Amelia Simmons

Amelia Simmons was an American writer noted for publishing the American Cookery. This cookbook is considered an important text that provided insights into the language and culinary practices of former colonists, helping shape American identity. It is considered the first cookbook published in the United States by a person of European-American ancestry.

Biography Little is known about Simmons' life except that she was an orphan.

Simmons earned her living as a domestic worker. She was later described as a woman of modest means. In her published book, it was noted that she was preoccupied with that status in life. In her own words, Simmons claimed she was "circumscribed in her knowledge" and lacked "an education sufficient to prepare the work for the press."

According to the historian Karen Hess, Simmons probably lived in New York's Albany area, which was the center of the manufacture of potash, a prominent ingredient in Simmons' recipes. This work is considered significant for addressing the deficiencies of extant British cookbooks since it understood American culture. While a majority of the recipes were copied from British cookbooks, it also included meals that had indigenous American recipes or meals that substituted native American ingredients. Several of the recipes in the cookbook that were copied from British sources were largely from the works of Susannah Carter. Such copying was said to be commonplace and Simmons' recipes also suffered from the same practice later on.

The United States Library of Congress, owning one of the only four known first edition copies, designated the American Cookery as one of "88 Books That Shaped America".