The Fabulous Fannie Farmer

The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook publishes January 30, 2024!

Fannie Farmer, America’s most famous cooking teacher, discovers that precise measurements are a recipe for cooking success in this STEAM picture book that includes two of her classic recipes.

Fannie believed that knowing how to cook is not something you’re born with–it takes hard work! She also pioneered the use of standard measurements. In 1892, Fannie wrote in her famous cookbook, “Correct measurements are absolutely necessary to ensure the best results,” and she is known today as The Mother of Measurement.

Meet Fannie Farmer, the woman who whipped up a cooking revolution–with a dose of science. When Fannie was a child in the late 1800s, recipes might call for “a goodly amount of salty” or “butter the size of an egg,” or even “a suspicion of nutmeg.” How much was that?! Home cooks were supposed to use their “feminine instincts” or just guess. But Fannie thought anyone should be able to bake a cake or serve a stew. After surviving polio and working hard to become a cooking teacher, Fannie discovered that precise measurements made cooking a piece of cake. Using her new approach, Fannie wrote a bestselling cookbook that is still used today because it allows anyone to make tasty meals–no guesswork or instincts required.

Author Emma Bland Smith and artist Susan Reagan prepare a delectable portrait of this food icon who continues to have a prominent place in kitchens all over the world.

Learn more here about Susan Reagan’s other books!