Milwaukee Public Library's Historic Recipe Files

For over 20 years, from the 1960s until the 1980s, librarians at the Milwaukee Public Library clipped hundreds of recipes from the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel. These recipes were heavily used at Ready Reference to answer telephone questions relating to various recipes. Before recipes were readily available on the internet, someone in the Milwaukee area looking for a particular recipe or cooking technique would call Ready Reference.

These clipped recipes form the nucleus of the Historic Recipe File digital collection. Many of Milwaukee's favorite foods appear in the recipes in this collection. This collection provides a fascinating glimpse into the local and ethnic foods that were popular in Milwaukee from as long as 50 years ago.

And here is a short video from CNN in which chef Jose Andres talks about the history of American cuisine: