Published in Boston in 1833, the
Cook's Own Book, and Housekeeper's Register is believed to be the first alphabetically-arranged culinary encyclopedia.The book was one of the most popular cookbooks of the 19th century and had at least a dozen different printings before 1865.
It started the alphabetical listing with
Aberdeen Crulla and
Alamode Beef and ended with
Yeast, Potato and Zests.Besides just the alphabetical section of the book, the
Cook's Own Book, and Housekeeper's Register also contains articles about techniques of cooking, preparing soups and broths, curing meats, managing families, utensils, and diet, and a table of weights and measurements.The book was basically a compendium of recipes compiled from diverse British and American sources, and although many of the recipes and information are borrowed (a common practice of the time), author Mrs. N.K.M. Lee added many of her own original recipes to the collection making this culinary tome a true historical treasury.
This edition of
Cook's Own Book, and Housekeeper's Register was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.
