This encyclopedic collection contains forty-four chapters with hundreds of recipes, and it includes discussions of methodology and ingredients as well as detailed recipes for a stunning array of dishes. Included are recipes for preserving fruits and fruit juices, preparation of jams and jellies, fruit and other syrups, summer beverages, dessert cakes, ice cream, sherbet, candy, bon-bons, puddings, tinctures, oils, and colorants. Written by an anonymous author, the "receipts" are from the "best New York, Philadelphia, and Boston confectioners, and include a large number from the French and other nations."

"The confectioner's art is an accomplishment which may be ranked among the most desirable and graceful of all that pertains to domestic economy . . . It is absolutely necessary to the economy of the household that this art should form a part of every lady's education."