A Taste of Tradition: The First Printed Mexican Cookbooks - Part 1
Discover the rich flavors of history with this selection from the Mexican Cookbook Collection at UTSA Libraries. Explore centuries-old recipes and the stories behind them.
Mexican cuisine has deeply influenced Mexican American culture, shaping the food traditions enjoyed across the U.S. This selection from UTSA Libraries highlights some of the earliest printed Mexican cookbooks, offering a glimpse into culinary practices that crossed borders. From a New York-printed cookbook in 1828 to regional recipes, these books reveal the roots of the Mexican American culinary identity still celebrated today.
Arte nuevo de cocina y repostería acomodado al uso mexicano (1828)Original Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
Arte nuevo de cocina...1828
Published in 1828 by Casa de Lanuza, Mendía, and Company of New York, Arte nuevo de cocina y repostería acomodado al uso mexicano is the earliest known published cookbook on Mexican cuisine.
Casa de Lanuza, Mendía, and Company was a New York-based Spanish language printing house, publishing firm, and book store.
Arte nuevo de cocina y repostería acomodado al uso mexicano Arte nuevo de cocina y repostería acomodado al uso mexicano (1828)Original Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
The cookbook contains 630 recipes in eight main sections called Tratados (treatises), along with a Supplement. Recipes are divided into courses in the order in which they would be served.
Beginning with soups and salads, the book then focuses on a strong representation of guisados (stews) and other entrees, and finishes with several sections dedicated to a variety of postres (desserts) and dulces (sweets). The Supplement contains over 100 additional guisados.
Arte nuevo de cocina y repostería acomodado al uso mexicano (1828)Original Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
We do not know who wrote or compiled the recipes. Interestingly, the recipes are replicated word-for-word in an 1831 cookbook, Novisimo arte de cocina, ó, Escelente colección de las mejores recetas.
Novisimo arte de cocina (1831)Original Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
Novisimo arte de cocina... 1831
Printed by Alejandro Valdés , Novisimo arte de cocina, ó, Escelente colección de las mejores recetas is one of two cookbooks from 1831 that are considered the first on Mexican cuisine published in Mexico.
Alejandro Valdés was the son of famed printer and editor Manuel Antonio Valdés Murguía. An announcement of the book appeared in the newspaper El Sol, in Mexico City, on October 7, 1831.
The title page includes a dedication to “Las Señoritas Mexicanas”
Novisimo arte de cocina Novisimo arte de cocina (1831)Original Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
Index
Novisimo arte de cocina reprints the eight main sections – Tratados – of the 1828 book Arte nuevo de cocina y repostería acomodado al uso mexicano, following the same order.
The Supplement of both books begins with the same recipes, but Novisimo arte de cocina adds more guisados and contains additional sections for ensaladas, dulces especiales, and masas.
In total, Valdés included 212 more recipes than Arte nuevo de cocina y repostieria acomodado al uso Mexicano . It also contains a new 15-page section called “Arte de trinchar” [Art of Carving] with two pages of illustrations.
El cocinero mexicano, volume I (1831)Original Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
El Cocinero Mexicano...1831
Both published in 1831, El cocinero mexicano, ó, Coleccion de las mejores recetas para guisar al estilo americano: y de las mas selectas segun el metodo de las cocinas español and Novisimo arte de cocina are considered the first cookbooks printed in Mexico.
El cocinero Mexicano was printed as a three-volume set. Each volume is classified into tratados (treatises) according to type of dish.
El cocinero mexicano volume I (1831)University of Texas at San Antonio Special Collections
Volume I begins with a section on proper table service and includes a fold-out diagram.
Variations of mole recipes found in volume II
Subsequent editions of El cocinero mexicano were re-structured as a culinary dictionary.
Diccionario de cocina : o el nuevo cocinero mexicano en forma de diccionario ... (1845) by Mariano Galván RiveraOriginal Source: Physical copy at University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
Diccionario de cocina...1845
Diccionario de cocina or El nuevo cocinero mexicano en forma de diccionario was published in Mexico City in 1845.
Its author, Mariano Galván Rivera (1782-1876), was a bookseller, publisher, and calendarist. The publisher, Ignancio Cumplido, was a businessman and printer of the mid-19th century.
In addition to a full-page recto illustration complete with hand water-colored salad plates and alphabetical entries, each section includes illustrated headers that refer to an ingredient in the section. There are three appendices after “Z.”
Appendix I : Table Service
There are 26 pages that lay out what to serve in each full course, the type of ingredients needed and a useful list of wines to serve with the meal.
Table settings
The book ends with table setting diagrams for twelve and twenty plates in a formal dining service and butchery charts for a variety of species.
Each volume has a lengthy and detailed index in the back, making the navigation of the many sections very easy.
19th century booksUniversity of Texas at San Antonio Special Collections
Continue exploring 19th century Mexican coobooks in our Part 2 by clicking here.
UTSA Libraries' Mexican Cookbook Collection comprises several thousand volumes dating from 1789-present. The collection contains many editions of nearly all of the 16 titles published in Mexico in the 19th century, as well as a Mexican cookbook published in New York in 1828.
William Glenn, Moira Mackay, Amy Rushing
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