Course:LIBR548F/2009WT1/History of Cookbooks
Introduction
Throughout the last several decades, the interest in the history of cookbooks by historians and the preservation of those books by librarians has become increasingly recognized as an important and valid scholarly pursuit. The study of cookbooks produced by various societies, both ancient and modern, can lead to significant information about the daily lives of these people, their habits and traditions, and their resources and culture. The evolution of cookbooks in a culture can be indicative of the addition or removal of resources, interaction with other cultures, or various other sociological and economic changes.[1] Cookbooks can be used as socio-historic tools to investigate the histories of various cultures. Though they don’t directly record the events of a culture, they reflect important social factors such as values, health concerns, and historic events.[2]
Cookbooks are an immense presence in the publishing world today, evidenced by being a genre netting one of the highest overall sales, second only to the bible.[3] Even with the access to recipes for almost anything available online, many will still purchase physical cookbooks to have and hold in their collection at home. One of the most famous cookbooks, The Joy of Cooking (1931), by Irma Rombauer, is a staple, in any of its various editions, in most kitchens across North America today.
The Early Cookbooks
The earliest documented “cookbooks” are three tablets from the Old Babylonian period that reside in the Babylonian Collection at Yale University. The tablets are over 3700 years old, dating back to approximately 1700AD. The etchings are in cuneiform, the first writing system known, and the recipes indicate various methods of cooking and seasoning.[4]
Ancient Greece and Rome
The cookbooks of ancient times were written and used by male cooks of wealthy or important families. Such families would have had the means to keep a cook, and to procure the various exotic ingredients called for in the recipes. The cookbooks known from the ancient Roman and Greek civilizations indicate sophisticated and elaborate meals. One of the earliest Grecian cookbooks is that of Archestratus, who wrote a treatise entitled Hēdypatheia, or "Pleasant Living" dated to 350BC. But more well-known is the work of the Greek Athenaeus, who in the 2nd century BC, wrote Deipnosophistai, or "The Learned Banquet", which explores the dining knowledge of two banqueters, sharing recipes and gastronomical experiences. However, the cookbook with the greatest longevity can be attributed to the Roman Marcus Gavius Apicius, whose cookbook De Re Coquinaria, or "The Art of Cooking", written between 14-37AD, can still be found in various editions today.[3][5]
The Middle Ages
Through the Middle Ages in Europe, France produced the cookbook Le Viandier de Guillaume dit Taillevent, ca. 1375, by Guillaume Tirel, a chief in the royal French courts, which became known as the first cookbook to come out of the Middle Ages. Shortly after, the first cookbook written in English, Forme of Cury, or "Art of Cooking", by an unknown author or authors, was written in England in 1390. Again, the cookbook would have been centered around the cuisine of the wealthy, and described recipes for a diverse range of meats, vegetables and spices, presented in elaborate and attractive styles.[3]
Canadian Cookbooks
The first cookbooks that were published in Canada were editions of items that had previously been published in other countries. The cookbook La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise by Menon, was originally from France, and was the first cookbook published in Canada, in Quebec City in 1825. The cookbook Cook Not Mad was originally an American cookbook, and was republished in Kingston, Upper Canada in 1831. However, the first cookbooks made in Canada and centering on “Canadian cuisine” were published in 1840: La Cuisiniere Canadienne and The Frugal Housewife’s Manual. These cookbooks were the first to include local ingredients and tips for gardening and cooking in a specifically Canadian environment.[6]
Women and Cookbooks
Though a cookbook written by a woman was not published until 1598, being Anna Weckerin's Ein Köstlich new Kochbuch (“A Delicious New Cookbook”), women were known to have written cookbooks for personal use, unpublished, to be passed down through the generations from mother to daughter, conveying family traditions and histories.[3] These cookbooks would not only have contained recipes beloved by family, but also various other kinds of information important to the health and well-being of the family. Included would have been tips for gardening and farm animal care, preserving harvested items for future use, selecting food at the local market, recipes for soaps and dyes, as well as health care tips on home remedies and medicines.[1] As with all printed items, the proliferation and advances of the cookbook throughout history was made possible by advances in printing and publishing techniques. As printing and publishing techniques advanced, the availability and affordability of books increased, and with the improved literacy among the middle class, cookbooks became more plentiful and common to the average household.[5]
Changes in Technology
Cookbooks are also an indicator of the innovations and advances made in culinary technology through time, from cooking with open flame, to working with a wood-burning stove, to the modern gas and electric stoves and microwaves. In older recipes, the measurements used might be unfamiliar to the modern cook. Fanny Farmer was the first to standardize measurements in her cookbook The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, in 1896, a hugely popular and successful cookbook. With the advancements of these types of tools and standards into the kitchen, recipes were able to be much more precise and exacting, and appeal to a greater audience.[3]
Notes
1. Michigan State University Library, MSU Museum. (2005). Feeding America: The historic American cookbook project [video]. Retrieved September 15, 2009 from http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/
2. Mitchell, J. (2001). Cookbooks as a social and historical document: a Scottish case study. Food Service Technology, 1, 13-23. Retrieved September 19, 2009 from Wiley-Blackwell Journals database.
3. Barile, M. (1994). Cookbooks worth collecting. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Wallace-Homestead Book Company.
4. Bottéro, Jean. (1987). The Culinary Tablets at Yale. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 107(1). Retrieved September 16, 2009 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/602948
5. cookbook. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136079/cookbook
6. Driver, E. (2008). Culinary landmarks: A bibliography of Canadian cookbooks, 1825-1949. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated.
Annotations:
1. Barile, Mary. (1994). Cookbooks worth collecting. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Wallace-Homestead Book Company.
This book offers an in-depth look at the world of cookbooks, centering around the cookbooks of America and its various forms, but also delving into the history of cookbooks around the world, from Babylonian cookery tablets to Fanny Farmer and beyond. Barile offers tips for the cookbook collector, information on the most influential and notable cookbooks throughout the years, and finishing with a bibliographical listing of the cookbooks discussed, a timeline of significant books, as well as an appendix translating the measurements found in older cookbooks.
2. Cappellano, K.L. (2008). A smorgasbord of web-based food history and culinary resources. Nutrition Today, 43(3). Retrieved September 15, 2009 from Gale Cengage Health and Reference Centre Academic database.
This article from the Nutrition Today journal offers an array of resources available for investigation into the history of cookbooks. Because the article focuses on web-based materials and clearly illustrates the urls where the information is available, the sources are easy to find and clearly appropriate for the topic. Cappellano divides the resources into understandable headings and offers an assessment from a knowledgeable and authoritative background, and also includes a lengthy reference list in the conclusion of the article. The article is fairly recent, having been published in 2008, therefore the sources cited are valid and useful.
3. Berg, P. & Arnold, J. (2003). Feeding America: Exploring Historic American Cookbooks [video file]. Retrieved September 15, 2009 from http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/
This video describes the collection of historic American cookbooks of the Michigan State University Libraries. Berg and Arnold illustrate the importance of the study and preservation of these items, discussing their historical significance in the study of American culture. They highlight several themes of strength in their collection, such as African-American cookbooks, and also editions of well-known popular cookbooks, such as the Fanny Farmer’s The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. The various forms and functions of the cookbooks in their collections are also examined.