De Verstandige Kock (1667)

During the 17th century Amsterdam merchants acquired a fortune with the spice trade. They had country homes built with large gardens, orchards and vegetable plots. Publishers from Amsterdam took advantage of this trend by publishing books with practical information on country living. That explains why the most important Dutch cookery book of the 17th century De Verstandige Kock (1667) was published as part of a guide on country living.

 

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Aaltje, de volmaakte en zuinige keukenmeid (1803)

The culinary bestseller from the 19th century is Aaltje, de volmaakte en zuinige keukenmeid (Aaltje, the perfect and thrifty kitchen maid). Nearly all, now extremely rare, editions of Aaltje are to be found in the History of Food collection of the University of Amsterdam. Despite her claim to be thrifty Aaltje was still the cookery book for the well to do households. Other cookery books like the books written by Maria Haezebroek were also aimed to please this audience.

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Oorlogs- kookboek (1918)

Wartime is often a period of scarcity. Although the Netherlands did not partake during WW1, refugees and the lack of free trade ensured that some products were very hard to come by. The Meulenhof’s Oorlogs-kookboek published in 1918 provided the Dutch housewife with much appreciated advice on economic cooking techniques and surrogate foodstuffs.

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Nieuw volledig Oost-Indisch kookboek (1902)

Not until the independence of Indonesia in 1949 and the return of the ‘Indië-gangers’ did the Indonesian Kitchen take on a serious role in the Netherlands. Some books, however, were published in Malayan in the 19th century. These were mainly used by native cooks for their Dutch employers. Later on cookery books were published for the Dutch who were moving to the East. The most succesfull of these cookery books was the Nieuw volledig Oost-Indisch kookboek by J.M.J. Catenius-van der Meden (1902). In it a description of the famous "rice table", an elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch following the presentation of food from the Padang region of West Sumatra. It consists of many (forty is not an unusual number) side dishes served in small portions, accompanied by rice prepared in different ways.

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Voeding Goed Volk Gezond (1954)

Not until the seventies Surinam cookery books start appearing in the Netherlands. One of the first cookery books published in Suriname is this booklet from 1954. It includes recipes of the typical Surinam dishes like Pom (with tajer, chicken, orangejuice and madam jeanette pepper), rice with yardlong beans and many recipes with sweetpotato and breadfruit.

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De Borgerlyke Tafel (1683)

Many of the early writers of cookery books were physicians like Steven Blankaart who, practizing in Amsterdam, wrote De Borgelyke tafel in 1683 to instruct his fellow citizens. Nutrition played an essential part in medicine from the Middle Ages until the 18th century. An important task for the doctor, therefore, was to acquire knowledge on nutrition and food preparation, both to cure disease and to keep people healthy.

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Oorlogskookboek (1940)

Through WW2 almost all basic necessities became so scarce that during the famine (hunger) winter, in some parts of the country, people were forced to eat produce not really suitable for human consumption i.e. flower bulbs. The cover of the Oorlogskookboek by mrs. Geurts does not reflect this grim reality at the end of the war. It was published in 1940 almost inmediately after the start of the war by an entiprizing publisher who remembered the hugh success of the wartime cookery books of the previous war.

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Jules Gouffé - Boek der Banketbakkerij (1894)

The first colour plates in cookery books began to appear in the second half of the 19th century. They make the cakes from French chef Jules Gouffé in this Boek der Banketbakkerij (1894) appear extra appetizing. Both original editions of Gouffé’s Le livre du cuisine (1864) and Le livre du patisserie (1873) are to be found in the History of Food collection of the University of Amsterdam.

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Koock-boeck oft Familieren keuken-boeck (1655)

This is a rare edition of an early Dutch cookery book.

Antonius Magirus based his 170 recipes on the main cookery book of the Italian Renaissance, the Opera (1570) of Bartolomeo Scappi, introducing in the Low Countries recipes with parmesan cheese, ricotta and Mediterranean vegetables. He addresses his readers in a very personal style and encourages the – in his eyes - “conservative” Dutch housewives to experiment with food.

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This Library is a joint project of the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam and the FoodMuseum.

 

Here you find a selection of rare Dutch cookery books

If you click on the button on top of each book you are linked to the digitalized version of the book of your choice.

 

For a great many years the Special Collections have been collecting old and rare books on food and cookery. Anyone wanting to find out more about the history of cooking can find at Special Collections almost every significant Dutch cookery book from past centuries, as well as a growing number of cookery books from other countries. Apart from cookery books, the collection includes books on diet, nutrition, housekeeping, table decoration, etiquette and other food-related subjects. The History of Food collection now also houses the collection Culinair Museum Amersfoort and an increasing part of the Gastronomische Bibliotheek the immense collections of the scholar-gastronome Johannes van Dam and the food historian Joop Witteveen.