The National Library of Israel has obtained a rare original copy of what is widely considered the first-ever kosher cookbook — an English-language volume published in 1846 featuring recipes, as well as household advice and beauty treatments.

It is believed to have been compiled by Lady Judith Montefiore, a British linguist and philanthropist, and the wife of famous financier Sir Moses Montefiore.

The book, titled “The Jewish Manual of Modern Cookery, With a Collection of Valuable Recipes & Hints Relating to the Toilette,” was originally published anonymously under the byline “A Lady.”

Scholars later linked the work to Montefiore, one of the few Jewish women in Victorian England to hold the title “Lady,” after researchers identified similarities between the recipes and dishes known to have been served in the Montefiore household.

The acquisition came ahead of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and includes some of the earliest recorded cheesecake recipes in Jewish culinary literature,........

© The Times of Israel