Cookbooks Show American Culture
2024-01-22
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1Are you interested in food, United States history, and the English language?
2If so, American cookbooks provide wide information in all three subjects.
3The first, published in 1796, started a market that continues in the 21st century with online publications of such works.
4And, the literature offers more than just recipes.
5Megan Elias is the director of food studies at Boston University and the writer of Food on the Page: Cookbooks and American Culture.
6She says that cookbooks do help teach us how to prepare food.
7But they provide more than that, too.
8"The concept of meals, how many meals a day that people expect to eat?
9What do they expect to have in those meals?" Elias said.
10They also inform readers about discoveries, equipment and technology related to food making.
11Elias said, "What are the objects that are necessary to make the things and what exists?
12So, are you being asked to do something over an open fire or are you being asked to use an electric stove?
13Is it something that can be done in the microwave?
14If you see a lot of recipes for things that are preserved for pickles, you know that you are looking at a time without refrigeration."
15Amy Bentley is a food historian at New York University.
16She said that cookbooks from the 1800s were used as lifestyle and household guides.
17They include food recipes, but they were not central to the books back then.
18"So, there's some recipes for food, but it could be recipes for a cleaning solvent or what to do when your child has been poisoned, how to clean, how to get stains out," Bentley said.
19American Cookery by Amelia Simmons is the first cookbook published in the United States.
20Simmons wrote that her goal with the book was to improve the new generation of women in the U.S.
21Megan Elias says that after the Civil War, cookbooks became more diverse.
22Writers started exploring local foods and customs in their work.
23Elias said that Southern cookbooks tried to offer "... a beautiful version of the old South that will kind of heal over the wounds of the Civil War rather than dealing with the problems that caused the Civil War to begin with."
24Some communities would put together a group cookbook to raise money.
25These cookbooks provide a look into what the American middle class was eating throughout the years.
26Such works serve as a record of the traditions and interests of different neighborhoods and groups.
27Throughout the years cookbooks have signified humanity's growth in knowledge, trends and innovations.
28During the last part of the 19th century, for example, many recipes were informed by the dangers of food containing bacteria.
29Then, in the 1930s, refrigerators became common objects in American homes.
30The threat of bacterial infection from food dropped, and very soon, cooks adapted to the new conditions.
31New recipes and new cookbooks resulted.
32But cookbooks are not complete reflections of American life.
33Elias said publishing companies mostly control cookbook content.
34And, their main goal is to make money from book sales.
35"The publishing world doesn't necessarily have the goal of representing the truth of Americans who made it.
36It tends to be upper middle class, white, Northeastern."
37In the 21st century, with the growth of social media and food websites, publishing companies have less control.
38These new ways to share recipes have led to more open discussions about food and cooking.
39This gives the public more choices and power.
40Elias praised the new discussions around food.
41"If you look at the comments on food blogs and on any kind of recipe site, you really get to see what people are cooking, and what they think of how they're cooking, and how they think of themselves as experts."
42Physical cookbooks are still highly desirable as well, Bentley says.
43"They're very good to give as gifts. They're very, very popular because they're sort of neutral. And everyone loves a cookbook, especially with beautiful pages," she said.
44I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Are you interested in food, United States history, and the English language? If so, American cookbooks provide wide information in all three subjects. The first, published in 1796, started a market that continues in the 21st century with online publications of such works. And, the literature offers more than just recipes. 2Megan Elias is the director of food studies at Boston University and the writer of Food on the Page: Cookbooks and American Culture. She says that cookbooks do help teach us how to prepare food. But they provide more than that, too. 3"The concept of meals, how many meals a day that people expect to eat? What do they expect to have in those meals?" Elias said. 4They also inform readers about discoveries, equipment and technology related to food making. 5Elias said, "What are the objects that are necessary to make the things and what exists? So, are you being asked to do something over an open fire or are you being asked to use an electric stove? Is it something that can be done in the microwave? If you see a lot of recipes for things that are preserved for pickles, you know that you are looking at a time without refrigeration." 6Amy Bentley is a food historian at New York University. She said that cookbooks from the 1800s were used as lifestyle and household guides. They include food recipes, but they were not central to the books back then. 7"So, there's some recipes for food, but it could be recipes for a cleaning solvent or what to do when your child has been poisoned, how to clean, how to get stains out," Bentley said. 8American Cookery by Amelia Simmons is the first cookbook published in the United States. Simmons wrote that her goal with the book was to improve the new generation of women in the U.S. 9Megan Elias says that after the Civil War, cookbooks became more diverse. Writers started exploring local foods and customs in their work. 10Elias said that Southern cookbooks tried to offer "... a beautiful version of the old South that will kind of heal over the wounds of the Civil War rather than dealing with the problems that caused the Civil War to begin with." 11Some communities would put together a group cookbook to raise money. These cookbooks provide a look into what the American middle class was eating throughout the years. Such works serve as a record of the traditions and interests of different neighborhoods and groups. 12Throughout the years cookbooks have signified humanity's growth in knowledge, trends and innovations. During the last part of the 19th century, for example, many recipes were informed by the dangers of food containing bacteria. Then, in the 1930s, refrigerators became common objects in American homes. The threat of bacterial infection from food dropped, and very soon, cooks adapted to the new conditions. New recipes and new cookbooks resulted. 13But cookbooks are not complete reflections of American life. Elias said publishing companies mostly control cookbook content. And, their main goal is to make money from book sales. 14"The publishing world doesn't necessarily have the goal of representing the truth of Americans who made it. It tends to be upper middle class, white, Northeastern." 15In the 21st century, with the growth of social media and food websites, publishing companies have less control. These new ways to share recipes have led to more open discussions about food and cooking. This gives the public more choices and power. 16Elias praised the new discussions around food. 17"If you look at the comments on food blogs and on any kind of recipe site, you really get to see what people are cooking, and what they think of how they're cooking, and how they think of themselves as experts." 18Physical cookbooks are still highly desirable as well, Bentley says. "They're very good to give as gifts. They're very, very popular because they're sort of neutral. And everyone loves a cookbook, especially with beautiful pages," she said. 19I'm Faith Pirlo. 20Dora Mekouar reported this story for VOA News. Faith Pirlo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23literature - n. written works that are considered to be very good and to have lasting importance 24recipe - n. a set of instructions for cooking a specific food, including a list of the ingredients required 25concept - n. an idea of what something is or how it works 26microwave - n. an oven that uses very short wave of electromagnetic energy to cook food 27preserved - adj. to describe something kept in its original state or in good condition 28solvent - n. a liquid used for breaking down other substances 29stain - n. a mark made on a surface or a piece of clothing that is very hard or impossible to remove 30reflect - v. to mirror or show an aspect of something 31innovation - n. the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods 32neutral - adj. not having positive, negative, or other characterizations based on a person's likes or dislikes. 33We want to hear from you. 34Our comment policy is here.