When the first culinary book was published?Thank you.
3 Comments
702551November 2, 2022
This is the sort of thing scholars will debate about however one old source is are the Yale Culinary Tablets (circa 1700 BCE) which are cuneiform tablets. A judicious Internet search will provide more information about them.
While not as old, a more well known text is known as Apicius (or De Re Coquinaria), a Roman cookbook that has been attributed to various parties, no one knows for sure who wrote it (possibly a group of people contributed over centuries). You can buy modern translations of this Roman cookbook but I can't vouch for their accuracy.
My assumption is that there is an ancient Chinese document that is less known to Western scholars but equally important as Apicius.
Without a doubt, pretty much any society with a written language system recorded some sort of royal/noble banquet function.
Generally speaking these are more curiosities than practical guides for the modern cook.
Cookbooks throughout most of history usually described banquet events for royalty/nobility as well as some professional guides for institutional cooking (like feeding armies). It wasn't until the nineteenth century that books aimed at home cooks started to gain popularity.
While not as old, a more well known text is known as Apicius (or De Re Coquinaria), a Roman cookbook that has been attributed to various parties, no one knows for sure who wrote it (possibly a group of people contributed over centuries). You can buy modern translations of this Roman cookbook but I can't vouch for their accuracy.
My assumption is that there is an ancient Chinese document that is less known to Western scholars but equally important as Apicius.
Without a doubt, pretty much any society with a written language system recorded some sort of royal/noble banquet function.
Generally speaking these are more curiosities than practical guides for the modern cook.
Cookbooks throughout most of history usually described banquet events for royalty/nobility as well as some professional guides for institutional cooking (like feeding armies). It wasn't until the nineteenth century that books aimed at home cooks started to gain popularity.
NancyNovember 2, 2022
Well done!
Two more notes -
The Apicius collection is now thought to be 5th center you, not 1st century Roman.
There’s a good book, combination history and cookbook, about the history of written recipes. “The Delectable Past” by Esther Aresty.
Two more notes -
The Apicius collection is now thought to be 5th center you, not 1st century Roman.
There’s a good book, combination history and cookbook, about the history of written recipes. “The Delectable Past” by Esther Aresty.
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