The United States Regional Cook Book, edited by Ruth Berolzheimer, and published in 1939. Wow, what a classic this one is! Ruth was the director of the Culinary Arts Institute, and if you want to learn more about her, check out this article by Mike Sula at the Chicago Reader: Omnivorous: The Cookbook Queen.

But enough about Ruth, and back to this vintage cookbook.  As the title states, this cookbook covers recipes that are from various regions across the United States. This 752 page co0kbook contains 11 regional cookbooks, which include:

• New England Cook Book
• Southern Cook Book
• Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book
• Creole Cook Book
• Michigan Dutch Cook Book
• Mississippi Valley Cook Book
• Wisconsin Dutch Cook Book
• Minnesota Scandinavian Cook Book
• Southwestern Cook Book
• Western Cook Book
• Cosmopolitan Cook Book

While it seems a bit heavy on Dutch recipes, apparently “Dutch” did always refers to immigrants from Holland or the Netherlands. Some “Dutch” were Germans.  Hmm, isn’t that curious?  So some of the “Dutch” recipes are actually German. Each section is filled with tons of interesting, and tasty looking recipes. The Cosmopolitan cook book also includes Recipes from Many Lands That Have Found an American Home. This section includes: Italian, Russian, Romanian, Armenian, Jewish, Turkish, and of course Dutch recipes.

While many of the recipes look pretty good, there are some you might not expect. Bake Muskellunge (aka Musky to us fishermen), Gestoofde Aal (stewed eels), Chitterlings (Chit’lin’s), ‘Possum and Sweet Taters, as well as other interesting delights. This is definitely a cookbook that I want to try some recipes from.

The cookbook is also filled with decent color and B&W photos, as well as great little B&W illustrations. Definitely a classic, and not just for the collector.