Cozinheiro Imperial
- Year
- 1840
- Era
- 19th century
- Origin
- Brazil · Americas
- Language
- Portuguese
- Category
- Latin America
Cozinheiro Imperial, issued under the initials R.C.M. in 1840, holds the distinction of being the earliest printed cookbook published in Brazil. Compiled in Portuguese during the early years of the Second Reign, it brought European culinary conventions, particularly French and Portuguese, into a Brazilian printing context and went on to enjoy numerous reissues through the nineteenth century, shaping the country's emerging bourgeois domestic cookery.
Cooking from this book
Canja de galinha
Signature dishA comforting chicken and rice soup, gently enriched with aromatics and often a squeeze of lemon, canja occupies a quietly emblematic place in the Cozinheiro Imperial. As the first cookbook printed in Brazil, the volume codified dishes already woven into Luso-Brazilian domestic life, and canja stands out as a bridge between Portuguese kitchen traditions and the emerging table of imperial Brazil, equally at home as nursery food, convalescent fare, and family supper.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.