Exploring Cookbooks: 1887 - The White House Cookbook

Since an e-book for this can be found here I’m not going to go seriously in depth in regards to recipes and the like.

Published by the Devin Adair Company. My copy is a 1983 reprint of the 1887 cookbook.

Each picture is linked to its full size counterpart so if you want to read them you certainly should be able to do so. If you see something you would like to read further or know more about please leave a comment or email me (information is on my About Me page). I really don’t mind sharing. The e-book will probably be more helpful than I can in this case.

There’s lots more pictures and information after the jump…

The first 156 pages of my edition (page numbers in my edition do NOT correlate to the original publication) are all about Meat and pretty much nothing else. Its how to cut each type of animal, best cooking methods, etc. Interesting stuff. But the vegetables are what grab me.

More potato recipes…but they look good! Unlike some of my other vintage recipes.

A few sandwich recipes (the only ones in the entire book). Very old fashioned but not to bad. I guess this must be before sandwiches really and truly caught on for anything more than tea time.

Cakes cover a total of 37 pages and that doesn’t include frosting!! Also a few good recipes in this batch.

An interesting photo display of a woman icing a cake and making a pie crust. To note the clock in the top frame reads 9:07 and in the bottom frame clock reads 9:21.

There are only 7 photos in the entire book of the same stiff woman doing something cooking related…and they all look posed. Given the art of photography and the exposure times needed in 1887 I understand why. Thank god for modern photography being able to give food that beautiful, lush, appetizing appearance.