fannie farmer

Today we’re happy to welcome San Francisco author Emma Bland Smith to discuss her latest picture book, The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook (Calkins Creek, 2024). Charmingly illustrated by Susan Reagan, this engaging, well researched account of Fannie’s professional life as an author, culinary expert and teacher officially hits shelves today and will inspire you to whip up one of Fannie’s recipes. 🙂

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (initially published as The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book in 1896), Fannie’s lasting contribution of standardized level measurements is likely part and parcel of your cooking and baking regime. Yes, we have Fannie to thank every time we level off a cup of flour or sugar with a butter knife before adding it to the mixing bowl.

Fannie’s precise, comprehensive recipe instructions included scientific explanations of the chemical processes that occurred in food during cooking, taking away the guesswork and ensuring consistent results.

So who was this woman who revolutionized home cooking, making it accessible to everyone? How did her can-do spirit enable her to pursue her passion for the culinary arts — even opening her own cooking school — after being sidelined from a college education due to polio-related partial paralysis?

And how many can say that their cookbook remains in print 100+ years after it was first published, having sold more than 7 million copies to date?

I know you’ll enjoy hearing lots more from Emma. We thank her for sharing her insights and so many wonderful photos!

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Several years ago, Anamaria at Books Together tipped me off to this charming picture book about Fannie Farmer by Deborah Hopkinson and Nancy Carpenter. Happy to say I’m finally getting around to featuring it here at Alphabet Soup and I even rewarded myself by making Fannie’s Famous Griddle Cakes using the recipe provided in the book. 🙂

These days, most of us don’t think twice about reaching for our measuring cups, spoons, or kitchen scales when we’re ready to cook or bake. Especially with baking, when precise measurements can mean the difference between a cake that rises nicely or sinks like a stone, it’s always about starting out with a good, reliable recipe.

Boston native Fannie Farmer is often credited with inventing the modern recipe. She was one of the first to write down exact instructions for measuring and cooking. But what inspired her to do that, and to eventually publish a cookbook that’s been popular for over 100 years?

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