Verstille's Southern Cookery

Mrs. E.J. Verstille and Her Cookery

We do not have specific information about how Mrs. E.J. Verstille of Georgia acquired her cookery skills, but it is likely that one of her reasons for compiling her cookbook was to preserve the traditions of southern cookery during the chaotic post-Civil War reconstruction era. Her recipes have a distinct Germanic flavor, but they also represent the classic culinary methods and ingredients of the South.

Contents of the Cookbook

Her chapters include Soups, Fish, Meats, Sauces, Vegetables, Bread, Battercakes and Waffles, Yeast, Cakes, Icing, Pastry, Puddings and Custards, Promiscuous Dishes, Preserves, Jellies, Wines and Cordials, Pickles, Dishes for the Sick, and Miscellaneous (household advice and general techniques).

Publication Details

This edition of Verstille's Southern Cookery by Mrs. E.J. Verstille 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.