Woah Nellie!

From stone tablets to the internet, options have evolved for home cooks

by Mary Jo David

Much as I hold the late Nellie Maxwell, syndicated food columnist, in high esteem, she was far from the first to collect and disseminate recipes.

Did you know there’s actually a set of ancient Babylonian tablets that have explanations resembling cooking instructions?

And if we jump ahead a bit, according to npr.com, in 1796, Amelia Simmons wrote the first American cookbook, aptly titled “American Cookery.” Simmons’ name may have been a pseudonym, as there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of an actual person by that name at that time. Whoever she was, the Simmons cookbook was heavily influenced by foods consumed in New England at the time. The book paid short shrift to other regions in the country, like the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee (which joined the Union the year the cookbook was published).

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, cookbook authors like Fannie Farmer made a name for themselves. The 1900s is also when commercial ingenuity kicked in. American companies found that humble home cooks were more than willing to try new products if companies gave them ideas (read: recipes) for using those products. Women’s magazines began featuring “branded recipes” from various companies and many of those companies began publishing their own cookbooks, like the ones below:

• Sixty One Uses for Salt (Diamond Crystal Salt Company, circa early 1900s).
• Calumet Baking Books (General Foods Corporation, 1931).
• 100 Prize Winning Recipes (Pillsbury Flour Mills Company, 1952).
• Spirit of ’76 Happy Hour Barguide (Southern Comfort Corporation, 1976).
• Hershey’s Celebrates Each Season (Hershey Foods Company, 2002).

And then there’s family recipes written on tiny 3-by-5 cards or typed and assembled into binders, as well as church and community cookbooks for showcasing special recipes.

Nowadays, between printed cookbooks, websites, and apps (not to mention TV cooking shows) the plethora of recipes available to home cooks is beyond overwhelming.

I find it ironic that with a collection of family recipes, shelves of cookbooks, and pages and pages of recipes printed from the web, I often find myself saying, “I can’t think of anything to cook for dinner.”

(This is the point where my siblings and cousins are probably thinking, “If you’d finish that family cookbook you keep promising, Mary Jo, we could help you figure it out.” But never mind them! 😊 )

Journalists are naturally inquisitive. Over the last month, I found myself wondering whether people are using cookbooks anymore. Or have they turned to the internet and/or phone apps to decide what recipes to try? I decided to reach out to a subset of family and friends—63 in total—to find out the answers. I emailed each of them a survey with five simple questions.

NOTE: This was not a very scientific survey; for example, I completely forgot to ask about TV cooking shows. It was also heavily weighted toward women over men and went out to more people over middle age than under. However, I did get responses from all groups (women and men, ages 20s through 70s).

What I learned:

The biggest thing I learned is that a LOT of people don’t check their email anymore! But I did hear back from 32 people surveyed, which is a pretty good return ratio as far as surveys go. Highlights of the results:

• Five people remember receiving their first cookbook as children. These people ranged in age from their 20s to their 70s. (That’s something to remember as you shop for Christmas gifts for little ones on your list this year.)
• A few responses tugged at my heartstrings by mentioning the friends, family, and organizations they cook for as volunteers. Thank you. I’m sure your efforts—and meals—are greatly appreciated!
• Betty Crocker cookbooks were far and away the most prevalent “first cookbook” people remember owning (total: 11). Second place went to “Joy of Cooking” (total: 5), and Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks were a close third (total: 4).
• I was most touched by the first “cookbook” owned by my friend Maria, who describes it as, “Xeroxed pages of a collection of recipes from my dad’s English as a Second Language evening class,” from 1972. Her father emigrated here from Italy and and passed away when my friend was relatively young.
• The most unusual “favorite cookbooks” (from my perspective): “Telephone Pioneers of America (Vol. 2)”; “China, the Cookbook” (Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan); “Kibbee ‘n’ Spice and Everything Nice” (Janet Kalush); and “Cannelle et Vanille” (Aran Goyoaga).
• Three people listed a variety of vegetarian cookbooks as their first or preferred cookbooks.
• Online (including phone apps) won, hands-down, as the favorite method for looking for recipes nowadays. Online results (total: 28) vs. Cookbooks (total: 8). Responses totaled more than 32 here due to some people selecting both Online and Cookbooks.
• Of the online sources people are inclined to go to first to look for a good recipe, Google was a clear winner (total: 10). Allrecipes.com was a close second (total: 7), and the rest of the results were split among many different sites and apps.
• The favorite site that made me laugh out loud (you know who you are!): The Tipsy Housewife (on Instagram)!

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that although two of my three children did not respond to the survey, the third responded with N/As across the board—doesn’t cook much, no cookbooks, no favorite websites, etc. He makes a mother proud! Luckily, his wife loves to cook, so I don’t worry about him starving!

If you have an unusual cookbook or recipe you’d like to share with other readers, email [email protected]. Please put “Woah Nellie!” in the subject line.

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers!

Sources:

• “New Nation, New Cuisine: The First Cookbook To Tackle ‘American Food’,” npr.com/sections/thesalt/, July 2015.
• “Duke University Libraries Archives and Manuscripts Collection Guides” at archives.lib.duke.edu.

All photos by Mary Jo David

The “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook” I received at my wedding shower (left) many years ago and two older Betty Crocker cookbooks my mom used as her Kitchen bibles.

One of the oldest cookbooks on my shelf is the most unusual because it is housed in a metal case. “The Detroit Times Cook Book” is circa 1930.

The oldest cookbook in my collection is a tiny one by Ida Bailey Allen for Corn Products Refining Company. Copyright is 1928.

The Meta Given’s Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking set (published in 1949) was given to me by my aunt. I enjoy reading the recipes and have referred to it a few times when Nellie Maxwell leaves me puzzled about something.

Recipes are technical writing at its best, and these two cookbooks were produced by a wonderful team of technical writers I worked with many years ago. These books were two of the more original giveaways our company provided at software trade shows back in the early 1990s.

Just two of the many church and community cookbooks I’ve purchased over the years. These are used often.