American Cooking Through History

9 Cookbooks tracing the evolution of U.S. cuisine

Happy 4th of July! As we prepare to celebrate America's Independence Day, we thought it would be fun to explore our country's culinary journey with a collection of cookbooks reflecting the history of American cuisine through the eras.

Colonial times 

American Cookery by Amelia Simmons is the first known cookbook written by an American. It was published in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1796. Not much is known about the life of its author. It has been assumed that she was a New Englander based on the language and ingredients she used, as well as the types of recipes, which included southern New England specialties like Indian pudding and johnnycakes.

Revolution and Expansion

The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryan was published in 1839. While writing her cookbook, Bryan was living in Monticello, Kentucky where her husband was studying medicine. She was the mother of 14 children. Considered a classic of Southern cooking, her collection contains more than 1,300 recipes reflecting a mélange of influences including American Indian, European, and African cuisines.

Civil War and Reconstruction

Maria Parloa is widely considered to be America's first "celebrity cook." She was the founder of two cooking schools, a lecturer on food topics, and an early figure in the "domestic science" movement. The Appledore Cook Book, published in 1872 is her first of several publications. It is named after one of the hotels where she had worked. It contains the first known recipe for tomato soup as well as recipes like lamb chops, baked potatoes, fried ham, apple cake, and ginger snaps. 

Turn of the Century

Originally published in 1896 as The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer's famous cookbook was particularly notable for a more rigorous approach to recipe writing than had been common up to that point. The guide  provides 1,380 recipes, from boiling an egg to preparing a calf's head. Farmer's instructions also go beyond recipes to include how to set the table for proper tea, full menu ideas for holiday dinners, housekeeping tips, and much more.

War and the Great Depression

Many of us still rely on The Joy of Cooking, which has been in print since 1936 and has sold more than 20 million copies. It was first published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker in St. Louis. After the death of husband to suicide, Rombauer's children encouraged her to compile her recipes and thoughts on cooking to help her cope with her loss. Her ability to convey her instructions as if having a casual culinary chat—with bits of humor, friendly advice, and homey anecdotes—was a major selling point.  

Postwar America 

Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book  was published in 1950 by General Mills. The still famous cookbook was the first to be authored by the fictional domestic goddess at the center of the company's brand. The real author was Agnes White Tizard, a home economist and nutritionist, who by that time, had been portraying Betty Crocker for over twenty years on radio shows and in correspondence with customers. The beautifully illustrated cookbook has influenced generations of home cooks with recipes from Pigs in Blankets to Chicken Tomato Aspic to Home Front Macaroni.

Civil Rights Era

In 1970, Julia Child changed American cuisine forever with her revolutionary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Written for the U.S. market, the book "did more than any other event in the last half century to reshape the gourmet dining scene," according to historian David Strauss. Featuring 524 delicious recipes and over 100 instructive illustrations, the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations—bound to increase anyone's culinary repertoire. (And there's a movie about it.) Bon appétit!

End of the Century

Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso were co-owners of the Manhattan gourmet take-out shop that inspired The Silver Palate Cookbook, published in 1982. From Chicken Marbella to Raspberry Vinaigrette to Caviar Eclairs, the lavish recipes are inventive and boldly seasoned. Lukins and Rosso introduced Americans to Mediterranean and Eastern European cooking techniques and ingredients. Their cookbooks are credited with popularizing cooking as a hobby and changing the way that Americans cooked and ate.

New Millennium

Published in 2017, Samin Nosrat's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is equal parts reference book, visionary master class, and cookbook, introducing an ambitious new approach to cooking. The guide goes beyond ingredients and steps, explaining the hows and the whys of good cooking and helping aspiring chefs make better decisions in the kitchen. With charming narrative and illustrated walkthroughs, Nosrat demystifies the four elements of cooking and provides a canon of 100 essential recipes—with dozens of variations—to put the lessons into practice.

We hope this little write-up inspires you to eat your way through American history. Here's to good food and good times!

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon