The Virginia Housewife: Or, Methodical Cook

by Mary Randolph

Considered by many culinary historians to be the first real American cookbook (and all describe it as the first regional cookbook), Virginia Housewife was published in 1824 in Washington, DC. This volume in the American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection is an American classic: part cookbook, part home management system, and part historical time-capsule complete with recipes, practical cooking techniques, advice on home management, proper manners, and more. Although Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery claims the title, Mrs. Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife is often cited as the first American cookbook because the recipes originated in American kitchens, having left behind British traditions, ingredients, and methods. Virginia Housewife is also recognized as the nation’s first regional cookbook with a focus on southern-style specialties, some appearing in print for the first time (Ochra Soup, Curry of Catfish, Gumbo, Chicken Pudding, Apoquiniminc Cakes). But Randolph also includes local variations of recipes from the West Indies, New England, Spain, and France, all reflecting the influence of many cuisines on Southern cooking. Diverse offerings from far-away places include Dough Nuts, Gaspacho, Ropa Vieja, as well as a number of delightful ice cream recipes including, black walnut, quince, pear, citron, and almond. An immediate success, Virginia Housewife was republished at least nineteen times before the Civil War.

For Mrs. Mary, “The grand Arcanum of management lies in three simple rules: Let everything be done at a proper time, keep everything in its proper place, and put everything to its proper use.” To this end, much more than just a cookbook, The Virginia Housewife is a complete lifestyle reference providing an introduction to the food, culture, and manners of the antebellum South, as well as housekeeping instructions on topics ranging from soap making to herb drying and silver cleaning—everything that a woman of the nineteenth (or the twenty-first) century might desire to know.

This facsimile edition of Mary Randolph’s Virginia Housewife was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, History, Food, Ebooks, 19th Century, Food History

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Please see Mary Randolph on Wikipedia for a detailed biography.

Her book, The Virginia House-Wife published in 1824, was also notable enough that it has its own Wikipedia article.

For other authors named Mary Randolph please see this page.

Reviews

[Owen Haines]

Gotta hand it to them, they were really getting freaky with it back in the day.

[Monica]

I feel weird even rating this, but whatever. It fulfilled a reading challenge prompt. Read a cookbook cover to cover. This is the thing - I LOVE reading cookbooks cover to cover. This one was one of the first published cookbooks, and is absolutely necessary to have on hand while doing any kind of historical food research in the US. It's not a pleasurable read, though. The author was out to TEACH women on how to run a household kitchen. And be very precise while doing it.

I'm still not sure what a cimlin is.

What I really ought to do is actually cook something from the book, allowing for the use of modern conveniences like ovens and electric burners. It won't be the 'how to murder and bleed out a turtle' recipe, though. That one's going to haunt my dreams.

[Cherei]

Travel back in time and give thanks we're alive now!!!

What a hoot!!! This fantastic collection of food preparation way back when will surprise you and also get an insiders view of what our great great great grandmothers went through every single day just to put a meal on the table!! Loved it!!

[Nonie]

Missing the first 18 pages

I haven't read the entire book, but I did notice that it starts off on page 19. Hopefully there aren't any more pages missing.

[Kathryn Baron]

Note: My edition is actually free from project Gutenberg

[Deanne]

The first practical cookbook. A trip back in time to the Colonial kitchen.

[Susan Molloy]

As I am organizing and cleaning out my Kindle, I am finding a bunch of books I picked up long ago and never got around to reading. Now is the time, and today I present The Virginia Housewife: Or, Methodical Cook: A Facsimile of an Authentic Early American Cookbook by Mary Randolph.

This is a fantastic discovery, with recipes sure to delight and gross out. I am finding it invaluable, therefore, for my research and writing projects.

Let us take a look at what housewives were cooking up in 1860:

SOFT POMATUM. Get nice sweet lard that has no salt in it--put in any agreeable perfume, beat it to a cream, and put it in small pots.

TURKEY A-LA-DAUB. Bone a small turkey, put pepper and salt on the inside, and cover it with slices of boiled ham or tongue; fill it with well seasoned forcemeat, sew it up and boil it--cover it with jelly.

VINEGAR OF THE FOUR THIEVES. Take lavender, rosemary, sage, wormwood, rue, and mint, of each a large handful; put them in a pot of earthen ware, pour on them four quarts of very strong vinegar, cover the pot closely, and put a board on the top . . . then strain and bottle it . . .

You get the idea—

Although there are some wild and crazy recipes in this collection, there are a few I would try in my own kitchen.

🟣Kindle version.

[Laureen]

I love to read really old cookbooks. So if you don't and I'm sure that's most of you, it's not for you. It dates from the 1820s. But as old cookbooks go, this is really one of the easiest ones to read. (And the free Kindle version of this is good, unlike many old books that weren't input properly.) The language is old-fashioned but not difficult. The directions are more specific than you often find in these books, and the author has an engaging voice.

[Tibia]

Since I love collecting cookbooks, and especially unique ones, this was a must read for me. I found this in an edition with a beautiful classic binding, so I bought several for my gardening friends. Can't say that I will be making many of these old recipes, though!

[Sue]

And yet another Dover edition. This book was originally published in 1824. It is interesting as an example of an antebellum southern cookbook.

[Jonathan]

None

[Lori Spier]

The Virginia Housewife by Mrs. Mary Randolph (1984)

[Katie Hanrahan]

Historical research and the possibility of finding a new recipe---perfect reading for my highly stressed state these days.

[Nancy Motto]

I've just finished my training as a hearth cook at a living history museum and we will be using the recipes from this cookbook when we do hearth cooking demos. After reading this, I have a new appreciation for the work 18th women had to do to keep their families fed.