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American Cookery (American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection) Kindle Edition

by Amelia Simmons (Author), Melissa Clark (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 201 ratings
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This eighteenth century kitchen reference is the first cookbook published in the U.S. with recipes using local ingredients for American cooks.

Named by the Library of Congress as one of the eighty-eight “Books That Shaped America,” American Cookery was the first cookbook by an American author published in the United States. Until its publication, cookbooks used by American colonists were British. As author Amelia Simmons states, the recipes here were “adapted to this country,” reflecting the fact that American cooks had learned to prepare meals using ingredients found in North America. This cookbook reveals the rich variety of food colonial Americans used, their tastes, cooking and eating habits, and even their rich, down-to-earth language.

Bringing together English cooking methods with truly American products, American Cookery contains the first known printed recipes substituting American maize for English oats; the recipe for Johnny Cake is the first printed version using cornmeal; and there is also the first known recipe for turkey. Another innovation was Simmons’s use of pearlash—a staple in colonial households as a leavening agent in dough, which eventually led to the development of modern baking powders. A culinary classic, American Cookery is a landmark in the history of American cooking.

“Thus, twenty years after the political upheaval of the American Revolution of 1776, a second revolution—a culinary revolution—occurred with the publication of a cookbook by an American for Americans.” —Jan Longone, curator of American Culinary History, University of Michigan

This facsimile edition of Amelia Simmons's American Cookery was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, founded in 1812.
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  1. Print length
    67 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
  5. Publication date
    October 16, 2012
  6. File size
    2132 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The book by itself would be fun reading, but it becomes useful with the addition of an introduction and updated recipes by Iris Ihde Frey, a cookbook author of great charm and wit. Frey's work makes this new edition of Amelia Simmons' American classic a joy to own and use. Complete with Amelia Simmons' old-fashioned and sometimes odd spellings, it should have a place in the library of every active and armchair cook. -- The Chicago Sun-Times

From the Back Cover

Here is a recreation of the first American cookbook. A historic book, the first to document the unique New World cuisine, it deserves an honored place in every cookbook collection. Published in 1796, the little best-seller with the big title set down the first rules for Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Sauce with Turkey, and Indian Pudding. Author Amelia Simmons' receipts for a Cheap Seed Cake, a Sick Bed Custard, and Soft Cakes in Little Pans transport the reader to another place, a gentler time. But more than a cookbook, its pages are filled with asides on the virtuous female character, wise marketing, a solution for reducing the national debt and more Americana, dear and droll.

In her Introduction, Iris Ihde Frey takes the reader on a tour of a Colonial kitchen and her high tech Connecticut kitchen. Her Sampler of Updated Recipes preserves all the good flavor of the originals, but adapts them to quick, easy preparation.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009943NG6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC; Reissue edition (October 16, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 16, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2132 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 67 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 201 ratings

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Amelia Simmons

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
201 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

leeeen
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome cookbook!
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
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This book is excellent it includes historical information as well as recipes.
One person found this helpful
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Michelle Grooms
5.0 out of 5 stars Old Fashioned Cookery Without The Antique Price
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2021
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I have a weakness for collecting cookbooks in general, but antique cookbooks are definitely a weakness. To be able to have a copy of the first cookbook ever published in the US was right up my alley. The book is bound in a soft, almost velvety fabric (I bought the hardcover edition). The recipes are easy to read in their print version, but having Amelia Simmons' handwritten version next to it is a major treat. If you love to cook, are a history buff, or just love the differences in the English language between the two points in history, then you will love this book.
7 people found this helpful
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Donna B.
5.0 out of 5 stars American Cookery
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2023
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Great to add to my cookbook collection!
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barb
4.0 out of 5 stars Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2024
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Very interesting
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David Ross
5.0 out of 5 stars Yes this is the FIRST American Cookbook.
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2007
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Amelia Simmons prepared the first American cookbook. The first published recipes for turkey with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie are here. This is a historical gem. This version contains updated recipes so that you can actually prepare some of the foods. Examples of the original text are included so that you can see the quaint long s (as f)and the rather blurred condition of the original text. The illustrations, introduction and updated recipes are the most important features of this book. If you are most interested in the history of cooking the Dover press facsimile edition includes an excellent scholarly article by Mary Tolford Wilson. An Amazon search for Amelia Simmons as Author gives some idea of how many times this book has been republished in various formats.
14 people found this helpful
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misty hawk
5.0 out of 5 stars Boyfriend loved the old recipe
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2023
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He loved trying the new recipes.
One person found this helpful
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rdungan1918
5.0 out of 5 stars Reprint of a 18th Century Cookbook
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2019
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If you are into cooking and want to see what 18th century people were eating this is an excellent book. If you want a ready to use cookbook it is not for you. It does not have a lot of measurements, and, the ones is does have are not in modern terms. If you know how to cook and are willing to experiment, I am sure you can find worthwhile recipes. Excellent for reenactor's who want to create food that tastes and smells like it would have back in the 18th century.
12 people found this helpful
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KW
5.0 out of 5 stars The First Published American Cookbook
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019
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Bought a second one as a gift. Every odd page is a photo copy of the original. One of our local high school teachers was hanging out with us and she was fascinated with the f to s transitions in the text.
Recipes include A Cake. Another Cake. Hoof Pie. A Sea Pie that has nothing to do with seafood and everything to do with pigeon and salt pork.
It's an amazing read.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Emiray
3.0 out of 5 stars Weird but fun book
Reviewed in Germany on December 19, 2023
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The book is weird. It was a lot smaller than expected, and the language feels weird. It takes a bit to decipher the language.

The recipes are written how modern times know recipes, so the puzzle remains.

As a cookbook collector, I enjoy it, but it is of little use to me.
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Mr Paul Waumsley
5.0 out of 5 stars Great piece of American history
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2015
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Great book although still a lot of old colonial recipes in it. Very basic instructions on the recipes, not for the faint hearted of cooks...
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