Foreword

La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene is 110 years old, yet around the world Pellegrino Artusi’s cookbook is as popular as ever. In Italy, the book is revered, and few home are without at least one stained and tattered copy, passed down like a family heirloom from mother to daughter. With hundreds of new cookbooks published every year, it is remarkable that one more than a century old has survived. Yet, there are many reasons for its longevity.

At the time it was published in 1891, Scienza in cucina was the first cookbook written in Italian for the home cook. Other cookbooks of the era typically were written by French-trained chefs who either wrote in French or focused on French cooking. Their works were geared towards other professionals employed in wealthy homes.