According to most authorities and authors who follow culinary history, the first printed Serbian cookbook is Srbskij kuvar (Serbian cook) compiled and printed by Hieromonk Jerotej Draganović.
After a long search, I came across a beautifully preserved copy, which I added to the family library.
Hieromonk of Krušedol Monastery prepared and printed this book on St. Peter's Day in 1855.
In the preface of this book, hieromonk Jerotej Draganović says:
"Desiring to be useful to my dear family, I worked for many years on this book, which, as I sincerely wish, will be of great need to our family. Before I received the monastic order, I learned the art of cooking in the Court of His Eminence the Patriarch, in which I achieved so much success that I am now able to publish a book, which I named The Serbian Cook. It contains 302 rules for the preparation of various types of dishes, which I have thoroughly examined each one by one, convinced myself by trying them that they are good and perfect, and that they can be included in the book, which I present to you, dear reader, as a gift, kindly begging you that you receive it with the sincerity with which I give it to You. From this book, our young Serbian man will learn how to cook tasty and healthy meals, without exaggerating the amount of fat and other things. This book, as much as it is necessary for health, and necessary, is also useful for home economics, it will save you fat and support your health.
Hieromonk Jerotej Draganović in the Krušedol monastery
on St. Peter's Day 1835 (1855)
In the editor's foreword, it can be read that for the occasion of this edition (from 1989) a somewhat modified edition of the original from 1855 was used, which copy was damaged: some pages were missing. Those pages were supplemented with recipes by Dr. Vojislav Jovanović and old Serbian families who had written recipes. That copy of the book belonged to the family of Jevrem Rajić and on the back pages the sisters of the poet Velimir Rajić wrote their recipes.
The original version of the book was printed in the Slavic-Serbian language.
The 1989 edition of the book was prepared by Jelena Radovanović and Milica Radovanović, the publisher was Jelena Radovanović, and the printing was done by GRO "Kultura", Belgrade.
What I personally blame the then editor and publisher of the book, printed in 1989, is that in many recipes, baking powder appears as an ingredient. It is unlikely that the original recipes, which the hieromonk Jerotije Draganović prepared and wrote down, had baking powder in the ingredients. I state this, considering the facts, that the mass production of baking powder began only in 1855-1866. Also, it is unlikely that baking powder was readily available in these parts.
It can be assumed that the mention of baking powder in the 1989 edition is a consequence of the above-mentioned correspondence of recipes from the then owners of the original copy of the book used by the editor, or it was a free assessment and addition by the editor himself.
In any case, this was the main reason why I did not use the data and recipes from this book while I was preparing and writing the book Traditional Recipes of Serbian Domestic Cuisine.
Regardless of everything, Srbskij kuvar (Serbian cook) signed by hieromonk Jerotej Draganović, remains in a special place in the history and culinary history of this region, as the first cook signed by a Serbian author. And it should have its own special place in every family library.
READ: WHERE CAN I BUY THE BOOK TRADITIONAL RECIPES OF HOME SERBIAN CUISINE?
Read more:
The Recipes and Kuvar online portal is ranked among the TOP 50 websites in Serbia!
Don't miss a recipe - Recipes and cookbook online on Facebook. Stay tuned, follow the Recipes and Cookbook twitter notifications!
