Peppered with quotations from Fannie Farmer, this picture book biography explains why standard measurements were necessary in cooking while telling the story of Fannie Farmer’s life. She loved cooking from childhood, but cookbooks in those days used descriptions like “sugar to your taste” and “as many yolks as may be necessary.” The book shows us the journey that took her to the Boston Cooking School and how she approached cooking as a science with precise measurements and predictable results. She rewrote the school’s cookbook to a form still in print today, while revolutionizing all cookbooks with her precise listing of ingredients. Lovely illustrations and plenty of back matter including recipes round out this informative and inspiring work. – Sondra Eklund, Mathical Selection Committee
When Fannie Farmer learned to cook in the late 1800s, recipes could be pretty silly. They might call for “a goodly amount of salt” or “a lump of butter” or “a suspicion of nutmeg.” Girls were supposed to use their “feminine instincts” in the kitchen (or maybe just guess). Despite this problem, Fannie loved cooking, so when polio prevented her from going to college, she became a teacher at the Boston Cooking School. Unlike her mother or earlier cookbook writers, Fannie didn’t believe in feminine instincts. To her, cooking was a science. She’d noticed that precise measurements and specific instructions ensured that cakes rose instead of flopped and doughnuts fried instead of burned. Students liked Fannie’s approach so much that she wrote a cookbook. Despite skepticism from publishers, Fannie’s book was a recipe for success.
– Book description from publisher
Other Resources
- TeachingBooks.net book page
- Author website
- Activity: Lemony Orzo and Spinach Soup Recipe (from publisher)
- YouTube: Introducing the Fabulous Fannie Farmer (video, from publisher)