Lafcadio Hearn's Creole Cookbook

by Lafcadio Hearn, Hodding Carter (Foreword by)

First published in 1885, this was the first Creole cookbook ever printed'a rare collection of recipes from leading New Orleans chefs of the day, as well as from Creole housewives.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, 19th Century

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1885

About the author

Greek-born American writer Lafcadio Hearn spent 15 years in Japan; people note his collections of stories and essays, including Kokoro (1896), under pen name Koizumi Yakumo.

Rosa Cassimati (Ρόζα Αντωνίου Κασιμάτη in Greek), a Greek woman, bore Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χερν in Greek or 小泉八雲 in Japanese), a son, to Charles Hearn, an army doctor from Ireland. After making remarkable works in America as a journalist, he went to Japan in 1890 as a journey report writer of a magazine. He arrived in Yokohama, but because of a dissatisfaction with the contract, he quickly quit the job. He afterward moved to Matsué as an English teacher of Shimané prefectural middle school. In Matsué, he got acquainted with Nishida Sentarô, a colleague teacher and his lifelong friend, and married Koizumi Setsu, a daughter of a samurai.
In 1891, he moved to Kumamoto and taught at the fifth high school for three years. Kanô Jigorô, the president of the school of that time, spread judo to the world.

Hearn worked as a journalist in Kôbé and afterward in 1896 got Japanese citizenship and a new name, Koizumi Yakumo. He took this name from "Kojiki," a Japanese ancient myth, which roughly translates as "the place where the clouds are born". On that year, he moved to Tôkyô and began to teach at the Imperial University of Tôkyô. He got respect of students, many of whom made a remarkable literary career. In addition, he wrote much reports of Japan and published in America. So many people read his works as an introduction of Japan. He quit the Imperial University in 1903 and began to teach at Waseda University on the year next. Nevertheless, after only a half year, he died of angina pectoris.

Reviews

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not be fooled! This book is merely Lafcadio Hearn's La Cuisine Creole with additional resources, such as sketches published by Hearn. This republication of the text is one of the only modern renditions, making it rather a nice book, and the additional content, although really not necessary, is nice to have. This book--the first Creole cookbook, published in 1885--is worth taking a look at, if nothing else.

As a "cookbook", Hearn's attempt to bring together the varied recipes of Creole cooks is rather faltering. These recipes contradict each other, ard hardly consistent in quality, and are sometimes downright bad.

To address the first point in "Soup" section of the book there are many recipes for gumbo ("gombo"). Most of the gombo recipes do not require a roux (whether browned or not) to thicken the soup, but one recipe proudly declares: "All gombo should be thickened with a little flour--browned if preferred--and stirred in just before adding the water [mentioned previously in the recipe]."* This type of contradiction is common in the text.

Additionally, the method of each recipe is often extremely variable. A good example of this is the proportion of flour used in any given recipe where it is used (e.g., bread). Often, Hearn simply states that flour should be added until a paste is formed, or, in other words, add flour until sufficient. At other times, the amount of flour is given. This is a result (probably) of how Hearn gathered these recipes, with some cooks giving far more precise and detailed instructions, and others not.

Finally, some of the recipes are either beyond my comprehension or total failures. Just before the part of the book where yeast becomes a common topic, Hearn gives us a recipe for making a substitute for brewer's yeast. It seems truly to defeat itself.

"Boil one pound of good flour, one-quater of a pound of good sugar, and a tablespoonful of salt in two gallons of water. Boil for two hours, and bottle it for use... [this] is not always reliable."

One cannot help but think that the yeast contained in this--what little there is, I mean, on the flour--is killed by the boiling. Maybe it can give rise, but I don't know.

With all the cavaets, this book has some good recipes. I have made tea cakes out of the book, for example, and, although they contain carraway seeds (which was a choice to add to the sweet cake, despite the popularity of the spice at the time), they are pretty darn good.

This book also contains a lot of fun recipes. Many are famous (like Prince Albert's Pudding) and some were famous (like tea cakes or the Queen's Drop). Some of the recipes are very of their time. Most of the yeast recipes use the term "yeast" vaguely, and often as a synonym for a rising agent (i.e., the recipe "To Make Rising with Yeast Cake" uses a yeast cake to rise a mix of sugar, flour and water to be used as one uses a sourdough starter in bread).

*Another fun quote about gumbo: "Add okra or a preparation of dried and pounded sassafras-leaves, called filee. This makes the difference in gombo."

[patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a wonderful thing that these recipes were documented by this writer at the turn of the century. I’m almost certain my grandmother’s astounding crawfish bisque was prepared much like the recipe found within. If only I could get my hands on some fresh crawfish . . .

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

An 1885 cookbook that is better than most of its era in that Hearn does do his best to provide measurements... Still only suitable for an experienced cook as there is still much assumed knowledge and much is left to the discretion of the cook. That said, I don't think you need to be an expert chef in order to use these recipes - just experienced in your own kitchen.
Hearn, an Anglo-Irish-Greek author and New Orleans resident for ten years from 1877-1887, tells us that "Creole cookery partakes of the nature of its birthplace - New Orleans - blending the characteristics of the American, French, Spanish, Italian, West Indian and Mexican." No boring, industrial, commercial, mass-produced foods here. It's sad to see how reduced our food choices have become and how bland the American diet is now in comparison to 100 years ago.
Hearn obviously loved the cuisine. For open-minded, adventuresome cooks and eaters. I will definitely be using this book. A public domain title available for free download at Gutenberg.org & Archive.org

NF, Cookbook, Woodstove Cookery, Recipes, Creole, American South, Louisiana, New Orleans, Classic, Culinary History, 1885, Public Domain, Free E-Book, Gutenberg.org

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all of these recipes are really practical, but at the very least they're fun to read. Recommended!

[Ig-88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inventore illo est nisi expedita accusantium culpa. Sint omnis id molestias. Ducimus autem unde nemo modi qui.

[Avis Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more of Hearn's own thoughts and writing, but it really is 99% recipes, which is disappointing.