Fannie Farmer

My very first cookbook was a scholastic Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It was bought for me by my mom from a catalog I brought home from elementary school. My mom really was an enabler even way back then. She was a nurturer to all my creative outlets. I think I still have it somewhere but for now I want to share with you the copy I was given by my mother in law. It is copyrighted 1965, Eleventh edition. And it is a  treasure.

notice all the copyright dates

Fannie Merrit Farmer

Fannie Merrit Farmer was born in 1857. She is responsible for a very important event in cooking history.

While she was in high school, Fannie suffered from a stroke with paralysis and could no longer continue her education. She then worked as a mothers helper and discovered her love of, and skill at cooking. With her parents support she began to study under M.J. Lincoln at the Boston Cooking School. From the book that Mrs Lincoln used to teach her classes, which was written for businesses and professional cooks, Fannie wrote The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, revising the original and adding her improvements. She made it workable for middle class women and family cooks by including specific accurate measurements and ingredients. Before this cookbook ingredients were estimated and the results would vary greatly. It was published in 1896.

In 1902 she opened a school called Miss Farmers School of Cooking aimed at training housewives. She also lectured on domestic topics and wrote several more cooking related books. Her school continued on until 1944, she herself passing in 1915. 

I found inside my copy several added delights. One was a bay leaf left there by Anne, my mother-in-law.

The illustrations are really cool

This is definitely a good thing to have. If and when I make 5 holiday pies at once.

She apparently thought this was too sweet. I think Ill give it a go and see for myself. I have started to like rice pudding of late. More illustrations, simple and to the point.

One of the things Fannie writes in the preface of her original first edition is that she wants to keep her recipes simple, tried and true. She wished that her book would encourage people to give deeper thought and study to what they were eating. In later issues it has been revised by, Wilma Lord Perkins, to include Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were invented  in 1924 by Ruth Wakefield for Toll House. Before that they simply broke a bar of chocolate into bits. This didn't work to well since it melted.  I would love to find an earlier edition that doesn't have these more "modern" recipes. The search is on.

I also found my wedding gown while nosing around in the shed. This is Jennifer wearing it and holding my wedding picture. Cool huh?

Blessings, Sue