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The Latter-day Saint culture in America is unique! Originally composed of immigrants from many lands who left their native countries to unite in worshiping God, they sought to become a "Zion" people that could live together in righteousness and peace.
An interesting by-product of the Mormon culture is the great diversity of food-preparation techniques which have been blended together. With the typical Mormon communities of the 1800s comprised of settlers of many nationalities, tastes and techniques were mingled, often with truly delectable results. Sometimes their creations evolved into wonderful new culinary delights.
Beginning in the 1960s, Hermine Horman, with the help of her daughters and several friends, set out to collect and publish the best and most-favorite Mormon recipes. For more than 15 years, she self-marketed her big, thick one-volume work, A Century of Mormon Cookery, and racked up the enviable record of almost 100,000 copies sold. Now, as she has reached her retirement years, she has opted to divide it into two books, each containing approximately 600 delicious recipes, and to place the two new books with an established publishing house to achieve wider distribution. So now there are two volumes of A Century of Mormon Cookery, and these time-tested recipes can be enjoyed by cooks and their hungry families across America.
When the original volume was divided, great care was taken to keep both books balanced, with a near-equal number of the "most favorite" recipes in each one. The organization and section headings remained the same, but each book offers a completely unique palate of tempting treats for housewives and chefs to enjoy, without duplicating their culinary counterparts.
The sections are divided into eighteen categories, each filled to overflowing with tasty recipes. In this volume, Appetizers has 33 recipes, Breads has 45, Salads, 63; Soups, 38; Vegetables, 48; Pasta & Grains, 28; Meats, 46; Fish, 27; Poultry, 19; Eggs & Cheese, 16; Desserts, 40; Cakes, 29; Cookies, 42; Pies, 27; Candy, 37; Sauces, 20; Preserves, 20; and the final Pot Pourri section has 41, for a grand total of 619 recipes!
An enjoyable read in addition to its great recipes, this book has a chuckle on almost every page.
So this book, A Century of Mormon Cookery, Volume 1, is a time-proven collection of many hundreds of recipes that have tickled the palates of both fastidious and "chow-hound" eaters. Some are quite new; others are more than two centuries old, and many have their origins in other countries. But within these covers you'll find some of the best recipes in America. Enjoy!
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