♪♪ >> WE'RE HERE IN THE THOMPSON GALLERY LOCATED WITHIN THE THOMPSON LIBRARY AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.

WITH ME IS JOLIE BRAUN, CO-CURATOR OF THIS INCREDIBLE EXHIBIT.

HI, JOLIE.

>> HI, KATE.

>> THANKS FOR HAVING US.

WELL, TELL ME ABOUT THIS COLLECTION AND HOW IT CAME TO BE.

>> YES.

THANK YOU.

SO "ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS: COOKBOOKS AS HISTORY" WAS REALLY INSPIRED BY THE FANTASTIC COLLECTION OF COOKBOOKS WE HAVE HERE AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES.

I'M A CURATOR IN THE RARE BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS LIBRARY, WHICH IS THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS UNIT THAT HOUSES MORE THAN 9,600 VOLUMES OF COOKBOOKS.

SO THE EXHIBIT WAS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THIS GREAT RESOURCE AND MAKE IT MORE WIDELY KNOWN AND AVAILABLE TO FOLKS WHO WOULD WANT TO COME IN AND SEE IT.

I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT "ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS," THE NAME WAS INSPIRED BY A QUOTE FROM JULIA CHILD.

SO WE HAVE THIS REALLY LOVELY QUOTE THAT YOU'LL SEE WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE GALLERY WHERE SHE TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL COOKBOOKS AND PRESERVING AND STUDYING THEM.

AND SO THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME ATTENDEES IN AND LET THEM KNOW KIND OF WHAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT COOKBOOKS AS MORE THAN JUST A COLLECTION OF RECIPES BUT THINKING ABOUT THEM AS HISTORICAL OBJECTS.

>> THAT'S WONDERFUL.

I LOVE THAT WHOLE MESSAGE.

SO TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'LL SEE TODAY.

>> SO THE EXHIBIT IS ARRANGED THEMATICALLY AND EACH CASE HAS A DIFFERENT TOPIC.

THE FIRST FEW CASES ARE REALLY THINKING VERY NATIONALLY OR INTERNATIONALLY ABOUT HOW COOKBOOKS RESPOND TO OR REFLECT MAJOR EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY OR THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

SO WE HAVE A CASE ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS.

IT HAS A COOKBOOK ABOUT TEMPERANCE AND ANOTHER ONE ABOUT THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT.

THERE'S A CASE ABOUT GLOBAL CRISES THAT HAS COOKBOOKS ABOUT WORLD WAR I AND II.

AND THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC.

AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE GALLERY THE FOCUS SHIFTS A LITTLE BIT AND GETS MORE SPECIFIC AND WE THINK ABOUT COOKBOOKS AND PERSONAL STORIES THEY CAN TELL.

SO THERE ARE COOKBOOKS THAT TELL YOU ABOUT LOCAL HISTORIES SUCH AS COMMUNITY COOKBOOKS FROM VARIOUS TOWNS IN OHIO.

AND THEN THERE'S ALSO COOKBOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN PERSONALIZED IN SOME WAY, WHETHER IT'S BY THE AUTHOR WHO HAS WRITTEN THE COOKBOOK AS MEMOIR OR SOMEONE WHO OWNED THE COOKBOOK AND MADE IT SORT OF A UNIQUE OBJECT THROUGH THEIR MARGINALIA AND NOTES.

>> THAT'S AMAZING.

JUST SO MANY STORIES TO BE TOLD WITH COOKBOOKS AT THE CENTER.

I SEE SOME FAMILIAR COOKBOOKS IN THIS CASE.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT WHAT'S IN HERE?

>> YES.

SO THIS IS OUR ICONIC COOKBOOKS CASE.

AND AS YOU NOTICED, THERE ARE SOME FAMILIAR, BELOVED TITLES THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH MANY EDITIONS OVER THE YEARS SUCH AS "THE JOY OF COOKING."

>> YEAH.

>> AND BETTY CROCKER.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO SOME MAYBE LESSER-KNOWN COOKBOOKS THAT ARE REALLY SIGNIFICANT TO THE HISTORY OF THE GENRE.

SO ONE EXAMPLE IS THIS BOOK RIGHT HERE CALLED "AMERICAN COOKERY" BY AMELIA SIMMONS.

IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1796.

OUR EDITION IS FROM 1815.

AND ONE OF THE REASONS IT'S SIGNIFICANT IS BECAUSE IT'S CONSIDERED THE FIRST AMERICAN COOKBOOK.

AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS IT WAS THE FIRST PUBLISHED BY AN AMERICAN FOR AN AMERICAN AUDIENCE AND IT FEATURES INDIGENOUS INGREDIENTS SUCH AS CORNMEAL, PUMPKIN, CRANBERRIES, THINGS LIKE THAT.

>> THAT'S AMAZING.

WHAT A GREAT PIECE OF HISTORY THAT KIND OF CAME FROM A COOKBOOK.

THAT'S FASCINATING.

WELL, I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE MORE.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR US?

>> I WOULD LOVE TO TURN YOU OVER TO MY CO-CURATOR BETH WHO'S GOING TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS IN THIS EXHIBIT.

>> WONDERFUL.

I CAN'T WAIT.

THANKS, JOLIE.

>> HI, BETH.

>> HI, KATE.

>> THANKS FOR SHOWING ME MORE OF THE EXHIBIT.

WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME THE THEME OF THIS CASE?

>> THIS CASE IS CALLED "COOKBOOKS AND GLOBAL FOODWAYS."

AND IT'S REALLY DEDICATED TO SHOWCASE THE WAYS IN WHICH AMERICAN COOKING AND COOKBOOKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MADE UP OF FOODS AND RECIPES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.

FROM INDIGENOUS AMERICAN FOODS.

FROM IMMIGRANTS, DIASPORIC PEOPLE.

FROM ASIA, EUROPE, FROM AFRICA, FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE AMERICAS.

>> WONDERFUL.

I LOVE THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE REPRESENTED.

>> EXACTLY.

>> DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITES IN HERE?

>> I REALLY LOVE ALL THE COOKBOOKS IN THIS CASE.

IT'S HARD TO PICK ONE.

SOME OF THE ONES THAT I PARTICULARLY LIKE ARE THIS ONE, "BABETTE'S COOKBOOKS," WHICH IS REALLY THE FIRST COOKBOOK THAT WAS DEDICATED TO JEWISH FOODS.

IT'S PUBLISHED IN CINCINNATI IN 1886.

AND IT'S MARKETED TOWARD JEWISH AMERICANS BUT IT'S ALSO VERY ASSIMILATIONIST.

WE KNOW THAT IT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT, AND IT'S A FASCINATING BOOK.

>> I BET.

>> ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITES IS THE BEAUTIFUL ONE OVER THERE, CHINESE-JAPANESE COOKBOOK, WHICH IS UNDERSTOOD AS BEING ONE OF THE FIRST BOTH CHINESE AND JAPANESE COOKBOOKS PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE AUTHORS ARE TWO SISTERS.

>> OH, WOW.

>> THEY AND ANOTHER -- THE THIRD SISTER ARE UNDERSTOOD AS BEING THREE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHINESE-AMERICAN AUTHORS IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUS COVER.

>> I ALSO LOVE THE COVER.

>> STUNNING.

>> YEAH, IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

>> WOW.

>> BUT PROBABLY THE ONE THAT I'M MOST -- I SPENT THE MOST TIME LEAFING THROUGH IS THIS, THE NATIONAL COOKERY BOOK, WHICH IS ACTUALLY CREATED BY BEN FRANKLIN'S GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER.

>> OH, YOU'RE KIDDING.

>> IN 1876.

AND SHE WAS ORGANIZING THE WOMEN'S PAVILION FOR THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION AND CREATED THIS COOKBOOK WHICH WAS, AS IS THE WHOLE CASE, DESIGNED TO SHOWCASE HOW AMERICAN COOKING COMES FROM ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT CULTURES.

SO THERE ARE RECIPES FOR KUGEL, FOR DOLME, FOR SAUERKRAUT, FOR RISOTTO, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

AND THERE'S A SPECIAL SECTION OF IT DEDICATED TO INDIGENOUS AMERICAN COOKING WHERE THERE ARE RECIPES FOR BAKED BEAR, BOILED MUD TURTLE.

>> WOW.

>> AND MANY RECIPES FOR INDIAN CORN.

>> THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

I WOULD IMAGINE WITH AN AMERICAN COOKBOOK LIKE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A RECIPE FOR APPLE PIE?

>> OH, YES, THERE IS.

IN FACT, ACTUALLY SPEAKING OF APPLE PIES WE HAVE A WHOLE WALL DEDICATED TO APPLE PIES.

>> I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT.

>> SO WHEN JOLIE AND I WERE PLANNING THE EXHIBIT ONE OF THE THINGS WE REALLY WANTED TO DO WAS TO SHOWCASE THE EVOLUTION OF RECIPES FROM THE 18th CENTURY TO THE 21st CENTURY.

AND WE DECIDED THAT THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS WAS APPLE PIE.

AND SO THIS WALL HAS EXAMPLES FROM -- APPLE PIE RECIPES FROM AS EARLY AS 1815 TO THE LAST ONE, WHICH IS 1989.

AND THAT ONE RIGHT THERE IS FROM THE COOKBOOK THAT JOLIE WAS TALKING ABOUT AT THE VERY BEGINNING.

>> WOW.

>> AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL COOKERY BOOK APPLE PIE RECIPE.

>> THAT IS FASCINATING, JUST TO SEE THE WAY THAT ONE SIMPLE RECIPE HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS.

>> YEAH, WE LIKE THE FACT THAT IT CHANGED BUT ALSO THERE WERE OBVIOUS CONTINUITIES AS WELL.

>> THE ESSENCE OF APPLE PIE REMAINS THE SAME.

>> EXACTLY.

>> THAT'S AMAZING.

I LOVE THE PIE WALL.

I SEE YOU MIGHT HAVE AN INTERACTIVE STATION OVER HERE.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT?

>> ONE OF THE PARTS ABOUT COOKBOOKS THAT IS SO INTERESTING TO US IS THAT IT'S DEEPLY PERSONAL.

AND SO WE WANTED TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE VISITORS COULD COME AND PROVIDE THEIR OWN PERSONAL RECIPES, COOKBOOKS THAT THEY WANTED TO RECOMMEND OR THAT THEY LOVED, RECIPES THAT HAD BEEN HANDED DOWN FROM GENERATIONS.

SO IT'S A PLACE TO WRITE THIS DOWN AND THEN PUT IT ON OUR CORKBOARD SO WE COULD HAVE IT FOR POSTERITY.

>> I LOVE THAT.

LET'S CHECK IT OUT.

>> JOLIE IS ALREADY THERE.

>> THIS IS GREAT.

WELL, BETH AND JOLIE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHOWING ME AROUND THIS EXHIBIT.

IT MAKES ME WANT TO GO HOME AND BAKE AN APPLE PIE.

>> DO YOU WANT TO WRITE DOWN OUR FAVORITE RECIPES?

>> LET'S DO IT.

♪♪