Simmons, Amelia

Simmons, Amelia author of American Cookery (1796), which is regarded as the first American cookbook. American housewives had previously been dependent on English cookbooks or American versions of English books. Although many of Simmons’s recipes were based on English practice, she broke new ground by giving some recipes which used indigenous American vegetables like pumpkin, squash, corn, and Jerusalem artichokes. Her recipes for corn (maize) are thought to be the first printed recipes in English for that highly important foodstuff.