Volume 12 , Issue 34

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

23rd of August - This Day In History: 1902, August 23, Fannie Farmer opens cooking school. For those of you to young to remember, Fannie Farmer was a pioneering cookbook author, who changed the way Americans prepared food by advocating the use of standardized measurements in recipes. Farmer opened a school or cookery in Boston, in 1902. In addition to reaching women about cooking, Farmer later educated medical professionals about the importance of proper nutrition for the sick.

Fannie Farmer was born March 23, 1857, raised near Boston, Massachusetts. Her family believed in education for women and Fannie attended Medford High School. As a teenager she suffered a paralytic stroke that turned her into a homebound invalid for a period of years. As a result, she was unable to complete high school or attend college and her illness left her with a permanent limp. When she was in her early 30s, she attended the Boston Cooking school.

The Boston Cooking school was founded in 1879, promoting a scientific approach to food preparation and trained women to become cooking teachers at a time when their employment opportunities were limited.

Fannie graduated format eh program in 1889 and in 1891 became the schools principal. In 1896, Fannie published her first cookbook, The Boston Cooking school Cookbook, which included a wide range of straightforward recipes along with information on cooking and sanitation techniques, household management and nutrition. Fannie Farmer's book became a best seller and revolutionized American cooking through its use of precise measurements. a novel culinary concept at the time.

It was in 1902 that Fannie left the Boston Cooking School and founded Miss Farmer's School of Cookery. In addition to running her school, she traveled to speaking engagements around the United States and continued to write cookbooks.

In 1904, Fannie published Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, which provided food recommendations for specific diseases, nutritional information for children and information about the digestive system, among other topics. Farmer's expertise in the areas of nutrition and illness led her to lecture at Harvard Medical school.

Fannie Farmer died January 15, 1915, at the age of 57. After Fannie's death, Alice Bradley, who taught at Miss Farmer's School of Cookery, took over the business and ran it until the mid-1940s. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is still in print today.

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