The Caules Recipe Book: Menorcan Cuisine of the 18th Century

The tenth volume in the collection introduces another Balearic recipe book, one of outstanding importance, as it is the first known document to record the use of mahonesa sauce, demonstrating that it is not of French origin, as has sometimes been claimed. In the Caules manuscript, mahonesa sauce is still referred to in Menorcan as salsa de peix crua ("raw fish sauce"). To date, this is the earliest known written account of its method of preparation. It is highly likely that it was served both as an accompaniment to fish and with boiled meats or chicken. This version would later be published in France in 1811 under the name poulet mayonnaise. The recipe book, whose author remains unknown, contains 251 recipes prepared with a wide variety of ingredients, together with an example of a banquet served à la française, intended for the use of a wealthy family from Mahón with cultural connections to various countries around the world. The work was conceived as a practical manual for culinary use, reflecting a cuisine adapted to the needs and aspirations of the upper-middle classes of Menorca during the final third of the eighteenth century. Its primary aim was to provide clear and practical guidance on the ingredients and techniques required to prepare each recipe.