Major Research Tools

Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project

Full-Text

Coverage: Late 18th to early 20th century

An online collection of some of the most important and influential American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century. The digital archive includes page images of 76 cookbooks from the MSU Library's collection as well as searchable full-text transcriptions.


Food and Drink in History

Full-Text
Coverage: 16th-21st centuries

Primary sources from the U.S., UK, and Australia on global food history.


Global Commodities

Data, Full-Text

Primary sources such as manuscripts/diaries, rare books, maps, paintings, advertisements, company records, etc., covering the global history of 15 major commodities: chocolate, coffee, cotton, fur, energy, opium, porcelain, silver & gold, spices, sugar, tea, timber, tobacco, wheat, wine & spirits. Also includes data on energy production, consumption, and reserves by country from 1965 to the present.


Other Suggested Tools

Food Timeline

Gateway

A timeline of the development of foods throughout history.  Includes sources from cook books, newspapers, magazines, National Historic Parks, government agencies, universities, cultural organizations, culinary historians, and company/restaurant web sites.


What's on the Menu?

Full-Text

Coverage: 1840's - present

The New York Public Library’s restaurant menu collection is one of the largest in the world.  The searchable database allows users to search and transcribe the digitized collection of over 17,500 menus.