Great Western Cook Book

Historical Context of the First Indiana Cookbook

This first cookbook published in Indiana was originally titled in its first edition Mrs. Collins' Table Receipts: Adapted to Western Housewifery. It became so popular that in 1857 it was republished in New York City under the name The Great Western Cook Book.

Intended Audience and Recipes

Collins noted in her preface that the book was intended for Ladies of the West, and thus there are recipes such as Sausage-Hoosier Fashion and Veal-Western Fashion included for pioneer women in the West of its time. Noting that Our generous and prolific clime affords a bountiful supply of nutritious fruits and vegetables, and our forests and hill sides abound in excellent Game, Collins included many recipes that used local produce and ingredients.

Special Recipes and Historical Significance

The first recipe in the book for California Soup provides a method for homemade bouillon cubes, named for travelers heading further west during the gold rush years.

Reproduction and Collection

This edition of The Great Western Cook Book by Angelina Maria Collins was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.