In the German Cookbook Museum in Dortmund, visitors can not only browse through recipes from long-gone times but also discover the cultural history of food. Since its founding in 1988 as a branch of the Museum of Art and Cultural History, the museum has been a treasure trove for more than 13,000 cookbooks, magazines, manuscripts, and guides. From the oldest specimen dating back to 1699 to current recipes, the collection, which focuses on gender roles, healthy eating, and food cultures, provides insight into the kitchens of past centuries.
A cookbook is much more than just a collection of recipes, emphasizes Mira van Leewen, director of the museum: "Cookbooks are documents of their time that tell us a lot about the past – about the people, their way of life, and the supply situation at that time." They reflect societal norms, values, and eating habits. In the heart of the museum, the cookbook library, one can find all sorts of curiosities in the hundred-year-old books – from recipes for the proper preparation of elephant hearts (please only boil in saltwater!) to the Elf Power Cookbook (How about a weekend with goblin cauldron and gnome dumplings?). According to van Leewe, among the visitors, alongside those interested in nutrition and researchers, there are always people in search of that one specific recipe. For example, how to prepare the perfect potato dumplings, stuff a goose, or arrange a sausage platter decoratively is told to us by the traditional cuisine of the 19th century – including the gender roles of that time.
Among them is the "Practical Cookbook" by Henriette Davidis, who plays a very special role for the museum. She was one of the most well-known cookbook authors of her time and spent 20 years of her life in Dortmund. Davidis was not only a successful author but also a passionate advocate of household arts. In her work, she combined practical recipes with useful household and nutritional tips that addressed both bourgeois and agricultural households. In doing so, she positioned herself within the cookbook tradition of the 19th and 20th centuries, where, alongside recipes, detailed information about individual foods, instructions for proper table setting, and manners also found their way into the books.
Anyone who masters the German cursive script will surely find special joy in the old manuscripts that can also be discovered in the library. The handwritten recipe collections certainly contain some culinary highlights. But of course, modern cuisine is also represented. Nowadays, cooking is primarily associated with a certain lifestyle, as the books become increasingly stylish and oriented towards specific designs and dietary communities from veganism to Ayurveda to paleo.
The cookbook museum is thus a place for all those who are interested in the history of cooking in its social contexts. In regularly scheduled events, van Leewe and her team of volunteers bring visitors closer to the culture of cooking – whether on city walks tracing Davidis' footsteps, through joint cooking events, or theme days focused on specific spices, old recipes come to life and memories of past times awaken.
