history - cooking: cookbooks

Cookbooks

Culinary history has several different focus of study, maybe the first and foremost is the cookbook. Since the early beginnings of writing, humans have been recording recipes: recorded on a clay tablet by Sumerians were recipes, including one for making ale. Likewise, numerous recipes have been located in Egyptian hieroglyphics. The ancient Greeks appear to have been the first to compile cookery manuscripts. While many manuscripts in ancient times were written, only one is known to have survived. The Artis Magiricae Libre X was written in part by Marcus Apicius in the first century. Roman and Greek chefs wrote down their recipes and their ideas of cookery survived at least in monasteries and in the Byzantine Empire.

The Arabs revelled in cookery and the first known non-Roman cookery manuscripts were written in Baghdad in the 9th century. The crusades revived interest in culinary arts in Western Europe, and in particular the spices of the east. Subsequently, dozens of cookery manuscripts were written in England, France, Germany Italy and Spain. The similarity of these manuscripts indicate that the chefs and the Royal families that they served were interconnected.

Twenty-five years after Johann Gutenberg printed his first book in 1450, Bartolomeo de Sacchi di Piadena (otherwise known as Platina) published 'De honesta voluptate' in Venice. This was translated into German, Italian and French, and frequently republished throughout Europe. About 250 of Platina's recipes were borrowed from a manuscript written by Martino, who lived during the 1450-75 period. Martino's recipes were reprinted in Epulario (Of Feasting) two hundred years after their origin.

Eight years after the publication of 'De honesta voluptate', the Roman cookbook of Apicius was published in Italy. It was frequently republished and translated into French and Spanish, but not English until centuries later.

Bartolomeo Scappi (1540-1570) was a cook to various cardinals, and perhaps Pope Pius IV. Many classical cooking techniques are presented by Scappi: marinating, braising and poaching. He explores the Arab art of pastry making and the likes of succussu all moresca (Moorish couscous). His book published in 1570 contains over 1,000 recipes. It is extremely well illustrated and demonstrates the high point renaissance cookery at its best. By the 1650s it was out of print and the culinary initiative had passed to Paris.

The most important French cookbook after the publication of Platina was Francois Pierre de la Varenne's 'Le Cuisinier Francois' which signals the end of the anarchy of the medieval age and Renaissance fantasy, and methodically organises cooking. It starts with bouillon or stock, the base ingredient for sauces, etc. The goal was a harmonious blend of ingredients so that not one predominates. The cookbook continued to be reprinted in France until 1815. It went through an estimated 250 editions with over 250,000 copies published. This alerted publishers to the financial possibilities of cookbooks. La Varenne worked for the marquis d'Uxelles. He is attributed with founding the classical French cooking school. Pierre Francoise de la Varenne was born 1615 and died in 1678, he was also the author of "Le Vrai Cuisinier", published in 1651; the first cookbook to summerise the French Nobilities cooking practices.

One hundred years later Menon's 'La Cuisiniere bourgeoise' (1748) appeared. Almost nothing is known about Menon, not even his first name. His cookery is part science and part art, French cookery breaks with the Renaissance culinary style; fashionable debate.

'La Physiologie du gout', written by Brillat-Savarin, Jean Anthelme; was released on December 8, 1825, it was a treatise on the fine art of gastronomy. Published in English as The Physiology of Taste (1825), it was the first work to treat dining as a form of art, and gastronomy as "the intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns man's nourishment." The book is still great reading with his excessive theoroms and aphorisms, not only was he a ‘gourmet scientist’, but he also held a great sense of wit. Savarin was determined to turn the culinary art a true science, he pulled everything apart and studied it and applied all the sciences to find out the cause and effect.

British cookbooks took a different direction in the 18th century. British cookbooks, frequently written by women, were filled with practical wisdom and rich experience gained in the kitchen. Some of the best cookbooks ever written fall into this category, such as Hannah Glasse's 'The Art of Cookery' in 1747. Another popular British work was Susannah Carter's The Frugal Housewife, first published in London in 1772.

Probably some of the most important books were written by Auguste Escoffier; his written work is, without question, that of a man far in advance of his time, yet he never failed to acknowledge the contribution of his predecessors, works such as:

• 1886 - Le Traite sur L'art de Travailler les Fleurs en Cire
• 1903 - Le Guide Culinaire
• 1910 - Les Fleurs en Cire (a new edition)
• 1911 - Le Carnet d'Epicure
• 1912 - Le Livre des Menus
• 1927 - Le Riz
• 1929 - La Morue
• 1934 - Ma Cuisine

'Le Repetoire de la Cuisine' written by Louise Saulnier and published in 1914, is an important work as it listed all the classical French dishes, not a recipe book, but a descriptive list of the dishes. It was translated into English by Brunet; Chef to the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe.

While British cookbooks were published in America beginning in 1742, they did not accurately reflect American cookery. British cookery practices dominated the colonial kitchen, but physical isolation, different climatic conditions, and New World foods contributed to culinary drift. The cookery of other European refugees and colonists, slaves from Africa and the Caribbean, and Native Americans mingled and melded with the pre-eminent English style, creating a unique melting pot for American cookery.

Amelia Simmons's American Cookery (1796) was the first cookbook authored by an American. It too mainly reflected English cookery practices and many of the recipes were borrowed from American editions of the previously mentioned work by Susannah Carter's The Frugal Housewife.

Mary Randolph's 'Virginia House-wife' (1824) made a break from British cookery practices and a breakthrough for American cookery. Randolph's contribution was not just in the Americanisation of her recipes. She demonstrated the wide range of culinary usage from soup to sweets and from breakfast to dinner dishes. While some of her recipes can be traced to other sources, all demonstrated modifications based upon extensive culinary experience. Her recipes were influential in American cookery.

Many were subsequently copied and revised. As pivotal as Mary Randolph's contributions were, American cookery did not just blossom forth from her unique efforts. In part her cookbook was based upon recipes developed and published in Britain and France. In part it reflected unrecorded developments that occurred previously over decades, particularly in Virginia. And in part it demonstrated her willingness to absorb and refine recipes from other cultures, as illustrated by her inclusion of those of Spanish origin. Her recipes were more than just a manifestation of the state of cookery in America or her ability to borrow and enhance recipes. She set the standards for cookery for the next three decades in the States.

The first known fund-raising cookbook was printed in the USA: Nantucket Receipts published in Boston in 1870, which was intended for sale at "the fair for the New England Hospital for Women and Children." The following year, three charitable cookbooks were published in Massachusetts communities and one in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These early works, like most subsequent charitable cookbooks, were printed in small quantities and sold locally. Their success encouraged other groups to compile and publish charitable cookbooks of their own, and a new genre of cookery works was created. These works were written or compiled by non-professionals and were intended to generate income for a particular community charity or religious group.

This is very much a page in motion. As I find out more I will be updating it, so please come back again.

The information contained on all my historical web pages is supplied for your interest only and further research may be required. I have gathered it from many sources over many years. While I attempt to insure they are crossed referenced for accuracy, I take no responsibility for mistakes - additions or corrections are welcomed.

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