The Martha Washington Cook Book

by Marie Goebel Kimball

Martha Washington kept and used her personal one-of-a-kind family cookbook for over fifty years. In 1799, she presented the book to her granddaughter, Eleanor Parke Custis as a wedding gift when she married Lawrence Lewis. The cookbook was handed down from mother to daughter until 1892 when the Lewis family presented it to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania where it still resides today. In 1940, the Society gave special permission to historian Marie Kimball to study the manuscript and prepare a cookbook entitled, "The Martha Washington Cook Book." Mrs. Kimball fully adapted Martha’s cookbook to practical, modern use. All the recipes were proportioned to our current practice of a formula for serving six people. Each recipe was tested. It is not only correct, but tastes great! The Martha Washington Cook Book by Marie Kimball was published in 1940. It has now, of course, long been out-of-print until this historic 2004 limited edition reprint.

Genres: History, Cooking, Cookbooks, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

Reviews

[Alix Stricklin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather irritating book. It is NOT Martha Washington's cookbook. Only one page of the original cookbook appears in this. The original language has been removed; ingredients changed; recipes omitted since "no one would be interested in them"; and recipes added! It's OK for itself - but not if you wanted the original. I have contacted the PA Historical Society, who is copying the actual original to send to me.

[Carol Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original cook was handed down, from Martha Washington's Custis mother-in-law from her first marriage, to Martha herself, until it was turned over to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1892. Marie Kimball took on this project with the blessing of the historical society. It is a sampling of recipes from the original. She provides her own historical context, telling us how Martha and George managed their servants, entertaining, and everyday dining; and how Martha planned the herb/vegetable garden at Mr. Vernon, maintained an up-close, hands-on style of kitchen and menu planning. Most of the recipes in the original were for much larger quantities than we customarily prepare food these days. She has cut them down to roughly servings for 6. She has also included an explanation of unfamiliar terms and advice on substitutes when certain ingredients are not available easily in our time. You will see in perusing ingredients that every part of an animal was used. There also is more reliance on spices over sugar, as we do today. I want to try the custard pie recipe soon. I can't believe I'm actually reading cook books!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The historical aspect is very interesting, especially after visiting Mount Vernon. However, I don't think I'll try any of the recipes - most contain organ meat, wild game, and other ingredients I don't normally cook with.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for research for a history paper, it has some interesting recipes in it. I'd like to read through it a second time when it's not for research