1973

The St. Louis Herb Society published two companion books in 1973, The St. Louis Herb Society Cookbook and Lore and Legend of the Great Culinary HERBS and SPICES.

The original The St. Louis Herb Society Cookbook was published in 1961 and reprinted in 1962. Work began on a new edition of The St. Louis Herb Society Cookbook in 1970 with members involved in the preparation of food for tastings. Additional printings were undertaken in 1975 and again in 1980. A third edition was published in 1994. An example of a simple to prepare 1973 vegetarian recipe that remains applicable to current times and tastes is Moroccan Carrots with parsley, cayenne pepper, paprika and ground cumin on page 82. 

Lore and Legend of the Great Culinary HERBS and SPICES was written as a companion to The St. Louis Herb Society Cookbook. The cookbook focused on recipes, “a cook book to cook by” while “Lore and Legend” was meant to be read for pleasure, and at leisure. The illustrations, some dating back to 1485, are mainly from historic herbals in the library of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Written permission was obtained from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Cambridge University Press to reproduce certain illustrations from current publications. A second printing was undertaken in October 1978 with a third printing in October 1987. Lore and Legend of the Great Culinary HERBS and SPICES, Second Edition, was published in 2014.

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