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ARCHIVED - Bon appétit!
A Celebration of Canadian Cookbooks

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History of Canadian Cookbooks

The Pioneer Kitchen

Preface
The Atlantic Provinces
Central Canada: Quebec

Central Canada: Quebec

Cover of cookbook, DIRECTIONS DIVERSES DONNÉES PAR LA RÉV. MÈRE CARON…POUR AIDER SES SOEURS À FORMER DE BONNES CUISINIÈRES; marbled brown with no indication of title

Source

Title page of cookbook, DIRECTIONS DIVERSES DONNÉES PAR LA RÉV. MÈRE CARON…POUR AIDER SES SOEURS À FORMER DE BONNES CUISINIÈRES

Source

Mère Caron. Directions diverses données par la Rév. Mère Caron, sup. gén. des Sœurs de la Providence pour aider ses sœurs à former de bonnes cuisinières. Montréal: [s.n.], 1878

"It is very important that the Sisters learn to cook well so that they can teach the orphans in the community, the students in the convents, as well as the poor who are generally not capable of preparing their own meals" [translation] (p. 7-8). This early title, first published in 1878, remained an important guide to preparing food in Quebec through many editions and reprints, right up to the 1980s.

Cover of cookbook, A TASTE OF HISTORY: THE ORIGINS OF QUÉBEC'S GASTRONOMY, featuring photograph of a plate of roasted meat with potatoes and the text of an old recipes

Source

Marc LaFrance and Yvon Desloges. A Taste of History: The Origins of Québec's Gastronomy. [Montréal]: Éditions de la Chenelière, 1989

"Many technical aspects, such as the open hearth, brick ovens and iron and copper utensils that all gave a particular flavor to food, have practically disappeared. Technical procedures in the earliest recipes books are difficult to understand and cooking times and quantities of ingredients are often not specified" (p. 4).