ZELD5202 - A Well-Seasoned History: Cookbooks Through Time w/ Judi Slack - Spring 2026 - Virtual

Course Description

Embark on a culinary-historical exploration that begins in the spice-laden kitchens of the late Middle Ages and spans across continents and centuries. This course offers a sweeping literary and historical overview of the cookbook genre, treating these texts as more than just instructions — they are vital documents of taste, economy and power. Tracing the evolution from handwritten manuscripts to modern bestsellers, we discover how these books are rich reservoirs of information about manners, morals, nutrition and social history. Uncover how the earliest collections of European recipes, the influence of global cuisines and the rise of the domestic goddess all define who we are, what we value, and how we eat.