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The First American Cookbook and Ridgewood native’s 1823 book of recipes

The First American Cookbook , Ridgewood native's 1823 book of recipes,

April 19,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, 220 years ago next week, on April 28, 1796, Amelia Simmons published the first cookbook “American Cookery”, written by an American. Prior to that, the cookbooks used in the Thirteen Colonies were British, and lacked information on how to use foods, spices and other ingredients found in America.

As historian Greg Mangan states, what made Simmons’s work unique “was its recognition of the deficiencies of existing British cookbooks when it came to understanding American culture”, and that it provides valuable insights into the methods and foods that helped colonists forge a uniquely American culinary identity.

A skillful cook, historian Karen Hess points out that Simmons recipes had a variety of herbs, as well as wine, and “extraordinarily fine roasting techniques”. She incorporated common early American foods – cornmeal, pumpkins, and molasses — into her recipes, and was the first cookbook author to mention “pearl ash”, (a wood ash, the forerunner of baking powder) to lighten or leaven dough.

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American Cookery also shows the influence of Dutch words in our area at that time – words like slaw, meaning salad; and cookey, from koekje, meaning cookie.

The impact of American Cookery on local Ridgewood residents at that time can be seen in an 1823 book of hand-written recipes by Ridgewood native Jeanette Pells. Two of her recipes (Ginger bread and Sugar cake) call for one or two teaspoons of pearl ash.

To learn more about food preparation and cooking in Ridgewood in the 18th and 19th centuries, come to the Schoolhouse Museum’s new exhibit “Farm and Home”using artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Museum is located at 650 E. Glen Ave., Ridgewood, NJ, and visiting hours are Thursdays and Saturdays; 1 to 3 p.m. and Sundays; 2 to 4 p.m. To contact the museum: 201-447 3242 or ridgewoodhistoricalsociety@verizon.net