''The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook'' (later ''The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook'') is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

cookbook by Louise Hagler, first published in 1975. It was influential in introducing Americans to tofu, included recipes for making and using

tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, ''Rhizopus ...

and other soy foods, and became a staple in vegetarian kitchens.

History

The Farm is an

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

founded in 1971 in Lewis County, Tennessee. Their diet is

, which at the time was uncommon in the United States.

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

, seeing an opportunity to examine a large group all eating the same diet, sent nutritionists to the community. When the UNICEF experts checked the members' nutritional intake, they found it provided adequate protein but fell short in providing carbohydrates, fats, and calories. Recipes were developed to provide community members with guidance in following the experts' advice, and then collected to become the cookbook. ''The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook'' was first published in 1975 by

Book Publishing Company Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, the publishing arm of The Farm, and was a commercial success for the community. In 1978 a revised edition titled ''The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook'' was published. In 1982 it was translated into German and published under the title ''Soja Total''. According to its publisher it was the first completely vegan cookbook published in the United States. Louise Hagler wrote several books on soy foods. She became a vegetarian in 1969.

The book emphasizes soy products such as soymilk, tofu, and tempeh, and gives guidelines for making them from scratch. Douglas Stevenson in ''The Farm Then and Now'' said it was one of the first cookbooks to provide "easy-to-follow, good-tasting" vegan recipes. The Farm leader

Stephen Gaskin Stephen Gaskin (February 16, 1935 – July 1, 2014) was an American counterculture Hippie icon best known for his presence in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the 1960s and for co-founding " The Farm", a spiritual commune in 1970. H ...

wrote in the introduction that the cookbook was not intended to be "cultish, faddish, or scare people off" but instead to educate readers and inform them that a vegetarian diet is based heavily on beans.

Impact

Academic Matthew Roth in ''Magic Bean:The Rise of Soy in America'' called it a staple in vegetarian kitchens.

William Shurtleff William Roy Shurtleff (born April 28, 1941) also known as Bill Shurtleff is an American researcher and writer about soy foods. Shurtleff and his former wife Akiko Aoyagi have written and published consumer-oriented cookbooks, handbooks for small- ...

and Akiko Aoyagi said the book played an important role in introducing soy foods and a vegan diet to Americans, made a major contribution to "westernizing recipes previously Oriental in origin", and encouraged vegetarianism not only as a diet but as a lifestyle. ''Vegetarian Times'' said it pioneered vegan nutrition and introduced America to cooking with tofu. Vegetarian historians Karen and Michael Iacobbo said it was instrumental in introducing Americans to tofu, tempeh, and textured vegetable protein in the 1970s.

Reputation

In 1990 ''Vegetarian Times'' called it a staple in vegetarian kitchens and in 1994 named it one of the five best vegan cookbooks. Food historians William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi called it pioneering and influential. The ''Vegetarian Journal'' called it a "famous" cheese-alternative cookbook, noting its recipe for Macaroni and "Cheese" Casserole, which uses Nutritional yeast, nutritional yeast as a cheese substitute. The Fellowship for Intentional Community called it a classic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farm Vegetarian Cookbook 1975 non-fiction books American cookbooks Vegan cookbooks Vegan cuisine Veganism in the United States Vegetarian cookbooks Vegetarian-related mass media

History

Contents

Impact

Reputation

References