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American cookery
First published 1808 · 178 pages
A foundational glimpse into the kitchens and pantries of early America.
What it feels like
Reading this foundational text feels like stepping directly into an early American kitchen. The pace is steady and practical, offering a fascinating, antiquarian glimpse into the domestic realities of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The mood is distinctly rustic and historical, grounded in the use of native foods and the authentic terminology of the era. Rather than a narrative, the experience is one of culinary archaeology, uncovering the practical instructions that shaped early American cooking and were widely echoed in subsequent kitchens. The prose is straightforward and instructive, preserving the authentic voice of early domestic life. It is a deeply satisfying read for culinary historians and anyone captivated by the origins of American foodways.
- Mood
- rustic
- domestic
- antiquarian
- Tone
- instructive
- practical
- historical
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- early American domesticity · culinary history · native ingredients · foundational cooking
- The writing
- Practical and instructive, utilizing the terminology and phrasing of early American domestic life.
- The arc
- A journey back in time to the foundational roots of American domestic life and culinary tradition.
- Who it's for
- Culinary historians, cookbook collectors, and readers fascinated by the origins of American cuisine.
About the book
This is a significant publication, being the first cookbook written by an American, and also published in the United States. It used foods native to America, and terms in use by early Americans. It was widely copied and plagiarized in its day, a common practice prevalent in early cookery books, with the book remaining popular through the early years of the 19th century. There were at least a dozen editions or printings between 1796 and 1831.
Description from Open Library.
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