Recipe

A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something,

especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an
ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe.

A recipe in a cookbook for pancakes with

the prepared ingredients

History

Early examples
 Apicius, De re culinaria, an early
collection of recipes.

The earliest known written recipes date to 1730 BC and were recorded on cuneiform
tablets found in Mesopotamia.[1]

Other early written recipes date from approximately 1600 BC and come from an
Akkadian tablet from southern Babylonia.[2] There are also works in ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs depicting the preparation of food.[3]

Many ancient Greek recipes are known. Mithaecus's cookbook was an early one, but
most of it has been lost; Athenaeus quotes one short recipe in his Deipnosophistae.
Athenaeus mentions many other cookbooks, all of them lost.[4]

Roman recipes are known starting in the 2nd century BCE with Cato the Elder's De
Agri Cultura. Many authors of this period described eastern Mediterranean cooking in
Greek and in Latin.[4] Some Punic recipes are known in Greek and Latin translation.[4]

The large collection of recipes De re coquinaria, conventionally titled Apicius, appeared

in the 4th or 5th century and is the only complete surviving cookbook from the
classical world.[4] It lists the courses served in a meal as Gustatio (appetizer), Primae
Mensae (main course) and Secundae Mensae (dessert).[5] Each recipe begins with
the Latin command "Take...," "Recipe...."[6]

Arabic recipes are documented starting in the 10th century; see al-Warraq and al-
Baghdadi.
The earliest recipe in Persian dates from the 14th century. Several recipes have
survived from the time of Safavids, including Karnameh (1521) by Mohammad Ali
Bavarchi, which includes the cooking instruction of more than 130 different dishes
and pastries, and Madat-ol-Hayat (1597) by Nurollah Ashpaz.[7] Recipe books from the
Qajar era are numerous, the most notable being Khorak-ha-ye Irani by prince Nader
Mirza.[8]

King Richard II of England commissioned a recipe book called Forme of Cury in

1390,[9] and around the same time, another book was published entitled Curye on
Inglish, "cury" meaning cooking.[10] Both books give an impression of how food for the
noble classes was prepared and served in England at that time. The luxurious taste of
the aristocracy in the Early Modern Period brought with it the start of what can be
called the modern recipe book. By the 15th century, numerous manuscripts were
appearing detailing the recipes of the day. Many of these manuscripts give very good
information and record the re-discovery of many herbs and spices including
coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary, many of which had been brought back from
the Crusades.[11]
A page from the Nimatnama-i-
Nasiruddin-Shahi, book of delicacies
and recipes. It documents the fine art of
making kheer.
 Medieval Indian Manuscript (circa 16th
century) showing samosas being
served.

Modern recipes and cooking

advice

from Modern Cookery for Private

Families by Eliza Acton (London:
Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer,
1871. p.48.)

With the advent of the printing press in the 16th and 17th centuries, numerous books
were written on managing households and preparing food. In Holland[12] and
England[13] competition grew between the noble families as to who could prepare the
most lavish banquet. By the 1660s, cookery had progressed to an art form, and good
cooks were in demand. Many of them published their own books, detailing their
recipes in competition with their rivals.[14] Many of these books have been translated
and are available online.[15]

By the 19th century, the Victorian preoccupation for domestic respectability brought
about the emergence of cookery writing in its modern form. Although eclipsed in
fame and regard by Isabella Beeton, the first modern cookery writer and compiler of
recipes for the home was Eliza Acton. Her pioneering cookbook, Modern Cookery for
Private Families published in 1845, was aimed at the domestic reader rather than the
professional cook or chef. This was immensely influential, establishing the format for
modern writing about cookery. It introduced the now-universal practice of listing the
ingredients and suggested cooking times with each recipe. It included the first recipe
for Brussels sprouts.[16] Contemporary chef Delia Smith called Acton "the best writer
of recipes in the English language."[17] Modern Cookery long survived Acton, remaining
in print until 1914 and available more recently in facsimile.

Fredrika Runeberg's original recipe

from 1850s for "Runebergsbakelse"

Titlepage of Beeton's Book of

Household Management
Acton's work was an important influence on Isabella Beeton,[18] who published Mrs
Beeton's Book of Household Management in 24 monthly parts between 1857 and
1861. This was a guide to running a Victorian household, with advice on fashion, child
care, animal husbandry, poisons, the management of servants, science, religion, and
industrialism.[19][20] Of the 1,112 pages, over 900 contained recipes. Most were
illustrated with coloured engravings. It is said that many of the recipes were
plagiarised from earlier writers such as Acton, but the Beetons never claimed that the
book's contents were original. It was intended as a reliable guide for the aspirant
middle classes.

The American cook Fannie Farmer (1857–1915) published in 1896 her famous work
The Boston Cooking School Cookbook which contained some 1,849 recipes.[21]

Components

An example recipe, printed

from the Wikibooks
Cookbook

Recipe with ingredients integrated into the

method
Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components

The name of the recipe

(Origins/History of the dish).
Yield: The number of servings that
the dish provides.
List all ingredients in the order of its
use. Describe it in step by step
instructions.
Listing ingredients by the quantity
(Write out abbreviations. Ounces
instead of oz).
How much time does it take to
prepare the dish, plus cooking time
for the dish.
Necessary equipment used for the
dish.
 Cooking procedures. Temperature
and bake time if necessary.
Serving procedures (Served while
warm/cold).
Review of the dish (Would you
recommend this dish to a friend?).
Photograph of the dish (Optional).
Nutritional Value: Helps for dietary
restrictions. Includes number of
calories or grams per serving.
Earlier recipes often included much less information, serving more as a reminder of
ingredients and proportions for someone who already knew how to prepare the
dish.[22][23]

Recipe writers sometimes also list variations of a traditional dish, to give different
tastes of the same recipes.

Sub-recipes
A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the
instructions for the main recipe.[24]

Sub-recipes are often for spice blends, sauces, confits, pickles, preserves, jams,
chutneys, or condiments.[24] Sometimes the sub-recipe calls for the ingredient to be
held for several hours, overnight, or longer, which home cooks sometimes find
frustrating as it means the main recipe cannot be made in a single session or
day.[24][25][26] Sub-recipes discovered late and calling for an ingredient the cook does
not have on hand means a special shopping trip or trying to find a substitute.[27][25]

Sub-recipes, and the cookbooks that contain them, are often described as not being
targeted at casual cooks.[24][27][28] Reviewers have mentioned finding alternate uses
for leftover sub-recipes.[24][27]

Cookbooks including subrecipes include Christina Tosi's Momofuku Milk Bar

(2011)[29][30] and Terry Bryant's Vegetable Kingdom (2020).[31]

Internet and television

recipes
By the mid-20th century, there were thousands of cookery and recipe books available.
The next revolution came with the introduction of the TV cooks. The first TV cook in
the world was Philip Harben with a show on the BBC called Cookery which premiered
in June 1946.[32] A few months later I Love to Eat presented by James Beard became
the first such program in the US.[32] TV cookery programs brought recipes to a new
audience. In the early days, recipes were available by post from the BBC; later with the
introduction of CEEFAX text on screen, they became available on television.

The first Internet Usenet newsgroup dedicated to cooking was net.cooks created in
1982, later becoming rec.food.cooking (news://rec.food.cooking) .[33] It served as a
forum to share recipes text files and cooking techniques.

In the U.S. in 2008, there was a renewed focus on cooking at home due to the late-
2000s recession.[34] Home cooking in the U.S. was similarly inspired in the early
[ ]
Television networks such as the Food Network and magazines are still a major
source of recipe information, with international cooks and chefs such as Jamie Oliver,
Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson and Rachael Ray having prime-time shows and
backing them up with Internet websites giving the details of all their recipes. These
were joined by reality TV shows such as Top Chef or Iron Chef, and many Internet
sites offering free recipes, but cookery books remain as popular as ever.[36]

See also

Food
portal
Literature
portal

Cookbook
Course (food)
Culinary art
hRecipe - a microformat for
marking-up recipes in web pages
List of desserts
List of foods
 Rhyming recipe

References

1. Winchester, Ashley. "The world's

oldest-known recipes decoded" (http
s://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191
103-the-worlds-oldest-known-recipes-
decoded) . www.bbc.com. Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20200604
180335/http://www.bbc.com/travel/st
ory/20191103-the-worlds-oldest-know
n-recipes-decoded) from the original
on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
2. Jean Bottéro, Textes culinaires
Mésopotamiens, 1995. ISBN 0-
931464-92-7; commentary at "Society
of Biblical Literature" (https://www.sbl
-site.org/publications/article.aspx?Art
icleId=703) . Archived (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20210930054625/http
s://www.sbl-site.org/publications/arti
cle.aspx?ArticleId=703) from the
original on 2021-09-30.

3. Ancient Egyptian cuisine

4. Andrew Dalby, Food in the Ancient
World from A to Z, 2003. ISBN 0-415-
23259-7 p. 97-98.
5. "Roman food in Britain" (http://romans
-in-britain.org.uk/) . Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/2010072007313
1/http://www.romans-in-britain.org.u
k/raw_mining.htm) from the original
on 2010-07-20. Retrieved 2007-05-10.

6. Colquhoun, Kate (2008) [2007]. Taste:

The Story of Britain through its
Cooking. Bloomsbury. p. 25.
ISBN 978-0-747-59306-5.
7. "Jaam-e Jam" (http://www.art-of-musi
c.net/ppdf/nppdf/2835/p0283539930
101.pdf) (PDF). Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20200616022408/
http://www.art-of-music.net/ppdf/npp
df/2835/p0283539930101.pdf) (PDF)
from the original on 2020-06-16.
Retrieved 2017-09-10.
 8. "‫( "کتاب خوراک‌های ایرانی‬http://foodcultu
re.ir/food-culture/%da%a9%d8%aa%d
8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%ae%d9%88%d8%b
1%d8%a7%da%a9-%d9%87%d8%a7%d
b%8c-%d8%a7%db%8c%d8%b1%d8%a
7%d9%86%db%8c-%d8%af%d8%b1-%d
8%b2%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%8
2%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%a7%d8%b1/) .
‫( مجله تصویری فرهنگ غذا‬in Persian).
December 3, 2016. Retrieved
November 20, 2017.

9. 2007 Recipe Calendar. COMDA,

Canada.

10. Hicatt, Constance B; Sharon Butler

(1985). English Culinary Manuscripts
of the 14C.
11. Austin, Thomas (1888). Ashmole and
other Manuscripts.

12. Sieben, Ria Jansen (1588). Een

notable boecxtken van cokeryen.

13. The good Huswifes handmaid for

Cookerie. 1588.

14. May, Robert (1685). The accomplisht

Cook.

15. Judy Gerjuoy. "Medieval Cookbooks"

(http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/article
s/food_bibliography.html) . Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/200706
09120850/http://www.pbm.com/~lind
ahl/articles/food_bibliography.html)
from the original on 2007-06-09.
Retrieved 2007-06-15.
16. Pearce, Food For Thought:
Extraordinary Little Chronicles of the
World, (2004) pg 144

17. Interview (http://www.hub-uk.com/int

eresting/delia-british-library.htm)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20140606233640/http://www.hub-u
k.com/interesting/delia-british-librar
y.htm) 2014-06-06 at the Wayback
Machine.
18. Acton, Eliza (1799–1859) (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20130518003547/
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2
591300080.html) . Gale Research Inc.
January 2002. Archived from the
original (http://www.highbeam.com/d
oc/1G2-2591300080.html) on 2013-
05-18. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored
(help)(subscription required)

19. General Observations on the Common

Hog (https://web.archive.org/web/20
080729181249/http://ebooks.adelaid
e.edu.au/b/beeton/isabella/househol
d/chapter16.html)
20. "in season in April 1861" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20131119013243/ht
tp://www.tracingpaper.org.uk/2007/0
4/21/food-in-season-in-1861/) .
Archived from the original (http://ww
w.tracingpaper.org.uk/2007/04/21/fo
od-in-season-in-1861/) on 2013-11-
19. Retrieved 2014-06-02.

21. Cunningham, Marion (1979). The

Fannie Farmer Cookbook (revised).
Bantam Books, New York. ISBN 978-0-
553-56881-3.
22. Paradowski, Michał B. (2010).
Through catering college to the naked
chef – teaching LSP and culinary
translation. In: Bogucki, Łukasz (Ed.)
Teaching Translation and Interpreting:
Challenges and Practices. Newcastle-
upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars
Press. pp. 137–165.
23. Paradowski, Michał B. (2017). "What's
cooking in English culinary texts?
Insights from genre corpora for
cookbook and menu writers and
translators". The Translator. 24: 50–
69.
doi:10.1080/13556509.2016.1271735
(https://doi.org/10.1080%2F1355650
9.2016.1271735) . S2CID 151593837
(https://api.semanticscholar.org/Corp
usID:151593837) .
24. Cohen, Chris (2019-03-18). "What to
Cook This Weekend: Coming to Terms
With the Sub-Recipe" (https://www.sa
veur.com/newsletter-sub-recipe/) .
Saveur. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20221110171215/https://w
ww.saveur.com/newsletter-sub-recip
e/) from the original on 2022-11-10.
Retrieved 2022-11-10.
25. "8 Highly Giftable Cookbooks by New
York Chefs" (https://www.eater.com/2
1719330/giftable-new-cookbooks-by-
new-york-chefs) . Eater. 2020-11-25.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20221110175841/https://www.eate
r.com/21719330/giftable-new-cookbo
oks-by-new-york-chefs) from the
original on 2022-11-10. Retrieved
2022-11-10.
26. Gould, Emily (2016-08-30). "Why
Restaurant Cookbooks Can't Have It
All" (https://www.eater.com/2016/8/3
0/12691132/ashley-christensen-poole
s-diner-cookbook-review) . Eater.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20221110181201/https://www.eate
r.com/2016/8/30/12691132/ashley-c
hristensen-pooles-diner-cookbook-re
view) from the original on 2022-11-
10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
27. "A Cookbook Full of Recipes Within
Recipes Can Be the Greatest of Them
All" (https://food52.com/blog/17237-
a-cookbook-full-of-recipes-within-recip
es-can-be-the-greatest-of-them-all) .
Food52. 2016-06-21. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2022111017
2605/https://food52.com/blog/17237
-a-cookbook-full-of-recipes-within-reci
pes-can-be-the-greatest-of-them-all)
from the original on 2022-11-10.
Retrieved 2022-11-10.
28. Benwick, Bonnie S. (2017-12-11).
"Review | The best cookbooks of
2017: The inspiration you need to get
dinner on the table" (https://www.was
hingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-b
est-cookbooks-of-2017-the-inspiration
-you-need-to-get-dinner-on-the-table/2
017/12/11/783b4434-d92a-11e7-b1a
8-62589434a581_story.html) . The
Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 (ht
tps://www.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8
286) . Archived (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20221207141251/https://ww
w.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/foo
d/the-best-cookbooks-of-2017-the-ins
piration-you-need-to-get-dinner-on-the-
table/2017/12/11/783b4434-d92a-11
e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html)
 from the original on 2022-12-07.
Retrieved 2022-11-10.

29. Chang, T. Susan (19 April 2015). " 'Milk

Bar Life', reviewed: guilty pleasures,
sweet and savory alike" (https://www.
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/m
ilk-bar-life-reviewed-guilty-pleasures-s
weet-and-savory-alike/2015/04/18/94
f7da12-e3b2-11e4-81ea-0649268f729
e_story.html) . The Washington Post.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20210727142325/https://www.was
hingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/milk-b
ar-life-reviewed-guilty-pleasures-sweet
-and-savory-alike/2015/04/18/94f7da
12-e3b2-11e4-81ea-0649268f729e_st
ory.html) from the original on 27 July
2021. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
30. Haupt, Melanie (2 November 2012).
"Cookbook Review: Momofuku Milk
Bar: Ain't nothing simple in Christina
Tosi's cookbook" (http://www.austinc
hronicle.com/daily/food/2012-11-02/
cookbook-review-momofuku-milk-ba
r/) . Austin Chronicle. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2022111018
0954/https://www.austinchronicle.co
m/daily/food/2012-11-02/cookbook-r
eview-momofuku-milk-bar/) from the
original on 2022-11-10. Retrieved
2022-11-10.
31. Rao, Tejal (31 March 2020). "This
Broccoli-Dill Pasta Has a Hippie Twist.
Your Kids Will Love It" (https://www.ny
times.com/2020/03/31/magazine/br
occoli-dill-pasta-recipe.html) . New
York Times. Archived (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20221110182444/http
s://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/m
agazine/broccoli-dill-pasta-recipe.ht
ml) from the original on 10
November 2022. Retrieved
10 November 2022.
32. "Timeline of Television Cooking Show
Personalities" (https://www.cooksinf
o.com/timeline-of-tv-cooking-show-pe
rsonalities#:~:text=The%20first%20tel
evised%20cooking%20programme,an
d%20was%2010%20minutes%20lon
g.) . Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20210524153751/https://ww
w.cooksinfo.com/timeline-of-tv-cooki
ng-show-personalities#:~:text=The%2
0first%20televised%20cooking%20pro
gramme,and%20was%2010%20minut
es%20long.) from the original on
2021-05-24. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
33. Sack, Victor (20 October 2016),
rec.food.cooking FAQ and conversion
file (http://vsack.homepage.t-online.d
e/rfc_faq0.html#6.1) , sec. 6.1,
archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20180830043000/http://vsack.hom
epage.t-online.de/rfc_faq0.html#6.1)
from the original on 30 August 2018,
retrieved 17 February 2018

34. Holmes, Elizabeth (2009-05-05). "Web

Recipes Are Cooking With Gas" (http
s://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1241486
76424885935) . Wall Street Journal.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20170927113515/https://www.wsj.
com/articles/SB1241486764248859
35) from the original on 2017-09-27.
Retrieved 2017-08-08.
35. "One Year Later: How the Pandemic
Changed Home Cooking" (https://ww
w.allrecipes.com/longform/coronavir
us-cooking-and-grocery-shopping-one-
year-later/) . Allrecipes. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2022111015
3639/https://www.allrecipes.com/lon
gform/coronavirus-cooking-and-groce
ry-shopping-one-year-later/) from the
original on 2022-11-10. Retrieved
2022-11-10.
36. Andriani, Lynn. "Cookbooks surge to
top category at libraries" (https://ww
w.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/
industry-news/cooking/article/46214-
cookbooks-surge-to-top-category-at-li
braries.html) . Archived (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20150402092647/htt
p://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by
-topic/industry-news/cooking/article/
46214-cookbooks-surge-to-top-catego
ry-at-libraries.html) from the original
on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2013-10-14.

Wikibooks Cookbook has a

recipe/module on
Recipes

Media related to Recipes at

Wikimedia Commons
 The dictionary definition of recipe
at Wiktionary

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Recipe&oldid=1225687463"

This page was last edited on 26 May 2024, at

02:28 (UTC). •
Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0
unless otherwise noted.