Recipe books, also known as receipt books, provide insight into not only popular dishes, ingredients, and food preparation, but also on medicinal remedies, household hints, pest management, personal hygiene, animal care, and the composition of dyes, finishes, paints, and glass. Recipe books in this collection primarily represent the New England and Mid-Atlantic areas, with a few from England, and range in date from 1669 to the early 20th century.

Recipe titles have been transcribed with original spellings, with corrections added in parentheses to enhance searchability.