Published in 1796, the Library of Congress named American Cookery as one of the “88 Books That Shaped America”. American Cookery made the list because before it’s time, the only printed cookbooks available to American cooks were published in Britain. This was the first published in the United States by an American author. This book is truly a trail-blazer when it comes to recipes we’ve come to know and love in Americana cooking. It contains the first known recipe for roast turkey, cornmeal Johnny Cakes, and outlined Ms. Simmons’ use of pearlash (the fine, white powder created by baking potash in a kiln) as a leavening agent in doughs. Pearlash would later lead to the development of the baking powders we use today.
