The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book
The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, first published in 1954,[1] is one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time. Alice B. Toklas, writer Gertrude Stein's life partner, wrote the book to make up for her unwillingness at the time to write her memoirs, in deference to Stein's 1933 book, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.
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| Author | Alice B. Toklas |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
Publication date | 1954 |
| ISBN | 978-1-897959-19-0 |
| OCLC | 478175 |
This work is as much of an autobiography as it is a cookbook, in that it contains as many personal recollections as it does recipes. The most famous culinary experiment is a concoction called "Hashish Fudge". Made from spices, nuts, fruit, and cannabis, Hashish Fudge quickly became a sensation in its own right. In the recipe, Toklas says it is called "the food of paradise" and goes on to suggest places where the cook might find the cannabis. She adds that the fudge can liven up any gathering and is "easy to whip up on a rainy day." She cautions two pieces are quite enough and that one should be prepared for hysterical fits of laughter and wild floods of thoughts on "many simultaneous planes."
Although Toklas later said that this recipe was given to her by her friend Brion Gysin, her name is forever linked with cannabis edibles due to its great success.[2]
References
- "Making Cannabis Edibles at Home". Portland Press Herald. September 18, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- Layla Eplett (April 20, 2015). "Go Ask Alice: The History of Toklas' Legendary Hashish Fudge". Scientific American blogs. Scientific American.
External links
- Malcolm, Janet (26 October 2007). "The odd couple". The Guardian.
- Alice B. Toklas (April 29, 1960). Readings From The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book (Spoken word) (streaming digital audio). Verve Records via Pacifica Radio Archives. 05:30 minutes in. Verve MGV-15017. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
Alice B. Toklas reads Brion Gysin's hashish fudge recipe from The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book