Regional cookbooks

Midwestern

Important Midwestern cookbooks include Buckeye Cookery, And Practical Housekeeping: Compiled From Original Recipes by Estelle Woods Wilcox (1877), Fullständigaste Svensk-Amerikansk Kokbok = Swedish English Cookbook (1897), Science in the kitchen by E.E. Kellogg (1892), and The Settlement Cook Book by Mrs. Simon Kander (1915 edition)

Books published in the Midwest comprise 24% of the Early American Cookbooks collection. When the books are compared to the full set of titles in Early American Cookbooks, the over-represented terms show several baking terms plus the name brand Crisco. Crisco was introduced in 1911 by Proctor and Gamble and promoted through cookbooks such as The Story of Crisco (1914). Other terms include the names of new types of foods introduced by the early vegetarian and health food movements such as protose (a peanut based protein food marketed by John Harvey Kellog) and graham (a whole grain flour biscuit introduced by Sylvester Graham).

Midwestern over-represented terms (Meandre Dunning Log Likelihood to Tagcloud Algorithm)

This visualization was created by comparing two sets of texts, cookbooks published in the Midwest and the full Early American Cookbooks collection, using the Meandre Dunning Log-likelihood to Tagcloud algorithm in the HathiTrust Research Center Portal.

Northeastern

Books published in the Northeast comprise 61% of the Early American Cookbooks collection. Large numbers of cookbooks were published in New York, traditionally the publishing center of the United States, as well as in Boston and Philadelphia. The high percentage in the Northeast also reflects the population distribution in the United States in period from 1800 to 1920. Most commercial publishing was centered in the Northeast in the early 19th century and book publishers became established in other regions as the population shifted westward over time.

Text analysis of books published in the Northeast shows some interesting trends. When the books are compared to the full set of titles in Early American Cookbooks, the over-represented terms show terms more common in early 19th century books. These include early printing styles such as the long “s” which looks like an “f.” In the tag cloud below “fweet” is “sweet’ and “fugar” is “sugar.” There are also old versions of words (divers rather than diverse) and English spellings such as flavour, colour, and centre. The Northeast region is also evident in place names such as Philadelphia and local companies such as Ryzon, a baking powder company based in New York

Northeastern over-represented terms (Meandre Dunning Log Likelihood to Tagcloud Algorithm)

This visualization was created by comparing two sets of texts, cookbooks published in the Northeast and the full Early American Cookbooks collection, using the Meandre Dunning Log-likelihood to Tagcloud algorithm in the HathiTrust Research Center Portal.

Southern

The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph (1824) is one of the first cookbooks to be published in the United States which was not an American edition of an English book. It is considered by some to be the first truly American cookbook and by all to be the first regional American cookbook (Feeding America). The book influenced generations of Southern cooks and it is still in print today.

Cookbooks published in the Southeast comprise only 6% of the Early American Cookbooks collection, but text analysis of this small number still shows a clear distinction when compared to the full set. The over-represented terms show a number of distinctly southern terms such as Creole or Atlanta as well as ingredients associated with the south such as okra and pecans. Citrus crops in Florida are represented by grapefruit and Sealdsweet, the brand name of a citrus company.

Southern over-represented terms (Meandre Dunning Log Likelihood to Tagcloud Algorithm)

This visualization was created by comparing two sets of texts, cookbooks published in the South and the full Early American Cookbooks collection, using the Meandre Dunning Log-likelihood to Tagcloud algorithm in the HathiTrust Research Center Portal.

This map shows the number of books published per state for the full collection of 1450 cookbooks. New York has the greatest number of books published, followed by Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California. These numbers align with the growth of the book publishing industry in the United States. New York City, traditionally the publishing center of the United States, published the greatest number over time, followed by other publishing centers in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The trend in the numbers also shows the history of westward expansion from 1800 to 1920, with the greatest total numbers in the East and much lower numbers in the West.

Dividing the collection into United States census regions shows that 61.1% of the titles were published in the Northeastern region, 24% were published in the Midwest, 8.8% in the West, and 6.1% in the Southeast.

The map was created by downloading the MARCXML catalog records for the collection from the HathiTrust Research Center. The records were converted using MarcEdit and then sorted and cleaned using OpenRefine. The records were then loaded into Tableau to create latitude and longitude data from state names and to make a filled map displaying the number of records per state.

Western

Books published in the West comprise 8.8% of the Early American Cookbooks collection. Most of these books were published in the 1890 to 1920 period when book publishing businesses in the west became more established. The majority were published in San Francisco or Los Angeles. Some of the interesting titles include The Times Cook Book, No. 2 : 957 Cooking and Other Recipes by California Women, Brought Out By the 1905 Series of Prize Recipe Contests in the Los Angeles Times, The Neighborhood Cook Book Compiled Under the Auspices of the Portland Section in 1912, Council Of Jewish Women, and Bohemian San Francisco : Its Restaurants and Their Most Famous Recipes, The Elegant Art of Dining by by Clarence E. Edwords (1914).

When books published in the West are compared to the full set of titles in Early American Cookbooks, the over-represented terms show regional place names (Los Angeles, San Francisco, California) as well as foods grown in the region such as Sunkist oranges, walnuts, and raisins. Chili and chile show the influence of the Southwest. The word “phone” shows that the Western set is far more modern than the full set of titles.

Western over-represented terms (Meandre Dunning Log Likelihood to Tagcloud Algorithm)

This visualization was created by comparing two sets of texts, cookbooks published in the West and the full Early American Cookbooks collection, using the Meandre Dunning Log-likelihood to Tagcloud algorithm in the HathiTrust Research Center Portal.

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