""Early cookbooks were fit for kings," writes Henry Notaker at The Atlantic. "The oldest published recipe collections" in the 15th and 16th centuries in Western Europe "emanated from the palaces of monarchs, princes, and grand señores." Cookbooks were more than recipe collections-they were guides to court etiquette and sumptuous records of luxurious living. In ancient Rome, cookbooks functioned similarly, as the extravagant fourth century Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome demonstrates."
"Written by Apicius, "Europe's oldest [cookbook] and Rome's only one in existence today"-as its first English translator described it-offers "a better way of knowing old Rome and antique private life." It also offers keen insight into the development of heavily flavored dishes before the age of refrigeration. Apicius recommends that "cooks who needed to prepare birds with a 'goatish smell' should bathe them in a mixture of pepper, lovage, thyme, dry mint, sage, dates, honey, vinegar, broth, oil and mustard,""
Early cookbooks originated in royal courts during the 15th and 16th centuries, serving as guides to court etiquette and records of luxurious living. Similar functions appeared in ancient Rome, where Apicius's fourth-century cookbook reveals private dining habits and heavy seasoning practices before refrigeration. Apicius's recipes recommend complex marinades for game and birds to mask undesirable odors. Recipe writing remained folksy and imprecise until the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, when standardized measurements became common. Amelia Simmons's 1796 American Cookery blended British fine-dining recipes with regional American fare, demonstrating shifting culinary priorities and growing domestic standardization.
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