The Art of Cooking, Pie Making, Pastry Making, and Preserving: Arte de cocina, pastelería, vizcochería y conservería

Reproducing and translating into English the text of a seventeenth century Spanish cookbook, this work reveals the dishes which were prepared for and served to the country’s nobility. 

Francisco Martinez Montino served as a cook in the kitchens of Phillip II before becoming the chef to Phillip III and Phillip IV; the original publication of this book in 1611 enjoyed a grant of copyright from the crown, and the work would stay in print for the next 200 years.

The 500 recipes in his book encompass all that the title promises, from minced roasted capon and veal empanadas to boar udders, elderberry vinegar, and salsify conserve.  The recipes do not typically specify quantities and assume a good deal of kitchen experience. One recipe begins simply, “Roast four wood pigeons” before proceeding with instructions for a sauce of almonds, sugar, acidic fruit juice, and cinnamon.

Editor and translator Carolyn A. Nadeau, and professor of Spanish at Illinois Wesleyan University, offers an extensive introduction to the book, placing in context many of the authors comments about staff and their compensation, and addressing the book’s place in the evolving European genre of cookbooks. She also provides images of from her efforts to recreate some of Montino’s more elaborate recipes, and a glossary of ingredients and culinary terms from the period language.

Hardcover. In Spanish and English. Black-and-white photographs. 738 pages.