The Settlement Cook Book
The Settlement Cook Book is a complete cookbook and guide to running a household, compiled by Lizzie Black Kander, first published in 1901. The compendium of recipes, cooking techniques, nutrition information, serving procedures and other useful information was intended to support young women raising their families. The context for the cookbook was the Settlement House of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which served the needs of recent immigrants including many Jewish families arriving from Europe. The vast scope of the content, and the re-writing process engaged in each year, results in a series of books that contains fascinating information about American Culture throughout the 20th Century. It was enormously popular within its target audience and became a classic across the U.S., selling 2 million copies.
The format of the Settlement book quickly changed from classroom lessons to recipes themselves, arranged by type of food. In addition, instructions were presented, as the audience for this book was new immigrants in the early 1900s. It continued to be reprinted every year for decades, and then was printed every several years for some time after that. The final, 43rd, edition was printed in 1991 by Simon & Schuster, edited by New York food writer Charles Pierce.
History
The cookbook was initially printed in 1901, in the format of cooking lessons. The cooking lessons were from cooking classes presented by the Settlement House of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The board of Trustees refused to pay the original $18 to print copies, so Lizzie Black Kander worked with the publisher directly to sell advertisements. Those initial copies sold out, and a new edition with incremental changes was printed again the next year, with advertisements again. The following year, another edition was printed with improvements. Funds raised by sales of the Settlement Cookbook were used to fund activities of the Settlement House for years.The Settlement Cookbook was intended for the people who were served by the Settlement house, so many dishes were from Eastern Europe. Kanter herself was Jewish, and many of the Settlement house population was Jewish, and the cookbook became associated with Jewishness. However its focus was on assimilation, and the contents always included non-kosher foods. In later years, it did include more specifically Jewish content as well, such as Passover recipes in the 1947 edition.
Kander sought to improve The Settlement Cookbook with every new edition, in order to both assist the reader and strengthen the Settlement House itself. Editions sold out, and the book became a classic.
Contents
The goal of The Settlement Cookbook was to educate recent immigrants on everything necessary to create a healthy kitchen and home.The book included not only recipes, but also 'Rules for the Household,' with information on cleanliness and logistics. Every step was presented in simple language, and instructions were aimed at the inexperienced cook.Since the book was modified each year that is was printed, consecutive editions present a glimpse into the changes in American Life in the 20th century. The recipes themselves spanned both the reader's traditional recipes from their heritage such as 'carrot zimmes' and 'potato kugel,' as well as the more diverse American menu including 'chicken chop suey for 15 people' and 'mexican tamales.' Menus were designed for the working class family with limited means, but there were also "company dishes" that included more expensive ingredients such as lobster.
Reception
The focus of The Settlement Cookbook was always on simple effectiveness in the kitchen and the whole household. All techniques were explained in every edition, terms were defined, nutritional information was also included. The result was widespread popularity over the years that also extended to well-known cooks such as M. F. K. Fisher.Publication History
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book : containing many recipes used in Settlement cooking classes, the Milwaukee public school cooking centers and gathered from various other reliable sources 1901
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement Cook Book: The way to a man's heart
- Kander, Mrs. Simon and Mrs. Henry Schoenfeld, The "Settlement" cook book : The way to a man's heart 2nd ed 182 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Nathan Hamburger and Mrs. I.D. Adler, The Settlement cook book 3rd ed 391 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Nathan Hamburger and Mrs. I.D. Adler, The Settlement cook book 4th ed 452 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Nathan Hamburger and Mrs. I.D. Adler The Settlement cook book 7th ed 488 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Nathan Hamburger, Mrs. I.D. Adler and Mrs. Sol Cantrovitz, The Settlement cook book 8th ed enlarged and revised 509 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Nathan Hamburger, Mrs. I.D. Adler and Mrs. Sol Cantrovitz, The Settlement cook book 9th ed w/ Liberty supplement 534 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 10th ed enl and rev 563 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 11th ed enl and rev 596 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 12th ed enl and rev 596 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 13th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 14th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 15th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 16th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 17th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 18th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 19th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book - 'repeal' recipes 16 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 20th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 21st ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 22nd ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 23rd ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 24th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 25th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 26th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 27th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 28th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 29th ed enl and rev 623 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 30th ed enl and rev 624 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book 31st ed enl and rev 676 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The heart of The settlement cook book; a special selection of home-tested recipes compiled from the omnibus edition famous for three generations. 32nd ed 312 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, The Settlement cook book: treasured recipes of six decades; the famous all-purpose cook book for beginner and expert 33rd ed 535 p.
- Kander, Mrs. Simon, and Mrs. Henry Schoenfeld, The Settlement cookbook, 1903 : the way to a man's heart fascim ed. 182 p.
- Pierce, Charles, The New settlement cookbook completely rev and updated ed. 814 p.