National Library of Israel Acquires the World’s Earliest Known Kosher Cookbook

The National Library of Israel has acquired a rare original copy of what is widely regarded as the world’s earliest kosher cookbook, an English-language volume from 1846 that opens a window onto Jewish cooking and household life in Victorian England. Titled “The Jewish Manual of Modern Cookery, With a Collection of Valuable Recipes & Hints Relating to the Toilette,” it was published anonymously under the byline “A Lady” and is widely attributed to Lady Judith Montefiore, wife of the British Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore.

Unveiled ahead of the Shavuot holiday, the volume preserves some of the earliest known cheesecake recipes in Jewish culinary literature, alongside dairy dishes that echo the holiday’s traditional foods. First identified in the Jewish Division of the New York Public Library and later reprinted in facsimile in 1983, the book was connected to Montefiore through scholarly research noting that its recipes mirror dishes served in her household — she was one of the few Jewish women in Victorian England to carry the title “Lady.”

Among its pages are cheesecakes and dairy fare, a “Palestine soup” made with veal, chicken, Jerusalem artichokes, and spices, and household and beauty advice of the era. The author wrote that she hoped to guide “the young Jewish housekeeper in the luxury and economy of ‘The Table.’” Curator Dr. Chaim Neria said obtaining a physical copy fit the library’s mission to collect and preserve the heritage and culture of the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the Land of Israel. Montefiore, who journeyed with her husband to the Land of Israel several times, died in 1862.

(INN/VFI News)

“Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” – Proverbs 31:31

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