Recipe Writing and Cultural Dialogue: Martha Crawford and the Composition of Foreign Cookery

飲食書寫與文化對話：高第丕夫人與《造洋飯書》的成書問題

余文章(Isaac YUE)

《中國飲食文化》 15卷1期 (2019/04) Pp. 1-34

摘要

The publication of Martha Crawford's (1830-1909) Foreign Cookery 造洋飯書 in 1866 marks the first time in culinary history that a cookbook of non-Chinese recipes was published in Chinese language. Although Crawford's intention was less to promote cultural exchange as to instruct her Chinese servants how to properly prepare her dinners, the book's eventual popularity with Chinese readers offers a glimpse into the potential importance of cookbooks as engines of culture. Curiously, despite its importance, this text has been consistently overlooked by academics conducting research on Crawford or gastronomy. The limited academic attention that the cookbook has received has not introduced readers to its content, and the handful of articles that mention the text are unanimous in their Sino-centric approach, lacking substantial discussion of the cultural context from which Crawford drew her culinary inspirations. This study is an attempt to address the above insufficiencies. By resituating Foreign Cookery within global gastronomic history and highlighting some of the more interesting aspects of its content, my aim is twofold. First, I am interested in learning more about Crawford as a person through her selection of recipes to include in her cookbook. By considering such factors as the author's upbringing, the development of the practice of recipe writing at the time, and the discrepancies between British, American, and regional Alabama cuisines, I intend to establish a parallel between food and identity and to show how recipe writing can be read as an extension of cultural affiliation. Secondly, I would like to further establish the cultural significance of food and eating from a socio-historical perspective. In particular, through using Foreign Cookery as a case study, I seek to comment on the extent to which cookbooks can be read as vessels that facilitate different cultural dialogues and the construction of identity.

關鍵字

Martha Foster Crawford ； Foreign Cookery ； cookbook ； cultural identity

並列摘要

1866年由高第丕夫人所撰的《造洋飯書》，為飲食史上首部以中文寫成的外國食譜。高第丕夫人的著書動機，乃是教導不諳英語的傭人為外國人烹調食物，不料此書出版後，當時不諳英語，卻又希望一窺外國飲食文化的中國民眾，意外地成為了它的主要讀者群，此乃所作者始料不及的。遺憾的是，此書對促進中西文化交流，十分重要，可是大部分研究高第丕夫人和飲食文化的學者，均沒有注意到它的價值；即使偶有提及《造洋飯書》的學術著作，均普遍缺乏深度，導致《造洋飯書》的文化意涵，長期被受忽略。本文的研究動機，在於補苴前賢研究，並且從比較文化的角度，重新審視《造洋飯書》的內容，其目的有二。其一是增加學術界對高第丕夫人的認識。通過研究高第丕夫人所摘錄的食譜，結合其背景，當時食譜著作的風氣，與及英國、美國、和阿拉巴馬州的飲食習慣，探討飲食與文化身分的關係，並說明食譜可以視為文化的延續。其二是從社會歷史角度進一步探討飲食文化的意義，說明如何能夠將食譜解讀為不同文化對話和身分建構的載體。

並列關鍵字

高第丕夫人 ； 造洋飯書 ； 食譜 ； 文化身分

參考文獻

Acton, Eliza. (1845) 1860. Modern Cookery for Private Families. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts.

Anon. 1869. The Habits of Good Society: A Handbook for Ladies and Gentlemen. New York: Rudd & Carleton.

Appadurai, Arjun. 1988. “How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 30: 3-24.

Beeton, Isabella. (1861) 2010. Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Oxford: Benediction.

Brennan, Zoe. 1803. “Mrs Beeton’s Recipe for Shame.” Daily Mail. Sept 17, 2005.