Frugality has a long history in America. The Frugal Housewife by Susannah Carter (first edition 1772) was one of the first cookbooks to be published in the United States. Later books on the same theme included A new system of domestic cookery, formed upon principles of economy by Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell (1814), The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Child (1835), and Economical cookery by Marion Harris Neil (1918).
Did frugal cookbooks differ markedly from other cookbooks? A text analysis comparison shows some interesting results.
Was the word “frugal” a common term in cookbooks? Did if fall in and out of favor over time? Check out the timeline chart of when the word appears in the Early American Cookbooks collection