The University of Navarra publishes a critical edition of a book of recipes from the Golden Age

The Research Group Siglo de Oro (GRISO) of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Navarra has launched a critical edition of the work Arte de cocina en que se trata el modo que más se usa de guisar en este tiempo en viandas de carne y pescado, pastelería, conservería y bizcochería y lo tocante para el regalo de enfermo. A book written in 1611 by Francisco Martínez Montiño, chief cook of King Philip III, which was so successful that it was reprinted 25 times between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.

Published by the Instituto de Estudios Auriseculares (Batihoja Collection, New York, 2021), it explains how to prepare and present more than half a thousand dishes, from the simplest and most traditional to the most innovative and sophisticated. Thanks to a preliminary study and an extensive and useful glossary, he analyzes ingredients, techniques, spaces, tastes, the relationship between food and health, and the image and role of professional chefs. It also tries to approach the way of understanding the gastronomic culture in the courtly world of the Golden Age and its influence in the Spanish kitchens and kitchens until contemporary times.

The co-authors of this book are Jesús M. Usunáriz, professor of Modern History and member of GRISO, and Magalí Ortiz, graduate in History and Journalism from the University of Navarra and expert in the History of Gastronomy.