Fannie Farmer Knew Her Pies

Fannie Farmer Knew Her Pies

Cover,
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
(c.1918).
Fannie Merritt Farmer, who was born in 1857, suffered a paralytic stroke in her teenage years that stalled her dreams of a formal education.  After she regained the ability to walk, she worked as a governess and developed an interest in nutrition and cooking.  At the age of 30, Farmer enrolled at the Boston Cooking School, a philanthropic endeavor to help young women learn a socially acceptable trade at a time when there were limited options. Farmer did so well that she joined the staff upon graduation and became principal just two years later.
Farmer first published
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
in 1896 and it would become a household staple for over a hundred years. The book includes recipes of course, but also nutritional information on common ingredients, tips about party-planning, housekeeping advice, and even health and safety information.  Farmer wanted to share recipes but was also the science behind them, explaining cooking processes and including more precise measurements than many previous cookbooks. She hoped her book would “awaken an interest through its condensed scientific knowledge which will lead to deeper thought and broader study of what we eat”. Farmer was an early Alton Brown!
This 1919 edition,
from the collection of the
National Museum of American History Library
, is thought to be the last one written solely by Fannie Farmer herself. It features more than 130 illustrations of recipes, table decorations, and utensils. Our copy was previously owned by Florence E. Sparks, who added some of her own handwritten recipes on the endpages and tucked loose recipes inside. This copy was adopted through our
Adopt-a-Book program
by Clarice J. Peters in 2016 which supported the book’s digitization.
In honor of Pi Day (March 14
th
, i.e. 3/14), our staff tried two different recipes, both with tasty results. Read on for pie inspiration from Fannie Farmer and
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.
Or dig into the book online to find your next dish!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Tested by Anne Evenhaugen
Left: Lemon Meringue Pie. Right: Lemon Pie IV recipe from
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
(c.1918).
Baker’s Note: We chose to make Lemon Pie IV (page 470) with the associated Meringue II (page 480). It didn’t require many ingredients—eggs, sugar, and lemon. We cut a few corners, for example, instead of following one of Fannie’s “paste” recipes, we used store-bought crust dough. And instead of beating our eggs for our meringue with a “silver fork,” we used our stand mixer! But otherwise, we followed the recipe nearly to the letter, with a moderate oven (that is 375 F for the modern reader!). The verdict of our family was that Farmer’s recipe was delicious. Even the person who normally doesn’t like lemon meringue said it was great–not too sweet! I would make this again since it was so easy, and both kids helped.
Lemon Pie IV
Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup …