Fannie Merritt Farmer was born in Boston, MA in 1857. After suffering from a paralytic stroke at the young age of 16, she was unable to continue with her formal education. During these hard years in which she was unable to walk, she took up cooking and started to become know for the quality meals she served at her mother's boarding house.
Farmer's health slowly progressed to the point that should could walk, although with a limp. At the age of 30 she enrolled at the Boston Cooking School and soon became one of their top students. Her training focused on nutrients in diet, food sanitation, chemical analysis of food, and cooking and baking techniques.
Because of her unique skill set she became, first the Director's assistance, and then in 1891, the school's principle.
In 1896 she published her best known work, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Poor sales were predicted and only 3,000 copies where first printed at her own expense. However, with over 1,800 recipes including comprehensive instructions and a standardize the system of measurements, the 'Fanny Farmer's Cookbook' became a huge hit with American housewives. Previous cooking instruction where vague and promised varying results. What exactly is a 'piece of butter the size of an egg'? Farmer became know as 'the mother of level measurements' for the preciseness of her ingredients that ensured consistent success.
Fanny Farmer went on to lecture at Harvard Medical School to doctors, nurses, and dieticians speaking about the importance of diet during convalescence. She believed rightly that appearance, taste, and presentation of food had much to do with encouraging a poor appetite.
Her name today is synonymous with precision, organization, and quality food. The best testament to her success is that her beloved cookbook is still in print today, well over 100 years since it's original publication.
Additional Info:
The Boston Cooking School opened on March 10, 1879 at 158½ Tremont Street
In 1902, the Boston Cooking School became part of Boston's Simmons College.
"It is my wish that it may not only be looked upon as a compilation of tried and tested recipes, but that it may awaken an interest through its condensed scientific knowledge which will lead to deeper thought and broader study of what to eat." - Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1896) preface by Fanny Farmer
