Once life and culture had stabilized in the 19th century and moved beyond the frontier focus on subsistence and survival, Americans began to explore the idea of improving health and creating more comfortable lifestyles. Health reform in the late 19th century emerged from the idea that a healthy body and practicing moderation in daily living were necessary to a spiritual, meaningful existence. From these ideas, the vegetarian philosophy was codified, and The Health Reformer’s Cook Book embraced trends that still have significance today. As stated in the book, it’s “object is to restore the sick to health by means of . . . pure air, pure water, sun-light, sleep, proper clothing, judicious exercise, healthful food, pleasant social influences, &c., excluding all poisonous drugs.” The Health Reformer’s Cook Book is based on the methods and beliefs that Jackson and her husband actually employed at a health facility founded by her husband. Following the health reform ideals of the time, Jackson included recipes to limit excessive eating and following a vegetarian diet focused on simple meals of fruits, vegetables, and grains—all trends that still resonant with health experts today. This edition of The Health Reformer’s Cook Book was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.

In international culinary history, Germany is still largely a blank space, its unparalleled wealth of source material and large body of published research available only to readers of German. This books aims to give everybody else an overview of German foodways at a crucial juncture in its history. The Reformation era, broadly speaking from the Imperial Reforms of the 1480s to the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, laid the foundations for many developments in German culture, language, and history, not least the notion of its existence as a country. Understanding the food traditions and habits of the time is important to anyone studying Germany’s culinary history and identity. Using original source material, food production, processing and consumption are explored with a view to the social significance of food and the practicalities of feeding a growing population. Food habits across the social spectrum are presented, looking at the foodways of rich and poor in city and country. The study shows a foodscape richly differentiated by region, class, income, gender and religion, but united by a shared culinary identity that was just beginning to emerge. An appendix of recipes helps the reader gain an appreciation of the practical aspects of food in the age of Martin Luther.

A New York Times bestseller! A brilliantly modern take on Jewish culinary traditions for a new generation of readers, from a bright new star in the culinary world. When you think of Jewish food, a few classics come to mind: chicken soup with matzo balls, challah, maybe a babka if you’re feeling adventurous. But as food writer and nice Jewish boy Jake Cohen demonstrates in this stunning debut cookbook, Jewish food can be so much more. In Jew-ish, he reinvents the food of his Ashkenazi heritage and draws inspiration from his husband’s Persian-Iraqi traditions to offer recipes that are modern, fresh, and enticing for a whole new generation of readers. Imagine the components of an everything bagel wrapped into a flaky galette latkes dyed vibrant yellow with saffron for a Persian spin on the potato pancake, best-ever hybrid desserts like Macaroon Brownies and Pumpkin Spice Babka! Jew-ish features elevated, yet approachable classics along with innovative creations, such as: Jake’s Perfect Challah Roasted Tomato Brisket Short Rib Cholent Iraqi Beet Kubbeh Soup Cacio e Pepe Rugelach Sabich Bagel Sandwiches, and Matzo Tiramisu. Jew-ish is a brilliant collection of delicious recipes, but it’s much more than that. As Jake reconciles ancient traditions with our modern times, his recipes become a celebration of a rich and vibrant history, a love story of blending cultures, and an invitation to gather around the table and create new memories with family, friends, and loved ones.

With mid-nineteenth century advances in scientific studies of health and nutrition, diet-based cookbooks like Dr. Russell Trall’s proliferated. Trall founded the New York Hydropathic and Physiological School in 1854, and his New Hydropathic Cook Book was one of the first to subscribe to the school’s advocacy of the water cure, using baths and drinking pure water to combat disease and maintain health. The diet proposed in the cookbook consists almost entirely of fruits, grains, and vegetables, with a few animal-based recipes thrown in for those who demanded a wider diet. More than just a list of recipes, the cookbook presents the basis of Trall’s diet—the belief that all nutritive material comes from vegetables, and thus animal foods are inferior because they are derivative and likely to be impure. It also includes a discussion of digestion and an exhaustive catalogue of vegetable foods. This edition of The New Hydropathic Cookbook was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the society is a research library documenting the lives of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection comprises approximately 1,100 volumes.

The idea for this cookbook first surfaced over a cup of coffee in on of Madrid's cafes. From there our conversations happened over Facebook messenger, on WhatsApp, and through weekly video chats - often across borders and time zones. A testament to both the modern times and the endurance of Jewish traditions, The Rosh Hashanah Seder Cookbook uses the structure of the traditional Sephardic Rosh Hashanah Seder to share the stories and recipes of a diverse and vibrant community in modern Spain. We hope this cookbook will provide inspiration for your Rosh Hashanah celebration and will help you ring in a happy, healthy, and sweet new year. From all of us in the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid - both in Spain and abroad - Shana Tova! --

Although there is no biography available for author Philomelia Ann Maria Antoinette Hardin, the subtitle of her book, “But More Particularly Designed for Buckeyes [Ohio], Hoosiers [Indiana], Wolverines [Michigan], Corncrackers [Kentucky], Suckers [Illinois], and All Epicures Who Wish to Live with the Present Times,” beautifully demonstrates the down-to-earth, local quality of this regional Midwestern cookbook—reputedly the first cookbook printed west of the Allegheny Mountains. In the mid-nineteenth century, many cookbook writers emphasized the practicality of local ingredients and culinary techniques since the isolation of communities and poor transportation made it difficult to cook with East Coast or European recipes. Hardin’s cookbook contains a full range of recipes from soup to nuts as well as “Valuable Rules” for housekeeping, simple remedies and medical recipes, and advice on the management of bees and care of fruit trees. Locale specific recipes such as Buckeye Dumplings, Wolverine Junket, Hoosier Pickles and Corncrackers Pudding are threaded throughout. This edition of Every Body’s Cook and Receipt Book by Philomelia Hardin was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.

Published in 1851 in Charleston, The Carolina Housewife by “A Lady of Charleston” was described by Time magazine as an “incomparable guide to Southern cuisine”. With over 600 recipes, this treasury of Southern fare acknowledges for the first time the contributions of African American and Native American cooks by including recipes such as Hoppin’ John, Potted Shrimp, Seminole Soup, and numerous rice dishes. Sarah Rutledge emphasized that The Carolina Housewife contained recipes that had been gathered from the community, tested in their own kitchens, and—a topic that still resonates today—appropriate for people of limited incomes. Other delicious recipes include Hominy Bread, Rice Griddles, Baked Shrimps in Tomatoes, Peach Sherbet, and Lemon Drops, all combining to make The Carolina Housewife “a treasure trove for social historians studying South Carolina culture and lifestyles,” according to South Carolina Historical Magazine. This edition of The Carolina Housewife was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the society is a research library documenting the lives of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection comprises approximately 1,100 volumes.

Published in 1829 in Philadelphia, Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts was an unknown “American physician’s” adaptation of a best-selling British reference book by Colin Mackenzie. The book is an all-encompassing miscellanea of household information specifically revised from its original British publication for use in the United States. Covering everything from gardening, metallurgy, and pickling and preserving to watercolors, medical cures, perfumery, brewing, and cooking, this early 19th century compendium was an essential guide for cooking and managing a household during this time period. With the extensive material covered, the tome was very well received in America, as was the original publication in the United Kingdom. Even though the work was first published nearly 200 years ago, the recipes and advice have proven to be relevant today—lip balms citing the book as the recipe source can be found on the Internet, as well as numerous blogs referring to the brewing section of the book. While recipes such as Acorn Coffee, Clove Cordial, and Elephant’s Milk may only be of historical interest, Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts still has significance today beyond simple historical curiosity. This edition of Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the society is a research library documenting the lives of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection comprises approximately 1,100 volumes.