Preserving Canada's flavourful history

Recent years have seen a renewed interest in food and culinary history, both among the general public and as a flourishing topic of social sciences and humanities research. Food history has also been a major focus of Canadiana.org's acquisition and preservation efforts, resulting in a collection that reaches back through Canada’s published culinary history up to and including The Frugal Housewife’s Manual (Toronto, 1840), the first mass-printed cookbook with Canadian recipes.

Early Canadiana Online's food history collection, consisting of cookbooks published up to 1950, is being expanded to serve this burgeoning scholarly and popular interest. The latest titles, taken from the dawn of 20th-century commercial culture, document a booming food and advertising industry, chronicling a time when big-name American brands began making their cultural presence felt in Canada.

This collection will no doubt add useful insights to a wide range of fields; but, if all else fails, even the most devoted scholars may enjoy trying these old recipes, comparing and contrasting these traditional methods from the early 1900s to the cooking of the 21st century.

• A Cook Book for the Economical Housewife (Montréal: Guaranteed Pure Milk Co., 192-?)
• The Magic Cook Book (Toronto: Standard Brands, 1932?)
• My Hundred Favorite Recipes (Aylmer, Ont. : Carnation Milk Products Co., c.1926)
• Clark's Recipe Book (Montréal: W. Clark Ltd., 193-?)
• D'excellentes recettes (Lynn, Mass.; Cobourg, Ont.: Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., 193-?)
• 100 Glorified Recipes (Aylmer, Ont.: Carnation Co., c. 1932)
• Seasoning Suggestions (Montreal: Lea & Perrins, c. 1920)
• The Magic Cook Book (Toronto: Standard Brands, 1933?)
• Rhymes and Recipes (New Toronto, Ont.: Campbell Soup Company, 193-?)
• Le livre culinaire de la poudre à pâte Magic (Montréal: Standard Brands Ltd., 194-?)
• Friendly Foods from the Quaker Oats Company (Peterborough, Ont.: Quaker Oats Co., 193-?)
• Borden's Eagle Brand Book of Recipes (Montreal: Borden Milk Co., 193-?)
• A.B.C. of mixing cocktails | Recettes de cocktails (Montreal: Hiram Walker & Sons, Gooderham & Worts, c. 1930)
• Just look! at these wonderful jams and jellies (Cobourg? Ont.: Douglas Packing Co.?, c. 1926)
• Magic Cook Book and Housekeepers Guide (Toronto : E.W. Gillett Co., 1927-9?)
• Levure "Royal" (Toronto: E.W. Gillett Co., 191-?)