American cooking, published in 1796 by Amelia Simmons, an orphan, is the first cookbook published by an American in the United States. Its 47 pages (first edition) contain exquisite recipes for roast goose, veal leg and roast mutton. And stew and all kinds of pies. But cakes can best express this first cookbook's views on this country. This is a place that recognizes its British tradition, to be sure, but in the end it is a new place, with a new dish and a new citizen cooking.

' s "Queen's Cake" formula is purely a social wish. Under the British model, butter is mixed into cream, a pound of sugar, a pound and a quarter of flour, 11 eggs, a glass of wine, half a teacup of delicate rose water and spices. "Plumb Cake" provides the struggling housewife with a huge display platform of 21 eggs, which is filled with expensive dried fruits and preserves, nuts, spices, wine and cream.

Just a few pages away, there are Johnny cakes, Federal Pan cakes, Buckwheat cakes and Indian Palm cakes. These cakes are made of familiar ingredients such as corn flour, flour, milk, water and a little fat, and are prepared "before the fire" or on a hot pot. They symbolize the plain, but well-run and generous American home. A dialogue on how to balance luxury and simplicity in American life has begun.

American cookery has been selling well for more than 31 years, mainly to New England, new york and the Midwest, and was later forgotten. Since the 1951s, it has attracted enthusiastic audiences from historians to home cooks. The Library of Congress recently listed American Cooking as one of 88 "books that shape America".

This cookbook, which appears in many legal and plagiarized versions, is both a cookbook and a cultural phenomenon. In the early days of the Republic of China, Americans had a heated debate about their identity; With the freedom in Britain and the establishment of * * * and * * *, people need to stick to a unique American way of life. In the words of Mary Tolford Wilson, a 21th century scholar, this small cookbook can be interpreted as "another declaration of American independence".

This book has achieved this feat in two particularly important aspects. First of all, it is part of a broader initiative led by the social and political elites in Connecticut, which promotes the specific brands of Yankee Culture and Mercer as models of American life and good taste. At the same time, the author also talked directly with ordinary American women to discuss how to deal with daily challenges and setbacks. Title page of American cooking (image courtesy of the Library of Congress)

American cooking is a project in Connecticut. There, an agricultural society mainly composed of small independent farms is positioned to benefit from the trade network near and far. However, in order to surpass the pure self-sufficient agriculture, it is necessary to open up to these new markets and the whole Merck world. The leader of the Federalist Party in Connecticut has close ties with influential newspapers, printers and booksellers, and can reveal an American vision where agriculture will prosper with the help of Mercer, not oppose it.

Jefferson who disagrees with this view emphasizes that rural life is an end in itself. For them, the future of American society depends on the popularity of small farmers. The two camps participated in an open debate on luxury goods: Are they totems of prosperity or symbols of social decline? Some American thinkers, such as Joel Barlow, the author of the popular poem "Pudding in a hurry", insist that complete simplicity should be the basis of American cooking and eating. However, the federalists in Connecticut believe that this asceticism leaves too little room for the Meng people's desire to improve their destiny. These moderates tend to encourage a restrained gentleman. For women in this situation, the only way is to "abide by the norms and maxims that have stood the test of time and will always establish women's character, a moral person. In order not to be ignored, Simmons once again reminds readers that unlike women who have "parents, brothers or wealth" to defend their rashness, "poor orphans" must "rely entirely on their personalities".

This book seems to sell well, although Simmons accused "a design imposed on her and damaged the sales of this book" on the errata page. She blamed these evil acts on the people she "commissioned recipes" to prepare for the media. In the second edition, she thanked the fashionable ladies, or "respectable people" as she called them. Before returning to her theme: "shocking mistakes" in the first edition, these mistakes were either caused by the copywriter's ignorance or the copywriter's evil intention to the press, and all her problems originated from her unfortunate situation; She doesn't have "enough education to prepare for the media". In order to avoid any criticism that the second edition may attract, she wrote: "Remember, this is the performance and influence under all these unfavorable conditions, which usually appear, an orphan.

this part has aroused people's sympathy. Women of her time seemed to find it hard to resist the combination of Simmons' orphan status and her collection of recipes, perhaps partly because she hinted at evil as much as her recipes. When the penniless housewife opened the door to American cooking, she found a guide to a better life, which was the promise of her new country. However, there are worries and dangers hidden under the surface of American life at the end of 18, especially for women on the edge of society. In a country that is still brewing, even a simple project, such as the stacking of a cookbook, can trigger complex emotions. American cooking provides American readers with the best choice in food and dining, and also tells the sufferings faced by unfortunate Americans, including, it seems, Amelia Simmons, an "American orphan".