Abstract

JUAREZ LOPEZ, José Luis. The Emergence of Recipes for Infants and Children in Mexican Family Cookbooks, 1911-1950. Hist. graf [online]. 2012, n.39, pp.147-166. ISSN 1405-0927.

This article traces the development of infancy and childhood as distinct social categories. Cooking recipes tailored specifically for infants and children began to appear in cookbooks during the first half of the twentieth century. Initially seeking to establish the distinct nutritional needs of infants and children, these recipes soon gained currency among doctors. Later they served as the foundation for official doctrine on family welfare. Though short-lived, the movement of childhood nutrition firmly established the belief that the dietary needs of infants and children differed from those of adults. Additionally, examining cooking recipes as historical sources for understanding this ideological shift sheds new light on the history of health, family, and nutrition in early twentieth-century Mexico.

Keywords : cooking for children; cook books; children; nourishment.