The introductory texts reproduced here were written by the original Feeding America team to contextualize the books that were selected for inclusion as part of the 2001 digitization project.
The Settlement Cook Book: Containing Many Recipes Used In Settlement Cooking Classes, The Milwaukee Public School Cooking Centers and Gathered From Various Other Reliable Sources
Compiled By Mrs. Simon Kander.
Milwaukee: [S.N.], 1901.
We have selected seven charity cookbooks to represent the more than 3000 that were published in the United States between 1864 and 1922. As we indicated in our introduction, the charity cookbook is a legacy of the Civil War. They are a remarkable resource for the culinary historian.
For other charity cookbooks, please see:
These books all represent themselves as charities, but also are cross-referenced to other categories.
This book is a splendid example of an American charity cookbook which went on to influence our cuisine for almost one hundred years. It began its life as a fundraiser for the Jewish Settlement House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon its first printing, it was an immediate success and was reprinted, in revised and enlarged editions, until almost the beginning of the 21st century. It was, or course, totally unrecognizable in its later printings. However, funds were raised for all kinds of charitable causes in Milwaukee for the first seventy-five years of its life. A rather remarkable contribution.
From its earliest printings, the recipes were not kosher and included lobster and shellfish. There were also many dishes of German origin, reflecting the German Jewish community in Milwaukee. The chapter on Kuchen includes those called Coffee or Sugar, Tarts, Good, Bundt, Apple, Poppy Seed, Berliner Pfann, Cheese and Blueberry as well as Filled Walnut Kipfel and Schnecken. Among the Jewish dishes were Matzos Pancakes, Matzos Balls, Filled Fish, Kugel, Matzos Pudding. Many of the recipes present an amalgam of German, Eastern European and Jewish cooking.
By 1991 two million copies of The Settlement Cookbook had been sold. It was an American classic, especially in the Midwest. A completelty revised and updated version, renamed The New Settlement Cookbook, edited by Charles Pierce, was issued in 1991, subtitled "The First Classic Collection of American Ethnic Recipes."
In his introduction, Pierce gives a brief history of the book under consideration. He tells us that when the women who worked with the immigrant population flooding into Milwaukee asked the Board for money ($18) to publish this recipe book, the Board turned it down as an "unnecessary expense." The women then decided to publish it themselves. So, in 1901, a cookbook was born (174 pages, including the advertisements). The first printing of 1,000 copies was quickly sold out and a second and enlarged edition of 1,500 copies was published in 1903. Thus began an American tradition. By the way, when the Board refused to grant the money requested by the women, they did give the project their blessing and said that they would "be happy to share in any profits." How fortunate they were! The proceeds of the first two editions enabled the committee to purchase a site for the new Settlement House. And, as indicated above, Milwaukee charities benefitted from the sales of this book for about 75 years.
