FOOD 101: Who reads cookbooks?

Who reads cookbooks? Who buys them? Who are they written for?

The first acknowledged cookbook, De Re Coquinaria, was authored by Apicius during the Roman Empire. Discovered among musty manuscripts during the Renaissance, it is more a memoir of elite parties in Imperial Rome, more suggestion than instruction.

In the following centuries, cookbooks guided heads of large kitchens who oversaw a staff of cooks in a castle or a manor. (Home cooks learned by rote from mothers and grandmothers.) Later, books personally addressed “the lady of the house” to direct her (mostly) non-literate cooks. She didn’t roll up her sleeves, but took all the credit. Today cookbooks are written for home cooks. (Remember Julia Child writing for the “servant-less kitchen”?)

But why? Family meals? Entertaining? Or, for backyard gardeners who cook what they grow?

I recently met Michael Twitty, a culinary historian whose life work is the study and demonstration of ancestral recipes from Africa and the American South. Whether delving into a great-great-grandma’s kitchen wisdom, or excavating nuggets from scraps found in museum libraries, he relentlessly follows the food. His most recent book, “Recipes from the American South,” appeals to home cooks, readers seeking their ancestry at the stove and historians tracing migration patterns.

There are so many ways to read a cookbook. At Abbot Public Library, a group of cookbook enthusiasts convenes monthly to discuss the in-and-outs of a chosen book.

They exercise culinary muscles and probe the “who, how and why” while cooking, tasting and critiquing the format and recipes. A discussion might center on suggested improvements and tweaks. Some just go ahead and make the alterations. And — WOW!

The group recently put Samin Nostrat’s “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” under the microscope.

The thick volume is a refreshing take on a basic culinary school textbook. Nostrat assumes that home cooks are as serious as those aspiring to the professional kitchen.

Illuminated with colorful hand drawings and pull-out charts, this is not a book of staid instructions and ingredients: international flavors and enthusiasm abounds. Cooks can see the ways fats, salts, acids are used around the world. Ingredients only found on restaurant menus such as garam masala, shishito peppers or rase el hanout, are less mysterious. A cook can select one from a flavor wheel and use it confidently.

While Nostrat’s is a spectacularly accessible textbook, Twitty’s is also spectacular, as a compendium of one of the country’s most delicious regions. Both books break the “fourth wall” in the American home kitchen.

In the spirit of autumn, I offer a seasonal and versatile apple recipe, easy for a weeknight dinner or a weekend breakfast. The seasoning mix was common in Colonial America.

VIRGINIA FRIED APPLES

Adapted from “Recipes from the American South” by Michael Twitty.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Chef Edna Lewis first published this simple recipe. Its striking seasoning “kitchen pepper,” travelled here over continents, oceans,and centuries by way of medieval Europe and West Africa.

• Mix several apple varieties for best results. A great side dish with chicken or pork, it also works at breakfast as a topping for French toast or pancakes.
• 3-4 tablespoons clarified butter or bacon fat
• 6 medium apples (about 2 pounds) cored, peeled and sliced into eighths
• 1/3 cup superfine or brown sugar
• Pinch or two “kitchen pepper”, to taste 
• In a medium cast-iron skillet, melt the bacon fat over medium heat. When it is sizzling, add the apples in one layer. Cover the skillet, reduce heat to medium low and cook until apples begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Uncover, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the apples. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they give up their juices, 10 to 15 minutes. 
• Add water to the pan if the mixture seems too dry. The apples area done when soft and fragrant, slightly jammy and a medium amber color.

KITCHEN PEPPER

Makes ½ cup.

• 2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground mace
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Mix all ingredients; store (with spices) in an airtight container for up to 6 months.