To boil a tame Duck
Take your Duck and truss it, and boil it with water and salt, or rather Mutton broth, when it hath boiled a while, put in some whole Spice, and when it is boiled enough, take some white wine and butter, and good store of Onions boiled tender in several waters, with a little of the Liquor wherein the Duck hath boiled, and a little Salt: put your Duck into a Dish, and heat these things together and pour over it; and serve it; garnish the Dish with boiled Onions and Barberries. Boiled Duck Old Elizabethan Recipe
The above Old recipe is taken from for Boiled Duck is written in totally different way to today's recipe books.

• There were no lists of ingredients - these were included as part of the text
• Food and ingredient measurements were extremely basic - quantities were not often specified.
• Temperature control was difficult and therefore not specified.
• Cooking times were vague - and left to the cook to decide.
• It was assumed that the reader would already have some knowledge of cooking