Amelia Simmons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Albany, New York |
| Occupation | Author |
| Notable works | American Cookery |
Amelia Simmons was an American writer noted for publishing the American Cookery . This cookbook is considered an important text that provided insights into the language and culinary practices of former colonists, helping shape American identity. [1] It is considered the first American cookbook published in the United States. [1]
Little is known about Simmons' life except that she was an orphan. [2] She was left to the care of several guardians and this was said to have helped shape her character, one that had an opinion and determination of her own. [3]
Simmons earned her living as a domestic worker. [4] She was later described as a woman of modest means. In her published book, it was noted that she was preoccupied with that status in life. [5] In her own words, Simmons claimed she was "circumscribed in her knowledge" and lacked "an education sufficient to prepare the work for the press." [2]
According to the historian Karen Hess, Simmons probably lived in New York's Albany area, which was the center of the manufacture of potash, a prominent ingredient in Simmons' recipes. [6] The likelihood of this theory is supported by Simmons' use of words that are Dutch in origin. [4]
Simmons' cookbook, American Cookery was published in 1796. During this period, all cookbooks used in the colonies were British. The book contained practical recipes that catered to the wider American audience as well as meals that appealed to those who had larger budget as it taught its readers "how to eat simply but sumptuously". [7] This work is considered significant for addressing the deficiencies of extant British cookbooks since it understood American culture. [1] The cookbook was described as a place that acknowledged British heritage and introduced a new kind of cuisine and citizen cook. [7] Its preface claimed that it was "adapted to this country". [8] While it contained recipes copied from British cookbooks, it also included meals that had indigenous American recipes or meals that substituted native American ingredients. [9] Several of the recipes in the cookbook that were copied from British sources were largely from the works of Susannah Carter. [2] Simmons copied her entries on creams and syllabubs but she introduced new ingredients such as cornmeal, pumpkins, and molasses. [6] Such copying was said to be commonplace and Simmons' recipes also suffered from the same practice later on. [2]
The United States Library of Congress, owning one of the only four known first edition copies, designated the American Cookery as one of 88 "Books That Shaped America. [7]
In American Cookery is the first recorded recipe of the cupcake. It is thought to have been invented by Simmons as a single-serve cake as she often spent her birthday alone.
English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but is also very similar to wider British cuisine, partly historically and partly due to the import of ingredients and ideas from the Americas, China, and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.
An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream, custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the filling; the upper crust may be solid or latticed. The bottom crust may be baked separately ("blind") to prevent it from getting soggy. Tarte Tatin is baked with the crust on top, but served with it on the bottom.
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or with a coat of icing.
Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as a ginger snap.
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Cranberry sauce or cranberry jam is a sauce or relish made out of cranberries, commonly served as a condiment or a side dish with Thanksgiving dinner in North America and Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom and Canada. There are differences in flavor depending on the geography of where the sauce is made: in Europe it is generally slightly sour-tasting, while in North America it is typically more heavily sweetened.
Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American pasta dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce, and meatballs.
American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons, is the first known cookbook written by an American, published in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1796. Until then, the cookbooks printed and used in the Thirteen Colonies were British. Its full title is: American Cookery, or the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables, and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, and preserves, and all kinds of cakes, from the imperial plum to plain cake: Adapted to this country, and all grades of life.
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Sea-pie is a layered meat pie made with meat or fish, and is known to have been served to British sailors during the 18th century. Its popularity was passed on to the New England colonies sufficiently to be included in Amelia Simmons's landmark 1796 book American Cookery. Sea-pie is made by lining a saucepan or pot with a thick layer of pastry, and then filling the pot with alternating layers of meat or stew, and vegetables; and, topping the layered ingredients with pastry. There is no set list of ingredients; rather, sea-pie is made with whatever meat and vegetables are on-hand at the time it is made.
Almond pudding is a milk pudding or custard thickened with ground almonds and sometimes flavored with almond extract. There are versions of almond pudding found in the Arab cuisines of the Middle East, and variations of this dish are found in American, European, Turkish, Persian, Indian, Chinese, and other world cuisines.
Martha Bradley was a British cookery book writer. Apart from the book she published, little is known about her life, except that she worked as a cook for over thirty years in the fashionable spa town of Bath, Somerset.
Sri Owen is an Indonesian cooking teacher and food writer, based in London for most of her life. She is the author of the first English-language recipe book dedicated to the food of Indonesia, and is recognised as a leading authority on Indonesian cuisine.
The Virginia House-Wife is an 1824 housekeeping manual and cookbook by Mary Randolph. In addition to recipes it gave instructions for making soap, starch, blacking and cologne.