Editing Cookbook (section)

===Early works===
[[File:Apicius 1541.jpg|thumb|right|Apicius, ''[[De re coquinaria]]'', an early collection of Roman recipes]]
[[File:18th Century Recipes f.91- Biscuits.jpg|thumb|18th Century Recipes for Biscuits from a private collection of recipes]]
{{See also|Category:Medieval_cookbooks|label 1 = Category: Medieval Cookbooks}}

Not all cultures left written records of their culinary practices, but some examples have survived, notably three [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] tablets from Ancient Mesopotamia, dating to about 1700 BC, large fragments from [[Archestratus]], the Latin ''[[Apicius]]'' and some texts from the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Handbook of Food History|last=Pilcher|first=Jeremy|year=2012|publisher=Oup USA |isbn=9780199729937}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-23-fo-8362-story.html |title=Chef Breaks Code to Ancient Recipes : Babylonian Collection Now the Oldest Known to Man |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=23 May 1985 |access-date=2017-01-11 |archive-date=2017-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111073118/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-05-23/food/fo-8362_1_ancient-recipes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfqhJNUtiww |publisher=[[YouTube]] |author=Yale University |author-link=Yale University |title=Interdisciplinary team cooks 4000-year old Babylonian stews at NYU event |date=June 13, 2018 |access-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-date=June 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622220619/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfqhJNUtiww |url-status=live }}</ref>

The earliest collection of recipes that has survived in Europe is ''[[De re coquinaria]]'', written in [[Latin]]. An early version was first compiled sometime in the 1st century and has often been attributed to the Roman gourmet [[Marcus Gavius Apicius]], though this has been cast in doubt by modern research. An ''[[Apicius]]'' came to designate a book of recipes. The current text appears to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century; the first print edition is from 1483. It records a mix of ancient Greek and Roman cuisine, but with few details on preparation and cooking.<ref>Adamson, Melitta Weiss. "The Greco-Roman World" in [[Regional cuisines of medieval Europe|''Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe'']], p. 6–7; Simon Varey, "Medieval and Renaissance Italy, A. The Peninsula" in ''Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe'', pp. 85–86.</ref>

An abbreviated epitome entitled ''Apici Excerpta a Vinidario'', a "pocket Apicius" by [[Vinidarius]], "an illustrious man",<ref>About Vinidarius himself nothing is known; he may have been a Goth, in which case his Gothic name may have been ''Vinithaharjis''.</ref> was made in the [[Carolingian]] era.<ref>Christopher Grocock and Sally Grainger, ''Apicius. A critical edition with an introduction and an English translation'' (Prospect Books) 2006 {{ISBN|1-903018-13-7}}, pp. 309-325</ref> In spite of its late date it represents the last manifestation of the cuisine of Antiquity.