MORE THAN JUST A MEAL PART 3: THE FIRST AMERICAN COOKBOOK

Evolution of Cookbooks

Recipe transcription is an ancient human tradition; in fact, the earliest "cookbook" was written on tablets about 4,000 years ago. Ancient Roman cooking instructions from the 1st, 4th, and 5th centuries have also survived, and there are many examples of ancient Arabic, Indian, and Chinese cookbooks that pre-date the spread of the practice in Western Europe. European cookbooks appeared in the 13th and 14th centuries, with most surviving examples written in German, Dutch, French, and Italian. The first English cookbooks emerged in the 14th century, the most notable of which was The Forme of Cury, which was written by the cooks of King Richard II. From Antiquity to the Middle Ages, cookbooks usually documented the dishes that were prepared and eaten in royal courts, and rarely described the foods of common people. These were not meant to be sold but were rather a tool for the servants of noble houses and a status symbol that demonstrated the owners' ability to afford elaborate banquets.

Frontispiece of Hanna Glasse's Art of Cookery 
Courtesy of Archives.org

The invention of the printing press had a somewhat democratizing effect on the cookbook, as they became less of a luxury and far easier to obtain. 16th and 17th century cookbooks available were still very stratified by class, however, as they were intended for use by the gentry - people of means who managed estates and had servants to prepare their food. The rise of the middle class in the 18th century greatly increased the market for cookbooks, owing in part to an increase in literacy and the aspirations of the middle class to achieve a more genteel lifestyle. Most 18th century recipe books took the favorite foods of the elite and rewrote them to feature simpler instructions and cheaper ingredients with methods that suited a household with few or no servants. Cookbooks were still divided by social status, however, and books intended for a bourgeoise audience intentionally excluded ingredients and dishes that poor people would have used; this was also the case with cookbooks intended for an aristocratic audience in contrast with middling sorts. As literacy rates increased in the 19th century, cookbook consumption also increased, giving way to formats that are much more familiar to us today.

Cookbooks had a somewhat unsteady start in the colonies. Few examples survive, although there are records that European settlers carried cookbooks with them. For the better part of a century, cookbooks were available to Americans in two formats: the family cookbook which was most often a personal document, and cookbooks that were published and distributed for mass consumption. These, however, were written and printed in Britain with British tastes and ingredients in mind. Some of the most popular cookbooks were Markham's The English Hus-Wife (1615), Eliza Smith's The Compleat Housewife (1727), and Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery (1747). A 1742 edition of Smith's cookbook was the first cookbook published in North America in a material sense, but it is not widely considered "American," because it did not innovate or adapt to American tastes and resources. The first true American cookbook was published after the American Revolution by Amelia Simmons.

Amelia Simmons

Although little is known about her, Amelia Simmons is among the most important figures in the history
of American food and cooking. In 1796, Simmons authored what is known as the first American cookbook: "American Cookery, or the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, starts, puddings, custards, and preserves, and all kinds of cakes from the imperial plum to the plain cake: Adapted to this country and all grades of life." This extraordinarily long title is most often abbreviated to American Cookery. 

Cover page of American Cookery
Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Besides being the first cookbook of American authorship published in the United States, the aforementioned adaptations and innovations make American Cookery the revolutionary text that it is. Simmons gave special attention to ingredients native to North America and explained how to use them in dishes that were original and variations on traditional recipes. The use of cornmeal as a substitute for oatmeal was one such variation, particularly in the johnnycake (also called a hoecake). Other native ingredients, like turkey and cranberries, were featured in a recipe for the very first time. Simmons' use of pearl ash also stands out as an important moment in food history. Pearl ash was a chemical leavener and early precursor to baking powder, which was invented later in 1843. Amelia Simmons introduced words like "slaw" and "cookie" to the American lexicon, as well as provided the blueprint for an All-American favorite: the pumpkin pie.  

Pumpkin Pudding Recipes in American Cookery
Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Some details of Simmons's life can be extrapolated through the use of certain words and ingredients. The book was originally published in Connecticut, so many supposed she was from there. Although she never mentions her own geographical location, her use of pearl ash and a handful of Dutch words, suggest that she may have been local to the Hudson Valley area where pearl ash was produced and where there were many communities of Dutch origin. Later editions of the cookbook were printed in Albany, Troy, Poughkeepsie, and New York City, which could be seen as suggestive as a connection to the author. Although she did not provide a true autobiography, she did describe herself as an "American Orphan" and wrote about the plight of women who had no family to care for them and, as a result, took up domestic labor. The book documents the practices of domestic workers, and it is likely that she was one herself.

Recipe Adaptation, click to enlarge

Evidence suggests that Simmons was not literate - she worked with another writer to transcribe the recipes, but they were altered without her knowledge at a later date. The second printing of the book included a leaflet with corrections. Simmons paid for the original publication out of her own pocket and so chose to print inexpensive copies using cheaper materials. The affordability of the book combined with the demand for American goods, and her own credibility as a domestic, made American Cookery an instant best-seller. The second edition followed the first very quickly, and there were dozens - if not hundreds - more unauthorized printings and subsequent editions. 

The popularity of the book offers some food for thought: it operated at once as an expression of the political project of Federalism, while simultaneously an expression of life on the margins of American society. American Cookery's connection to the political conversation of Federalism can be found in its Hartford-based publisher. Federalist leaders, particularly in Connecticut where the book was printed, sought to move local agricultural communities away from subsistence farming and towards markets and commerce and promote education and modest consumption of goods as a means of achieving a genteel and enlightened society. Federalists who were well-connected to publishers, printers, and booksellers disseminated these ideas with zeal. Hudson & Goodwin printed many of works affiliated with Federalism, as well as new discourses that sought to capture the American identity. Although it is unlikely that Simmons intended for the cookbook to be read in this way, it is important to view it as part of a broader constellation of materials that contributed to political discourse and encouraged a particular vision of American identity. Beyond that, American Cookery appealed to sentiment, striking up sympathy for American women who lived in difficult circumstances. Simmons's notes about thrift and scarcity communicated the anxiety and precarious circumstances that come with being poor, underscoring the issue of class difference to her readership. Yet, American Cookery

Recipe Adaptation, click to enlarge

provided an aspirational path to the common housewife, who in it would find advice for elevating her own life and reassurances of American bounty.

In addition to the classic pumpkin pie, Simmons also published what is thought to be the first ever cupcake recipe, although they were not called as such until the 19th century. We have included these recipes for your own experimentation - please give them a try and let us know how they turn out!                                     

Recipe Adaptation, click to enlarge

Post by Amy Hester, Museum Technician

Resources: 

- Carol Fisher, The American Cookbook: A History (2006)
- Elizabeth J. Fleitz, "'An American Orphan: Amelia Simmons, Cookbook Authorship, and the Feminist Ethe," Peitho: Journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition (2020)
- Jennifer Gavin, Library of Congress's "Books That Shaped America: Twelve New Titles Join Original List," The Library of Congress (2013)
- Jan Longone, "Introduction to the Feeding America Project," Feeding America: The Historic American - Cookbook Project, Michigan State University (2002)
- Jan Longone, "Amelia Simmons," Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project, Michigan State University (n.d.)
- Henry Notaker, "A 600 Year History of Cookbooks as Status Symbols," The Atlantic (2017) [see also: A History of Cookbooks: From Kitchen to Page over Seven Centuries (2017)]  
- Keith Stavely & Kathleen Fitzgerald, "What America's First Cookbook Says About Our Country and Its Cuisine," Smithsonian Magazine (2018) [see also: United Tastes: The Making of the First American Cookbook (2017)]
- "Pumpkin Pie Recipe Adaptation," History in the Making: Recreating Historic Foods and Crafts (2020): Pompkin (Pumpkin Pie) – History in the Making (history-in-the-making.com).