About
La Cocina Historica is published by the University of Texas at San Antonio Special Collections Department. Featuring weekly recipes from our Mexican Cookbook Collection, this blog celebrates Mexican cuisine and culinary history. Join us every Friday to discover new recipes from the past!
The core of the UTSA Mexican Cookbook Collection came to UTSA as a donation from San Antonio resident Laurie Gruenbeck, who has collected cookbooks during her travels in Texas and Mexico for over 30 years and continues to actively participate in building the collection. Our holdings include more than 1,000 Mexican, Texan, and Southwestern cookbooks in Spanish and English, ranging in date from 1789 to 2010, with the bulk of materials dating from 1940-2000.
One of the rarest items is the first edition of Cocinero Mexicano, o Coleccion de las Mejores Recetas Para Guisar Al Estilo Americano, y de las Más Selectas Segon el Método de las Cocinas Española, Italiana, Francesa, e Inglesa, con los Procedimientos Más Sencillos Para la Fabricación de Masas, Dulces, Licores, Helados y Todo lo Necesario para la Fabricación de Masas, Dulces, Licores, Helados, y todo lo Necesario para el Decente Servicio de una Buena Mesa. This important 19th century cookbook provides detailed descriptions of traditional ingredients and their usage in traditional Mexican cooking. It was re-edited and augmented nine times between 1831 and 1891. Other highlights of the collection include a number of handwritten manuscript cookbooks, including 20th century corporate advertising cookbooks, small-scale community publications, and thorough coverage of regional Mexican cookbooks over the past four decades.
A complete listing of titles in the Mexican Cookbook Collection can be found here. All of the cookbooks are non-circulating; however, we welcome their use in our reading room in the John Peace Library during our regular hours or by appointment. For more information about the Mexican Cookbook Collection or UTSA Special Collections, please contact us.
Institute of Texan Cultures Reading Room:UTSA HemisFair Park Campus Phone: (210) 458-2381 |
John Peace Library Reading Room:John Peace Library |
