Gastronomic Meditations: Cookbook Mania

I own a very rare Icelandic cookbook, a World’s Fair Souvenir cookbook printed in 1895, and a facsimile edition of ancient Roman cookbook with translated versions of the original recipes on the left and modernized versions on the right. The modified recipes are useful, because I am much more likely to make the “Casserole Apicius” with a newfangled combination of pork and halibut than I am to make it with the original sow’s udder and “cooked breasts of thrushes.” Unfortunately, I do not have a cookbook from Kenya, nor do I have anything of the Persian persuasion, nor a true copy of Fannie Farmer’s admirably strict Boston Cooking-School Cookbook.

I am aware of these bits of information due to a handy spreadsheet that I built in Microsoft Excel. Thanks to this spreadsheet I have never purchased a cookbook that I already owned, I’ve been able to aptly fill in gaps in my collection (I recently acquired books on Cuba, Medieval Europe, and an extensive volume solely about legume cookery), and if a fire were to decimate my apartment, the combination of renter’s insurance and this fabulous bit of virtual “paper” would allow me to rebuild without missing a single tome. When my mood turns whimsical though, I am sometimes struck by a strange thought: Why do I collect cookbooks when I don’t actually follow recipes? (read more)


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