Cookbook
Encyclopedia
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipe
s. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions. A wide variety of books cover cooking techniques for the home, recipes and comments by famous chefs, institutional kitchen manuals, and cultural commentary situated in a larger community.
The earliest cookbooks on record seem to be mainly lists of recipes for what would now be called haute cuisine
, and were often written primarily to either provide a record of the author's favorite dishes or to train professional cooks for banquets and upper-class, private homes. Many of these cookbooks, therefore, provide only limited sociological or culinary value, as they leave out significant sections of ancient cuisine such as peasant food, breads, and preparations such as vegetable dishes too simple to warrant a recipe.
The earliest collection of recipes that has survived in Europe is De re coquinaria, written in Latin
. An early version was first compiled sometime in the 1st century and has often been attributed to the Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius
, though this has been cast in doubt by modern research. An Apicius
came to designate a book of recipes. The current text appears to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century; the first print edition is from 1483. It records a mix of ancient Greek and Roman cuisine, but with few details on preparation and cooking. An abbreviated epitome entitled Apici Excerpta a Vinidario, a "pocket Apicius" by Vinidarius, "an illustrious man", was made in the Carolingian
era. In spite of its late date it represents the last manifestation of the cuisine of Antiquity.
The earliest cookbooks known in Arabic are those of al-Warraq
(10th century) and al-Baghdadi
(13th century).
Huou, Kublai Khan
's court chef, wrote a collection of recipes called "The Important Things to Know About Eating and Drinking" in the 13th century; it includes mainly soups as well as household advice.
After a long interval, the first recipe books to be compiled in Europe since Late Antiquity started to appear in the late thirteenth century. All told, about a hundred survive, mostly fragmentary, from the age before printing. The earliest genuinely medieval recipes have been found in a Danish manuscript dating from around 1300, which in turn are copies of older texts that date back to the early 13th century or even earlier. Low
and High German manuscripts are among the most numerous. Among them is Daz buch von guter spise ("The Book of Good Food") written c. 1350 in Würzberg and Kuchenmeysterey ("Kitchen Mastery"), the first printed German cook book from 1485. Two French collections are probably the most famous: Le Viandier
("The Provisioner") was compiled in the late 14th century by Guillaume Tirel, master chef for two French kings; and Le Menagier de Paris
("The Householder of Paris"), a household book written by an anonymous middle class Parisian in the 1390s. From Southern Europe there is the 14th century Catalan manuscript Llibre de Sent Soví ("The Book of Saint Sophia") and several Italian collections, notably the Venetian mid-14th century Libro per Cuoco, with its 135 recipes alphabetically arranged. The printed De honesta voluptate ("On honourable pleasure"), first published in 1475, is one of the first cookbooks based on Renaissance ideals, and, though it is as much a series of moral essays as a cookbook, has been described as "the anthology that closed the book on medieval Italian cooking". Recipes originating in England include the earliest recorded recipe for ravioli (1390s) and Forme of Cury
, a late 14th century manuscript written by chefs of Richard II of England
.
. They provided not just recipes but overall instruction for both kitchen technique and household management. Such books were written primarily for housewives and occasionally domestic servants as opposed to professional cooks, and at times books such as The Joy of Cooking
(USA
), La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange
(France
), The Art of Cookery
(UK
, USA), Il cucchiaio d'argento
(Italy
), and A Gift to Young Housewives
(Russia
) have served as references of record for national cuisines. Related to this class are instructional cookbooks, which combine recipes with in-depth, step-by-step recipes to teach beginning cooks basic concepts and techniques. In vernacular literature, people may collect traditional recipes in family cookbooks
.
International and ethnic cookbooks fall into two categories: the kitchen references of other cultures, translated into other languages; and books translating the recipes of another culture into the languages, techniques, and ingredients of a new audience. The latter style often doubles as a sort of culinary travelogue, giving background and context to a recipe that the first type of book would assume its audience is already familiar with.
Professional cookbooks are designed for the use of working chefs and culinary students and sometimes double as textbooks for culinary schools. Such books deal not only in recipes and techniques, but often service and kitchen workflow matters. Many such books deal in substantially larger quantities than home cookbooks, such as making sauces by the liter or preparing dishes for large numbers of people in a catering
setting. While the most famous of such books today are books like Le guide culinaire
by Escoffier or The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America
, such books go at least back to medieval times, represented then by works such as Taillevent
's Viandier
and Chiquart d'Amiço's Du fait de cuisine.
Single-subject books, usually dealing with a specific ingredient, technique, or class of dishes, are quite common as well; indeed, some imprints such as Chronicle Books
have specialized in this sort of book, with books on dishes like curries
, pizza
, and simplified ethnic food. Popular subjects for narrow-subject books on technique include grilling
/barbecue
, baking
, outdoor cooking, and even recipe cloning.
Community cookbooks (also known as compiled, regional, charitable, and fund-raising cookbooks) are a unique genre of culinary literature. Community cookbooks focus on home cooking, often documenting regional, ethnic, family, and societal traditions, as well as local history. Gooseberry Patch
has been publishing community-style cookbooks since 1992 and built their brand on this community.
Cookbooks can also document the food of a specific chef (particularly in conjunction with a cooking show
) or restaurant. Many of these books, particularly those written by or for a well-established cook with a long-running TV show or popular restaurant, become part of extended series of books that can be released over the course of many years. Popular chef-authors throughout history include people such as Julia Child
, James Beard
, Nigella Lawson
, Edouard de Pomiane, Jeff Smith, Emeril Lagasse
, Claudia Roden
, Madhur Jaffrey
, Katsuyo Kobayashi, and possibly even Apicius
, the semi-pseudonymous author of the Roman cookbook De re coquinaria, who shared a name with at least one other famous food figure
of the ancient world.
While western cookbooks usually group recipes for main courses by the main ingredient of the dishes, Japanese cookbooks usually group them by cooking techniques (e.g., fried
foods, steam
ed foods, and grill
ed foods). Both styles of cookbook have additional recipe groupings such as soup
s, sweets
.
s" or instructions for a specific field or activity, presented in detail so that the users who are not necessarily expert in the field can produce workable results. Examples include a set of circuit designs in electronics
, a book of magic spells, or The Anarchist Cookbook
, a set of instructions on destruction and living outside the law. O'Reilly Media
publishes a series of books about computer programming
named the Cookbook series, and each of these books contain hundreds of ready to use, cut and paste examples to solve a specific problem in a single programming language
.
Recipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...
s. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions. A wide variety of books cover cooking techniques for the home, recipes and comments by famous chefs, institutional kitchen manuals, and cultural commentary situated in a larger community.
History
Haute cuisine
Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe.The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne...
, and were often written primarily to either provide a record of the author's favorite dishes or to train professional cooks for banquets and upper-class, private homes. Many of these cookbooks, therefore, provide only limited sociological or culinary value, as they leave out significant sections of ancient cuisine such as peasant food, breads, and preparations such as vegetable dishes too simple to warrant a recipe.
The earliest collection of recipes that has survived in Europe is De re coquinaria, written in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. An early version was first compiled sometime in the 1st century and has often been attributed to the Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius is believed to have been a Roman gourmet and lover of luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius. The Roman cookbook Apicius is often, but incorrectly, attributed to him. He was the subject of On the Luxury of Apicius, a famous work, now...
, though this has been cast in doubt by modern research. An Apicius
Apicius
Apicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
came to designate a book of recipes. The current text appears to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century; the first print edition is from 1483. It records a mix of ancient Greek and Roman cuisine, but with few details on preparation and cooking. An abbreviated epitome entitled Apici Excerpta a Vinidario, a "pocket Apicius" by Vinidarius, "an illustrious man", was made in the Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
era. In spite of its late date it represents the last manifestation of the cuisine of Antiquity.
The earliest cookbooks known in Arabic are those of al-Warraq
Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq
Abu Muhammad al-Muzaffar ibn Nasr ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq of Baghdad was the compiler of a tenth-century cookbook, al-Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ . This is the earliest known Arabic cookbook.-References:...
(10th century) and al-Baghdadi
Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi
', usually called al-Baghdadi was the compiler of an early Arabic language cookbook of the Abbasid period, كتاب الطبيخ , written in 1226....
(13th century).
Huou, Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
's court chef, wrote a collection of recipes called "The Important Things to Know About Eating and Drinking" in the 13th century; it includes mainly soups as well as household advice.
After a long interval, the first recipe books to be compiled in Europe since Late Antiquity started to appear in the late thirteenth century. All told, about a hundred survive, mostly fragmentary, from the age before printing. The earliest genuinely medieval recipes have been found in a Danish manuscript dating from around 1300, which in turn are copies of older texts that date back to the early 13th century or even earlier. Low
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
and High German manuscripts are among the most numerous. Among them is Daz buch von guter spise ("The Book of Good Food") written c. 1350 in Würzberg and Kuchenmeysterey ("Kitchen Mastery"), the first printed German cook book from 1485. Two French collections are probably the most famous: Le Viandier
Viandier
Le Viandier is a recipe collection largely credited to Guillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent. However, the earliest version of the book has been dated to around 1300, about 10 years before the birth of Tirel...
("The Provisioner") was compiled in the late 14th century by Guillaume Tirel, master chef for two French kings; and Le Menagier de Paris
Le Menagier De Paris
Le Ménagier De Paris is a French medieval guidebook from 1393 on a woman's proper behavior in marriage and running a household. It includes sexual advice, recipes, and gardening tips...
("The Householder of Paris"), a household book written by an anonymous middle class Parisian in the 1390s. From Southern Europe there is the 14th century Catalan manuscript Llibre de Sent Soví ("The Book of Saint Sophia") and several Italian collections, notably the Venetian mid-14th century Libro per Cuoco, with its 135 recipes alphabetically arranged. The printed De honesta voluptate ("On honourable pleasure"), first published in 1475, is one of the first cookbooks based on Renaissance ideals, and, though it is as much a series of moral essays as a cookbook, has been described as "the anthology that closed the book on medieval Italian cooking". Recipes originating in England include the earliest recorded recipe for ravioli (1390s) and Forme of Cury
Forme of Cury
The Forme of Cury is an extensive recipe collection of the 14th century whose author is given as "the chief Master Cooks of King Richard II". The modern name was given to it by Samuel Pegge, who published an edition of it in 1791. This name has since come into usage for almost all versions of the...
, a late 14th century manuscript written by chefs of Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
.
Types of cookbooks
Cookbooks that serve as basic kitchen references (sometimes known as "kitchen bibles") began to appear in the early modern periodEarly modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
. They provided not just recipes but overall instruction for both kitchen technique and household management. Such books were written primarily for housewives and occasionally domestic servants as opposed to professional cooks, and at times books such as The Joy of Cooking
The Joy of Cooking
Joy of Cooking, often known as "The Joy of Cooking" is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker in St. Louis, Missouri, who was...
(USA
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
), La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange
La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange
La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange is a French cookbook written by Evelyn Ébrard and published in 1927 by Larousse...
(France
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
), The Art of Cookery
Art of Cookery
Written in 1747, Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy represents one of the most important references for culinary practice in England and the American colonies during the latter half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th...
(UK
British cuisine
English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, largely due to the importation of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China, and India...
, USA), Il cucchiaio d'argento
Il cucchiaio d'argento
Il cucchiaio d'argento is a major Italian cookbook, a kitchen reference work originally published in 1950 by the design and architecture magazine Domus. It contains about 2000 recipes drawn from all over Italy, and has gone through eight editions...
(Italy
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
), and A Gift to Young Housewives
A Gift to Young Housewives
A Gift to Young Housewives is a Russian cookbook written by Elena Ivanovna Molokhovets . It was the most successful book of its kind in 19th- and early 20th-century Russia. Molokhovets revised the book continually between 1861 and 1917, a period of time falling between the emancipation of the...
(Russia
Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...
) have served as references of record for national cuisines. Related to this class are instructional cookbooks, which combine recipes with in-depth, step-by-step recipes to teach beginning cooks basic concepts and techniques. In vernacular literature, people may collect traditional recipes in family cookbooks
Family Cookbooks
Family cookbooks are collections of recipes, sometimes including family history and photos of the family members. These cookbooks may be written in notebooks, put in ring binders, or professionally published by one of several cookbook publishers that cater to families interested in preserving their...
.
International and ethnic cookbooks fall into two categories: the kitchen references of other cultures, translated into other languages; and books translating the recipes of another culture into the languages, techniques, and ingredients of a new audience. The latter style often doubles as a sort of culinary travelogue, giving background and context to a recipe that the first type of book would assume its audience is already familiar with.
Professional cookbooks are designed for the use of working chefs and culinary students and sometimes double as textbooks for culinary schools. Such books deal not only in recipes and techniques, but often service and kitchen workflow matters. Many such books deal in substantially larger quantities than home cookbooks, such as making sauces by the liter or preparing dishes for large numbers of people in a catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
setting. While the most famous of such books today are books like Le guide culinaire
Le Guide Culinaire
Georges Auguste Escoffier's Le Guide culinaire, pronounced , is a pivotal book in the history of European haute cuisine, being Escoffier's largely successful attempt to codify and streamline the common French restaurant food of the day. The first edition was printed in 1903 in French. It was...
by Escoffier or The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America
Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America is a non-profit culinary college located in Hyde Park USA, founded in 1946. The CIA also has branch campuses in St. Helena, California, and San Antonio, Texas, as well as a campus in Singapore. It is a not-for-profit academic institution of higher learning...
, such books go at least back to medieval times, represented then by works such as Taillevent
Taillevent
Guillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent was cook to the Court of France at the time of the first Valois kings and the Hundred Years War. His first position was enfent de cuisine to Queen Jeanne d'Évreux. From 1326 he was queux, head chef, to Philip VI...
's Viandier
Viandier
Le Viandier is a recipe collection largely credited to Guillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent. However, the earliest version of the book has been dated to around 1300, about 10 years before the birth of Tirel...
and Chiquart d'Amiço's Du fait de cuisine.
Single-subject books, usually dealing with a specific ingredient, technique, or class of dishes, are quite common as well; indeed, some imprints such as Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children.The company was established in 1968 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999 it was bought by Nion McEvoy, great-grandson of...
have specialized in this sort of book, with books on dishes like curries
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
, pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
, and simplified ethnic food. Popular subjects for narrow-subject books on technique include grilling
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
/barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
, baking
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
, outdoor cooking, and even recipe cloning.
Community cookbooks (also known as compiled, regional, charitable, and fund-raising cookbooks) are a unique genre of culinary literature. Community cookbooks focus on home cooking, often documenting regional, ethnic, family, and societal traditions, as well as local history. Gooseberry Patch
Gooseberry Patch
Gooseberry Patch was founded in 1984 by Vickie Hutchins and Jo Ann Martin, who were neighbors. Before starting their catalog business Martin was a first-grade teacher, and Hutchins was a flight attendant....
has been publishing community-style cookbooks since 1992 and built their brand on this community.
Cookbooks can also document the food of a specific chef (particularly in conjunction with a cooking show
Cooking show
A TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. The host of the show, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of the show, taking the viewing audience through the food's preparation showing all...
) or restaurant. Many of these books, particularly those written by or for a well-established cook with a long-running TV show or popular restaurant, become part of extended series of books that can be released over the course of many years. Popular chef-authors throughout history include people such as Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
, James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
, Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lucy Lawson is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. Lawson is the daughter of Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Vanessa Salmon, whose family owned the J. Lyons and Co. empire...
, Edouard de Pomiane, Jeff Smith, Emeril Lagasse
Emeril Lagasse
'Emeril John Lagasse is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author. A regional James Beard Award winner, he is perhaps most notable for his Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril as well as catchphrases such as “Kick it up a notch!” and...
, Claudia Roden
Claudia Roden
Claudia Roden is a cookbook writer based in the United Kingdom. She was born 1936 in Cairo, Egypt. After completing her formal education in Paris, she moved to London to study art...
, Madhur Jaffrey
Madhur Jaffrey
Madhur Jaffrey is an Indian actress and food writer who introduced the Western world to the many cuisines of India.- Personal life :...
, Katsuyo Kobayashi, and possibly even Apicius
Apicius
Apicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
, the semi-pseudonymous author of the Roman cookbook De re coquinaria, who shared a name with at least one other famous food figure
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius is believed to have been a Roman gourmet and lover of luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius. The Roman cookbook Apicius is often, but incorrectly, attributed to him. He was the subject of On the Luxury of Apicius, a famous work, now...
of the ancient world.
While western cookbooks usually group recipes for main courses by the main ingredient of the dishes, Japanese cookbooks usually group them by cooking techniques (e.g., fried
Frying
Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called oils by custom, e.g...
foods, steam
Steaming
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. Steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique and capable of cooking almost all kinds of food.-Method:...
ed foods, and grill
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
ed foods). Both styles of cookbook have additional recipe groupings such as soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
s, sweets
SweetS
was a Japanese idol group. Put together through auditions, the group debuted in 2003 on the avex trax label. Although the group met minor success, they disbanded after three years with the release of a final single in June 2006....
.
Famous cookbooks
Famous cookbooks from the past, in chronological order, include:- Thy manual of epic cookerie (early 4th centure) by Thomas Gusy
- De re coquinaria (The Art of Cooking) (late 4th / early 5th century) by ApiciusApiciusApicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
- Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes) (10th century) by Ibn Sayyar al-WarraqIbn Sayyar al-WarraqAbu Muhammad al-Muzaffar ibn Nasr ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq of Baghdad was the compiler of a tenth-century cookbook, al-Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ . This is the earliest known Arabic cookbook.-References:...
- Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes) (1226) by Muhammad bin Hasan al-BaghdadiMuhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi', usually called al-Baghdadi was the compiler of an early Arabic language cookbook of the Abbasid period, كتاب الطبيخ , written in 1226....
- Liber de CoquinaLiber de CoquinaThe Liber de Coquina is one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. It survived in two codices from the beginning of the 14th century. Both are conserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris / France.- Description :...
(The Book of Cookery) (late 13th / early 14th century) by two unknown authors from France and Italy - Forme of CuryForme of CuryThe Forme of Cury is an extensive recipe collection of the 14th century whose author is given as "the chief Master Cooks of King Richard II". The modern name was given to it by Samuel Pegge, who published an edition of it in 1791. This name has since come into usage for almost all versions of the...
(14th century) by the Master Cooks of King Richard II of EnglandRichard II of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III... - Viandier (14th century) by Guillaume Tirel alias TailleventTailleventGuillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent was cook to the Court of France at the time of the first Valois kings and the Hundred Years War. His first position was enfent de cuisine to Queen Jeanne d'Évreux. From 1326 he was queux, head chef, to Philip VI...
- De honesta voluptate et valetudine (1475) by Bartolomeo PlatinaBartolomeo PlatinaBartolomeo Platina, originally named Sacchi was an Italian Renaissance writer.-Biography:Platina was born at Piadena , near Cremona....
- the first cookbook printed in a native language (Italian) in 1487 - The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Knight Opened by Kenelm Digby (1669)
- The Compleat HousewifeThe Compleat HousewifeThe Compleat Housewife, or Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion, written by Eliza Smith and originally published in London, England, in 1727, is considered the first cookbook ever to be published in the United States...
(first American edition 1742) by Eliza Smith - The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and EasyArt of CookeryWritten in 1747, Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy represents one of the most important references for culinary practice in England and the American colonies during the latter half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th...
(1747) by Hannah GlasseHannah GlasseHannah Glasse was an English cookery writer of the 18th century. She is best known for her cookbook, The Art of Cookery, first published in 1747... - Hjelpreda I Hushållningen För Unga Fruentimber (1755) by Cajsa WargCajsa WargAnna Christina Warg , better known as Cajsa or Kajsa Warg, was a Swedish cookbook author, who is today among the most well-known cooks in Swedish history....
- Le Cuisinier Royal (1817) by Alexandre Viard
- Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845) by Eliza Acton
- Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ManagementMrs Beeton's Book of Household ManagementMrs Beeton's Book of Household Management was a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton. It was originally entitled "Beeton's Book of Household Management", in line with the other guide-books published by Beeton.Previously published as a part...
(1861) by Mrs BeetonMrs BeetonIsabella Mary Beeton , universally known as Mrs Beeton, was the English author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, and is one of the most famous cookery writers.-Background:... - El Cocinero Puerto - Riqueño 1859 (author unknown)
- La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar benePellegrino ArtusiPellegrino Artusi is best known as the author of famous Italian cookbook "La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene" ....
(1891) by Pellegrino ArtusiPellegrino ArtusiPellegrino Artusi is best known as the author of famous Italian cookbook "La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene" .... - The Epicurean (1894) by Charles RanhoferCharles RanhoferCharles Ranhofer was the chef at the famous Delmonico's Restaurant in New York from 1862 to 1876 and 1879 to 1896...
- The Boston Cooking-School Cook BookBoston Cooking-School Cook BookThe Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer is a 19th century general reference cookbook which is still available both in reprint and in updated form...
(1896) by Fannie Merritt Farmer - The Settlement Cook Book (1901) and 34 subsequent editions by Lizzie Black KanderLizzie Black KanderLizzie Black Kander was the founder of a settlement house in Milwaukee, where she originated The Settlement Cookbook.She was born in Wisconsin to German Jewish immigrants. In 1896 she founded the Keep Clean Mission at B'ne Jeshurun Temple in Milwaukee to help educate young Jewish girls to...
- Various cookbooks (between 1903 and 1934) by Auguste EscoffierAuguste EscoffierGeorges Auguste Escoffier was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He is a legendary figure among chefs and gourmands, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine...
- The Joy of CookingThe Joy of CookingJoy of Cooking, often known as "The Joy of Cooking" is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker in St. Louis, Missouri, who was...
(1931) by Irma Rombauer - Larousse GastronomiqueLarousse GastronomiqueLarousse Gastronomique is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is about French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes and cooking techniques...
(1938) - The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook (1954) by Alice B. ToklasAlice B. ToklasAlice B. Toklas was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century.-Early life, relationship with Gertrude Stein:...
- Cooking with the Chinese Flavor (1956) and subsequent books by Lin Tsuifeng ("Mrs. Lin YutangLin YutangLin Yutang was a Chinese writer and inventor. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation, and his compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English were bestsellers in the West.-Youth:Lin was born in...
") - Mastering the Art of French CookingMastering the Art of French CookingMastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both of France, and Julia Child of the United States...
(1961) by Julia ChildJulia ChildJulia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which... - Helen Gurley Brown's Single Girl's Cookbook (1969) by Helen Gurley BrownHelen Gurley BrownHelen Gurley Brown , is an author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.-Personal life and career:...
- The Fanny and Johnnie Cradock Cookery Programme (1970) by FannyFanny CradockPhyllis Nan Sortain Pechey , better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer who mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnnie Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married. She was the daughter of the novelist and lyricist Archibald...
and Johnnie Cradock - Diet for a Small PlanetDiet for a Small PlanetDiet for a Small Planet is a 1971 bestselling book by Frances Moore Lappé, the first major book to critique grain-fed meat production as wasteful and a contributor to global food scarcity...
(1971) by Frances Moore LappéFrances Moore LappéFrances Moore Lappé is the author of 18 books including the three-million copy Diet for a Small Planet. She is the co-founder of three national organizations that explore the roots of hunger, poverty and environmental crises, as well as solutions now emerging worldwide through what she calls... - Moosewood CookbookMoosewood CookbookThe Moosewood Cookbook is a recipe book written by Mollie Katzen when she was a member of the Moosewood collective in Ithaca, New York. The original edition, published in 1978 by the then-fledgeling Ten Speed Press in California, was hand-lettered and imaginitively illustrated by Katzen and...
(1978) by Mollie KatzenMollie KatzenMollie Katzen is an American chef, cookbook author and artist. She is best known for her vegetarian cookbook, the Moosewood Cookbook , inspired by the Moosewood Restaurant collective she helped create near Cornell University and Ithaca College...
Usage outside the world of food
The term cookbook is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to any book containing a straightforward set of already tried and tested "recipeRecipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...
s" or instructions for a specific field or activity, presented in detail so that the users who are not necessarily expert in the field can produce workable results. Examples include a set of circuit designs in electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, a book of magic spells, or The Anarchist Cookbook
The Anarchist Cookbook
The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, is a book that contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives, rudimentary telecommunications phreaking devices, and other items...
, a set of instructions on destruction and living outside the law. O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media is an American media company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books and Web sites and produces conferences on computer technology topics...
publishes a series of books about computer programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
named the Cookbook series, and each of these books contain hundreds of ready to use, cut and paste examples to solve a specific problem in a single programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
.
External links
- The Food and Cookery Collection of the Fales Library at NYU
- Books for Cooks - a learning resource on the history of cookery books from the British Library
- Feeding America at Michigan State University Digital Library -- a collection of influential early American cookbooks, including a large number of books specializing in immigrant cuisineImmigrant cuisineImmigrant cuisine refers to food that originates as a foreign cuisine that has been altered, sometimes dramatically, to use tastes, techniques, and ingredients common or unique to the new culture...
- Home Economics (including cookbooks) at Project Gutenberg
- Menus and Cookbooks at The New York Public Library