Fannie Farmer - Teaching America to Cook

On August 23, 1902, Fannie Farmer opened Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston. Fannie Farmer was an advocate for using standardized measurements in recipes consequently making cooking in the home easier for many women. Her work at the school, lectures, and cookbooks changed the way Americans cooked.

Fannie Farmer around 1900 (Courtesy of the Boston Public Library)

Last weekend my sister and I were going through some books that my mom was getting rid of. One of them was a duplicate copy of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. My sister, Teresa, and I are what we call “dump” cooks. We’re both comfortable dumping in a little of this and a little of that, but our mom and other sister prefer recipes with precise measurements. Nevertheless, Teresa and I both have copies of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook that we have referred to over the years along with many other women.

Fannie Farmer was born March 23, 1857 to a family that believed in education for women, but due to a stroke in her teens she was unable to finish high school or go to college. Unable to walk, she remained at home and began to cook. She became so proficient that her mother’s boarding house became known for the quality of meals that were served. Once she regained the ability to walk, she attended the Boston Cooking School which was founded in 1879 to promote a scientific approach to cooking, and specifically to train women to be cooking teachers. Fannie graduated in 1889, and as one of its top students became the principal of the school in 1891.

Fannie with a student

In 1896, Fannie published The Boston Cooking School Cookbook. The publisher didn’t expect it to be a big seller, so the initial printing of 3000 copies was at the author’s expense. They definitely misjudged its popularity. It is still in print today. Currently in its 13^th addition, the 10^th edition published in 1959 was called The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook, and the 11^th edition published in 1965 was the first to be called The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

The Boston Cooking School Cookbook was much more than a recipe book. It also included information about household management, sanitation, nutrition, and preserving fruits and vegetables. Nothing was left out from discussion of boiling point to “how to build a fire” and “boning a bird.” But its most significant contribution to American cooking was in Fannie’s discussion of standard measurements and the idea of level measurements. A teacup of flour became a level cup of flour, and a piece of butter became a specific number of level tablespoons.

In 1904, Fannie published a book that would result in her lecturing to Harvard medical students. Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent gave information on the digestive system, food recommendations for specific diseases, nutrition for children, and emphasized the appearance, taste, and presentation of food for the sick.

Due to another stroke, Fannie was confined to a wheelchair for the last 7 years of her life, but she continued to lecture and write. Her lectures were published by the Boston Evening Transcript and republished in newspapers across the country. Fannie gave her last lecture 10 days before her death on January 15, 1915.

A list of her books from Wikipedia

• Farmer, Fannie Merritt. Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1896). A complete list of editions may be found at Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.
• Farmer, Fannie Merritt. Chafing Dish Possibilities. (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1898).
• Farmer, Fannie Merritt. Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent. (Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., 1904).
• Farmer, Fannie Merritt. What to Have for Dinner: Containing Menus with Recipes for their Preparation. (New York, NY: Dodge Publishing Company, 1905). Re-published (by Dodge) in 1914 under the title A Book of Good Dinners for My Friend; or “What to Have for Dinner”.
• Farmer, Fannie Merritt. Catering for Special Occasions, with Menus and Recipes. (Philadelphia, PA: D. McKay, 1911).
• Farmer, Fannie Merritt. New Book of Cookery, A. Eight-hundred and Sixty Recipes Covering the Whole Range of Cookery. (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1912).
• Farmer, Fannie Merritt, ed. Priscilla Cook Book for Everyday Housekeepers, The. (Boston, MA: The Priscilla Publishing Company, 1913)

You can download several of Fannie’s cookbooks for which the copyright has expired using the links below.

The Boston Cooking School Cookbook (1896 version)
Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent (1904)