition.

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