A cow is a domestic mammal commonly used for meat and dairy production. Domesticated cows are the descendants of the auroch, a species of now-extinct wild cattle. Cows were domesticated between approximately 8000 BCE and 6000 BCE.

 

In early modern England, cows were typically used for beef, milk, and leather. Elizabeth Dyke used beef in culinary recipes for stews, puddings, pies, and holiday meals, among others. Dyke used milk in medicinal recipes for scurvy, stomach ache, and fever and in culinary recipes for puddings and porridge.