The American Heritage Cookbook,

by Helen McCully, Eleanor Noderer (Editor), Helen Duprey Bullock (Editor)

More than 500 great traditional recipes, old and new, are gathered together in this new larger-size version of a perennial best seller. It is a book that views our past in terms of the foods our forefathers ate and the drinks they drank. Here you will find such all-American dishes as Indian pudding and succotash, apple pie and Kentucky burgoo. You will also find a wide variety of once-foreign flavors, contributed by immigrants from many lands, beefsteak and kidney pie, Swedish meatballs, veal grillades Louisiana, panettone, creme brulee. Ours is not a "cuisine" such as homogeneous nations boast, but a rich potpourri of dishes and drinks that have evolved from the native bounty of this country and the cultures of a dozen others. The recipes were tested and adapted for use in modern kitchens by Helen McCully Associates, food consultants. Forty historic menus are included.

Genres: Cookbooks, History, Cooking, Reference, Nonfiction

245 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Yuri Sharon]

I’ve had this book for over 50 years, and I am still exploring it. A good, old-style cookbook packed with hundreds of clearly formulated and well-written recipes. Sparing us the usual (often doctored) glossy photos, it repays long sessions of browsing for that extra twist that raises a common dish to an uncommon meal.

[Lucy Jeanette Hansen]

The soup and cookie recipes are really good, I've made several of them.

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Such a very, very, enjoyable read that this book now strongly demands that I put theory into practice. The recipes do ‘read well’ and are very practical: unlike modern books there is no excessive number of ingredients or equipment.

The historical anecdotes preceding many of the recipes are utterly fascinating; and make it very interesting, at least for the English dishes I know, to trace how recipes were taken and amended in light of local circumstances; availability of crops, kitchen utensils, etc.

The book is illustrated with what I take to be out of C19th? illustrations now out of copyright, because no credit is given for illustrations within the pages of this book, only for the cover (Harry Willock).