A History of Cookbooks provides a sweeping literary and historical
overview of the cookbook genre, exploring its development as a part of
food culture beginning in the Late Middle Ages. Studying cookbooks from
various Western cultures and languages, Henry Notaker traces the
transformation of recipes from brief notes with ingredients into
detailed recipes with a specific structure, grammar, and vocabulary. In
addition, he reveals that cookbooks go far beyond offering recipes: they
tell us a great deal about nutrition, morals, manners, history, and
menus while often providing entertaining reflections and commentaries.
This innovative book demonstrates that cookbooks represent an
interesting and important branch of nonfiction literature.