Fannie Farmer

The Writer's Almanac
with Garrison Keillor

Monday, 23 March 2009

It's the birthday of Fannie Merritt Farmer, (books by this author) born in Boston (1857). She published the first cookbook in American history that used precise cooking instructions and level measurements. Her cookbook was filled with recipes and also advice on how to set a table, scald milk, cream butter, and remove stains. At first, all the publishers turned her down because they thought all these recipes and techniques were things that young women could learn from their mothers. But Fannie Farmer finally got her cookbook published, and it was an enormous success.

• Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1918 edition, Fannie Merritt Farmer -- Wikisource
  
  
• Boston Cooking-School Cook Book 1918 edition, 1918 edition, Fannie Merritt Farmer -- Bartleby.com
  
  
• Fannie Farmer -- Wikipedia
  
  
• Fannie Farmer -- Find A Grave
  
  
• Fannie Merritt Farmer -- Feeding America Collection, Michigan State University Libraries
  
  
• Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, 1904 edition, Fannie Merritt Farmer -- Feeding America Collection, Michigan State University Libraries