[Sca-cooks] printed cookbooks prior to 1501 -- Platina

[emilio szabo]

<<   
> Well, whether or not Platina may be called a cookbook,  depends on  
> your criteria.

What criteria would be applicable for not calling it a cookbook?

Adamantius, just wondering >>


Now, come on!


The book includes, "contains" (Terry Decker) culinary recipes. Sure. According to this criterion, one might say that it includes a book on cookery (among other things). 


Milham, page vii (viewing the text in the perspective of her previous Apicius work): "the second major Latin book on cookery"


On page 1, she calles it: "this work on food and health".


Let us look at book 1.


Chapter 1 deals with the place to live.


Chapter 2 deals with physical exercise.


Chapter 5 deals with sleep.


Chapter 7 deals with sexual intercourse.


Capter 18 deals with medical properties of plums (no culinary aspects). And so do many other chapters.


Now we go to book II. No culinary recipes.


Book III etc. No culinary recipes.


In the beginning of the sixth book, where the culinary part starts, the author looks back to the previous chapters: 


"Although the nature and force of those foods which humans customarily eat has been explained ...".



As you are well aware, books about "the nature and force" of foods are called dietetic books. 


They include topics like physical exercise, sexual intercourse, dreams, etc.


In this sense (or: according to this criterion), Platinas book might be called a dietetic treatise (which includes the recipes of Martino).


E.