List of medieval cookbooks
This is a list of cookbooks written in the Medieval Period (~5th-15th centuries), a cookbook being a culinary text that compiles recipes and instructions for preparing food.
By language
Arabic
| Name | Native name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | # of recipes compiled | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitab al-Tabikh | Arabic: كتاب الطبيخ, romanized: Kitāb al-Ṭabīḫ, lit. 'Book of dishes'[1][2] | Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi[1][2] | 779-839 (lifetime of the author)[2][1]: 530 [3] | at least 40[2] | No publicly available surviving manuscripts exist,[1][2] a privately-owned extant manuscript is believed to exist.[1] The book is referenced in Ibn-Sayyar's kitab al-tabikh[4] 40 recipes have survived through references in other texts.[2] Possibly the first Arabic-language cookbook.[5][3] | |
| Kitab al-Tabikh | Arabic: كتاب الطبيخ, romanized: Kitāb al-Ṭabīḫ, lit. 'Book of dishes'[6] | Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq[6] | Baghdad[6] | 10th-century[6] | 600+[7] | Earliest surviving Arabic-language cookbook, translated into English in 2007 by Nawal Nasrallah[6] |
| Kitab al-tabikh[8] | Arabic: كتاب الطبخ في المغرب والأندلس في عصر الموحدين, romanized: Kitāb al-Ṭabikh fī al-Maghrib wa al-Andalus fī ʽAṣr al-Muwaḥḥidīn, lit. 'The book of cooking in Maghreb and Al-Andalus in the era of the Almohads'[2] | Anonymous[2] | Al-Andalus[8] | 13th-century[8] | 462[9] | Oldest known cookbook from the Iberian Peninsula[8] |
| Kitab al-Wuslah ila l-habib[2] | Arabic: الوصلة إلى الحبيب في وصف الطيبات والطيب, romanized: al-Wuṣla ilā ‘l-ḥabīb fī Waṣf al-ṭayyibāt wa ‘l-ṭīb, lit. 'Reaching the Beloved through the Description of Delicious Foods and Flavourings'[2] | Anonymous, thought to be Ibn al-Adim[2] | Aleppo[2] | 13th-century[2] | 635[10] | It was translated to English by Charles Perry.[10] |
| Kitab fadalat al-khiwan | Arabic: فضالة الخوان في طيبات الطعام والألوان, romanized: Faḍālat al-khiwān fī ṭayyibāt al-ṭaʿām wa ‘l-alwān, lit. 'Best of Delectable Foods and Dishes from al-Andalus and al-Maghrib'[11] | Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī[11] | Al-Andalus[11] | 1239–1265[11] | 480[11] | An English translation containing 480 recipes was published in 2024 by Daniel Newman[11] |
| Kanz al-fawa'id fi tanwi' al-mawa'id | Arabic: كنز الفوائد في تنويع الموائد, romanized: Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, lit. 'Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table' | Anonymous[6] | Egypt[6] | 14th-century[6] | 829[12] | It was translated to English by Nawal Nasrallah.[6] Contains 829 recipes organized into 23 chapters[13] Many copies of the initial manuscript exist, some of the contain errors made by scribes.[12] Contains several recipes that were copied verbaitim from Ibn-Sayyar's kitab al-tabikh.[1] |
| Kitab Wasf[6] | Arabic: كتاب وصف الأطعمة المعتادة, romanized: Kitab Waṣf al-Aṭʿima al-Muʿtada, lit. 'The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods' | Anonymous[13] | Egypt[13] | 14th-century[13] | 480[13] | Translated to English by Charles Perry in 2001 under the name Medieval Arab Cookery[1]: 24 Copied much of Baghdadi's kitab al-Tabikh and adds 240 new recipes.[14] |
| Kitab al-Tabikh | Arabic: كتاب الطبيخ, romanized: Kitāb al-Ṭabīḫ, lit. 'Book of dishes' | Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi[15] | Baghdad[15] | 1226[15][2] | 160[2] | Translated into English by A.J. Arberry in 1939 and later again by Charles Perry in 2005.[2][15][16] |
| Zahr al-hadiqa fi ' l-at'ima al-aniqa'[17] | Arabic: زهر الحديقة في الأطعمة الأنيقة, romanized: Zahr al-ḥadīqa fi ‘l-aṭʿima al-anīqa, lit. 'flowers in the garden of elegant foods'[17] | Ibn Mubārak Shāh[17] | Egypt[17] | 15th-century[17] | 332[13] | Translated into English by Daniel Newman in 2020.[17] |
| Kitab al-tibakha[2] | Arabic: كتاب الطباخة, romanized: Kitāb al-ṭibākha, lit. 'The book of cookery'[2] | Al-Mubarrad[2] | Damascus[2] | 15th-century[2] | 44[2] | Discovered and edited by Habib Zayyat in 1937.[1] |
Danish
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libellus de arte coquinaria[18] | Anonymous | 13th-century |
English
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Forme of Cury[19] | The master cooks of Richard II of England[19] | England | 14th-century[19] | Contains around 205 recipes. Written in middle English. In 2008, it was scanned and made freely available online by the John Rylands Research Institute and Library.[19] |
| Utilis Coquinario[20] | Anonymous[20] | Late 14th-century[20] | ||
| Diversa Cibaria[21] | 14th-century[21] | Translated from Anglo-Norman recipe collections.[20]: 46 |
French
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Viandier[22] | Guillaume Tirel[22] | 15th-century |
German
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Das Buoch von guoter Spise[23] | Michael de Leone[23] | Würzburg[23] | 1350[23][24] | Oldest surviving German language-cookbook, contained more than 100 recipes.[23] |
| Kochbuch[23][24][25] | Meister Hans[23] | Württemberg[23] | 1460[23][24][25] | It is a compilation of older recipes.[25] |
Latin
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacuinum Sanitatis[26] | Anonymous | 11th-century | Translation of an Arabic medical treatise that contained recipes for medicinal dishes[26] | |
| Liber de Coquina[27] | Anonymous[27] | 14th-century[27] | ||
| Liber de ferculis | Jambobinus[28][29] | Venice[28] | 13th-century[28] | The book was a translation of 82 Arabic recipes.[28] |
| Apicius[30] | Possibly, Marcus Gavius Apicius[30] | 1st century[30] | ||
| De honesta voluptate et valetudine | Bartolomeo Platina[31] | Venice | 1474[31][32] | The first ever printed cookbook, many of the recipes were copied from the earlier Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Martino da Como[31] |
| Libro de Arte Coquinaria | Martino da Como[33] | Lombardy[33] | 15th-century[33] | First ever Italian cookbook.[33] |
Persian
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nimatnama[34] | Malwa Sultanate[34] | Ordered by Ghiyath Shah during his rule (1469 to 1500)[34] | Translated to English by Norah Titley.[34] |
Turkish
| Name | Author | Region of origin | Time period of writing | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitabü t-Tabih[14] | Muhammad bin Mahmud Shirvani[14] | Ottoman Empire[14] | 15th century[14] | First Turkish language cookbook, it is a translation of Baghdadi's 13th century Kitab al-Tabikh with 60 added recipes and changes made to some of Baghdadi's recipes.[14]: 113–115 |
See also
- Category:Medieval cookbooks
- List of anonymously published works
- Lists of books
- List of cookbook writers
- Glossary of historical culinary terms
- Medieval literature – Literary works of the Middle Ages
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 al-Warrāq, al-Muẓaffar Ibn Naṣr Ibn Sayyār (26 November 2007). Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens: Ibn Sayy?r Al-Warr?q's Tenth-Century Baghdadi Cookbook. BRILL. pp. 23–26. ISBN 978-90-04-15867-2. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Salloum, Habeeb; Salloum, Muna; Elias, Leila Salloum (8 August 2013). "Introduction". Scheherazade's Feasts: Foods of the Medieval Arab World. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4477-9. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 Zaouali, Lilia (1 October 2007). Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes. University of California Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-520-24783-3. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ "موائد الأجداد.. كتاب عباسي يصف فنون الطبخ وآداب المائدة وذوق الخلفاء" [The Tables of the Ancestors: An Abbasid Book Describing the Arts of Cooking, Table Manners, and the Taste of the Caliphs]. Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 2025. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ ""كتاب الطبخ السوري": تراث القرن الثالث عشر" ["The Syrian Cookbook": A 13th-century heritage]. The New Arab (in Arabic). 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Qualey, Marcia Lynx (2020). "Medieval Arabic cookbooks: Reviving the taste of history". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ "Happy New Year! Here's a 1,000-year-old hangover cure". The Washington Post. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Isfeng: a crispy doughnut from al-Andalus for Hanukkah". www.bbc.com. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ Piñer, Hélène Jawhara (22 November 2022). Jews, Food, and Spain: The Oldest Medieval Spanish Cookbook and the Sephardic Culinary Heritage. Academic Studies PRess. ISBN 978-1-64469-920-1. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 Shaheen, Kareem (24 March 2023). "The True Origins of Hummus". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Exile's Cookbook: A taster menu in medieval Arab gastronomy". The New Arab. 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 Perreault, Abbey (4 September 2018). "Exploring a 'Treasure Trove' of Medieval Egyptian Recipes". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A History of Egyptian Cookbooks". Google Arts & Culture. RAWI Publishing. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Freedman, Paul; Chaplin, Joyce E.; Albala, Ken (24 November 2014). Food in Time and Place: The American Historical Association Companion to Food History. Univ of California Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-520-95934-7. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Roden, Claudia (12 July 2011). The Food of Spain. Harper Collins. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-06-209168-0. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ Qualey, M. Lynx (14 August 2018). "What's Exciting About Reading These 5 Medieval Cookbooks". Book Riot. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Maamoul: A sweet celebration for Christians and Muslims". www.bbc.com. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ "Sweden's enduring love for cardamom and buns". www.bbc.com. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Dawar, Anil (22 September 2008). "Library to share 14th-century royal cookbook online". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Walker, Harlan (1996). Cooks & Other People: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1995. Oxford Symposium. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-907325-72-7. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- 1 2 Perry, Charles (2 May 2008). "Who needs trendy?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- 1 2 Joseph, Lauren (10 November 2025). "The Apples Are Not What They Seem". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Romane, Rechnungen und mannigfache Rezepte für Ei-Gerichte im Mittelalter" [Novels, invoices, and numerous recipes for egg dishes in the Middle Ages]. Der Standard (in Austrian German). October 11, 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Zemp, Claudio (14 October 2010). "«schütt, rüre, snit und back ez!»". www.news.uzh.ch (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Notaker, Henry (5 September 2017). A History of Cookbooks: From Kitchen to Page over Seven Centuries. Univ of California Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-520-96728-1. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- 1 2 Santich, Barbara (1995). The Original Mediterranean Cuisine: Medieval Recipes for Today. Wakefield Press Pty, Limited. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-86254-331-7.
- 1 2 3 "Macaroni cheese's mysterious origins". www.bbc.com. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Perry, Charles (31 October 2001). "The Soy Sauce That Wasn't". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ↑ "L'origine degli arancini siciliani". Dove Viaggi (in Italian). 12 August 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kontrafouri, Filio (15 May 2025). "Only Surviving Roman Cookbook Reveals Origins of Europe's Most Iconic Recipes". GreekReporter. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Sgarbi, Marco (27 October 2022). Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer Nature. p. 2847. ISBN 978-3-319-14169-5. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ Baumgarthuber, Christine (15 September 2015). "How Early Cookbooks Sparked a Lifestyle Revolution". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Tucker, Neely (26 June 2024). "Treasures Gallery: The First Italian Cookbook | Timeless". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Book of Delights: A medieval text that helped give rise to Indo-Pakistani cuisine". Middle East Eye. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
External links
- A History of Egyptian Cookbooks, on Google Arts & Culture
- List of medieval Arabic cookery books, on Daniel Newman's blog Eat like a Sultan
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