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Cookbooks for Aliens
Aliens land on Earth. Ahhh!
Wait, wait, good news. They only have one, oddly specific demand:
"Teach us about the food from each of your 'countries'."
Which cookbook would each country send?
The cookbooks on this website are:
- The books you're most likely to find in an 80-year-old couple's kitchen
- The "book of reference" for a country's cuisine
- Each country's most comprehensive cookbook
I find these kinds of books fascinating. They help a lot with cooking, of course. The way to start learning about a cuisine is sometimes to buy one.
Reference cookbooks are also interesting anthropologically; most of the recipes in them are not groundbreaking, but they can tell you about what people eat day-to-day.
Below you can see the books. Scroll to bottom of the page to see detailed criteria.
(Ah, and if you're an alien 👽, hello! Buy these books to learn a lot about Earthly humans and what we eat.)
Note:
I have imperfect information and this is an imperfect project. As a result, not all countries here are listed. If a country is not listed, that's because I couldn't find a true 'Cookbook for Aliens' from it.
If you disagree or want to suggest a book for a country not yet listed, please email me and let me know.
Cookbooks for aliens (and humans, too)
| Country | Book | Why | Honorable Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇱Albania | Kuzhina Shqiptare: 600 receta tradicionale | hover to readMost substantial traditional Albanian reference available; post-communist cookbook tradition still developing | None strong |
| 🇩🇿Algeria | La Cuisine Algérienne | hover to readState-published (SNED); 400 recipes; collector's item at €64-400 | Le Livre d'or de la Cuisine Algérienne |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | El Libro de Doña Petrona | hover to read123+ editions; 3+ million copies; "la Biblia" of Argentine cooking; traditional wedding gift | None serious |
| 🇦🇺Australia | The Common-Sense Cookery Book | hover to readProbably the closest Australia has to a mass-market reference book | The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks |
| 🇦🇹Austria | Die gute Küche / Plachutta Wiener Küche | hover to readQuintessential Austrian classic; widely used national reference though somewhat regionally fragmented | Regional Austrian cookbooks |
| 🇦🇿Azerbaijan | The Azerbaijani Kitchen | hover to readInstitutional authority through National Culinary Association | Regional cookbooks |
| 🇧🇸Bahamas | Bahamian Cook Book: Recipes | hover to read18+ editions across 60+ years; ~425 recipes; community-sourced | Cooking the Bahamian Way by Isolene M. Rolle |
| 🇧🇩Bangladesh | Ranna Khaddo Pushti (রান্না খাদ্যপুি) | hover to readCalled "encyclopaedia of culinary arts for Bengalis"; Gourmand Award 2011; multiple editions | Bangladeshi Curry Cook Book (1984) |
| 🇧🇧Barbados | Caribbean Cookbook | hover to readFirst cookbook by a West Indian; school textbook across Caribbean. | Bajan Fare Cook Book by Edwin Ellis |
| 🇧🇪Belgium | Ons Kookboek | hover to read"Culinary bible of Flanders"; 2.5–3 million copies; ubiquitous wedding gift | Wallonia lacks equivalent |
| 🇧🇴Bolivia | Antología de la gastronomía boliviana | hover to readGovernment bicentennial project; World Cookbook Award 2021; history, chronicles, recipes | La gastronomía en Potosí y Charcas (Rossells, 800+ recipes) |
| 🇧🇼Botswana | Taste of Botswana: A Cultural Journey Through Food | hover to readBest African Cookbook of the World 2023 Gourmand; Setswana heritage author | Botswana Traditional Recipes |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Dona Benta: Comer Bem (1940) | hover to readCollective work; 78+ editions; 1+ million copies; "a bíblia da culinária brasileira"; 1,500+ recipes | None serious |
| 🇧🇫Burkina Faso | La cuisine au Burkina Faso | hover to readClosest to institutional reference in West Africa; multiple editions | Livret Mets Nationaux (government) |
| 🇰🇭Cambodia | L'Art de la cuisine cambodgienne | hover to readRoyal authorship; pre-Khmer Rouge heritage documentation; due to French language | Nhum: Recipes from a Cambodian Kitchen (modern) |
| 🇨🇦Canada | L'encyclopédie de la cuisine canadienne / Encyclopedia of Canadian Cooking | hover to read1.5+ million copies; 2,000+ recipes; bilingual; Order of Canada recipient | Canadian Cook Book (Nellie Lyle Pattinson, 1923) |
| 🇹🇩Chad | Les saveurs de chez nous: 111 recettes de cuisine du Tchad | hover to readFirst and only Chadian cookbook by Chadian author; 111 recipes | 35 entrées à savourer (follow-up) |
| 🇨🇱Chile | Gran Libro de la Cocina Chilena | hover to readEditorial team; 41+ editions; 1,300+ recipes; "una Biblia de la comida chilena" | Enciclopedia del hogar de la Tía Pepa (1898) |
| 🇨🇳China | Zhōngguó Míng Càipǔ (中国名菜谱) | hover to readGovernment-commissioned; 11 volumes 1958-60; expanded to 17 regional volumes 1988-92; Ministry of Commerce and China Cuisine Association | Zhōngguó Pēngrèn Cídiǎn (culinary dictionary) |
| 🇨🇴Colombia | Gran libro de la cocina colombiana | hover to readColcultura commission; 700+ recipes; 8 regions; most consulted in libraries 30+ years | Biblioteca Básica de Cocinas Tradicionales (18-volume government series) |
| 🇰🇲Comoros | Cuisine des îles Comores | hover to readComorian author; 100+ recipes; 30+ years documentation | Les Recettes des Comores eBook |
| 🇨🇺Cuba | Cocina al Minuto | hover to read315 recipes; hosted Cuba's TV cooking show 44 years; "el más emblemático" Cuban cookbook | Cocina Criolla (also by Villapol) |
| 🇨🇾Cyprus | Kopiaste | hover to readBest-known traditional Greek-Cypriot reference with cultural/historical context | Community cookbooks |
| 🇨🇿Czech Republic | Vaříme zdravě, chutně a hospodárně | hover to readBest-selling Czechoslovak cookbook; Czech "Joy of Cooking" analogue | Other Czechoslovak standards |
| 🇩🇰Denmark | Frøken Jensens Kogebog | hover to read1M+ copies; classic authority for traditional Danish cooking | Almanak by Claus Meyer (modern comprehensive) |
| 🇩🇯Djibouti | La Cuisine Djiboutienne | hover to readDjiboutian author; traditional recipes with cultural context. | TBD |
| 🇩🇴Dominican Republic | Mujer 2000 (4 volumes) | hover to readVol. I: 12+ editions by 1988; "el mayor fenómeno de la bibliografía gastronómica dominicana" | Cocina Criolla by Amanda Ornes (1955) |
| 🇪🇨Ecuador | La Cocina del Ecuador: Recetas y Lecturas | hover to readPreeminent researcher; recipes with historical documentation. | Gran Libro de la Cocina Ecuatoriana (1987) |
| 🇪🇬Egypt | Kitab Abla Nazira (أصول الطهي) | hover to readMinistry of Education winner; 1,800 recipes; 14+ editions; standard wedding gift; "first Arabic cooking encyclopedia" | Nasihat al-Anam (1893) |
| 🇪🇷Eritrea | Auntie Tsehai Cooks | hover to readEritrean lead author; 100+ recipes. | Taste of Eritrea by Olivia Warren |
| 🇪🇪Estonia | Eesti köök | hover to readAuthoritative Soviet-era ethnographic documentation; not truly encyclopedic | No clear mass-market equivalent |
| 🇪🇹Ethiopia | Ethiopian Traditional Recipes | hover to readThe best I could find written within the country | Exotic Ethiopian Cooking |
| 🇫🇷France | Larousse Gastronomique / Je sais cuisiner | hover to readTwo-book tradition: professional encyclopedia + home-cooking bestseller | None comparable |
| 🇬🇦Gabon | Gastronomie Gabonaise | hover to read"1st Collection on Authentic Gabonese Cuisine"; 9 provinces. | La cuisine gabonaise de A à Z |
| 🇬🇪Georgia | Kartuli Samzareulo (ქართული სამზარეულო) | hover to readNational treasure; ~800-900 recipes; Restaurant Barbarestan recreates dishes from it | Georgian Cuisine and Toasting |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Dr. Oetker Schulkochbuch | hover to read19M+ copies; century-long household standard | Backen macht Freude (baking) |
| 🇬🇭Ghana | The Ghana Cookbook | hover to readGourmand Award; Barbara Baëta is "national treasure." | Earlier works by Bill Odartey |
| 🇬🇷Greece | Vefa's Kitchen (Η Κουζίνα μου) | hover to readNationally recognized doyenne; 700+ recipes; TV + bestselling authority | Diane Kochilas cookbooks |
| 🇬🇹Guatemala | La cocina popular guatemalteca: mitos, hechos y anécdotas | hover to readUniversidad de San Carlos; 445+ pages; comprehensive anthropological analysis | Cocina Guatemalteca (De Museo) |
| 🇭🇺Hungary | Gundel's Hungarian Cookbook | hover to readGundel name synonymous with national gastronomy; long-lasting classic | Ilona Horvath (home cooking) |
| 🇮🇸Iceland | Matur og Drykkur | hover to readDecades-long household bible; tied to housewife schools tradition | Matarást (modern successor) |
| 🇮🇳India | Samaithu Paar | hover to readTamil; 3 volumes; "given as wedding gifts to Tamil brides"; 70+ years continuous print; Gourmand Award 2011. | Tarla Dalal (170+ books, vegetarian only) |
| 🇮🇩Indonesia | Mustikarasa (1960-61) | hover to readGovernment-commissioned by Sukarno; 1,207 pages; 1,600+ recipes; "Indonesia's first and only national cookbook" | Masakan Indonesia by Yasa Boga |
| 🇮🇷Iran | Honar-e Aashpazi (هنر آشپزی) | hover to read41st edition; 1,700 recipes; "in almost every Iranian household" | Jafari series |
| 🇮🇪Ireland | Ballymaloe Cookery Course / Irish Traditional Cooking | hover to readAuthor-driven but nationally recognized; comprehensive reference from iconic cooking school | Other Irish author cookbooks |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Il cucchiaio d'argento | hover to read70+ years; definitive national cookbook; widely owned and updated | Il Talismano della Felicità by Ada Boni |
| 🇯🇲Jamaica | The Real Taste of Jamaica | hover to read150,000+ copies; "best-selling Jamaican cookbook from the island"; Ian Randle Publishers | Traditional Jamaican Cookery by Norma Benghiat |
| 🇯🇵Japan | Nihon Ryōri Taizen (日本料理大全) | hover to readPost-2013 UNESCO recognition; institutional authorship | Traditional texts (Ryōri Monogatari, 1643) |
| 🇰🇪Kenya | Alice Taabu's Cookery Book | hover to readGourmand Award 2002; hosted Mke Nyumbani TV 20+ years; "household name in Kenya" | Explore the Kenyan Kitchen by Mary Wayua Plancherel |
| 🇱🇦Laos | Traditional Recipes of Laos | hover to readRoyal palace chef; 124 recipes; posthumous publication in English | Limited alternatives |
| 🇱🇻Latvia | Mājturības un Vārīšanas Māksla | hover to readInterwar definitive household reference; republished; heirloom status | Exile publications |
| 🇱🇧Lebanon | Fann al-Tabkh (فن الطبخ) | hover to read464 recipes; continuously in print 60 years; Lebanese publisher | Man'oushe and modern chef books |
| 🇱🇸Lesotho | Cuisine of the Mountain Kingdom: Cooking in Lesotho | hover to readFirst and only documented Basotho cookbook; Best African Cookbook 2012 Gourmand; Queen's foreword | None prior existed |
| 🇱🇹Lithuania | Valgių gaminimas | hover to readFirst Lithuanian culinary book; huge Soviet-era circulation; basic reference | Birutė Imbrasienė (post-independence) |
| 🇲🇬Madagascar | Ma cuisine de Madagascar | hover to readAuthor born in Madagascar; anthropological approach. | La Cuisine Malgache by Jeannot Randroso Ikalapiso |
| 🇲🇼Malawi | Malawi Cookbook | hover to read170 recipes; Malawian author. | Government nutrition materials |
| 🇲🇺Mauritius | The Best of Mauritian Cuisine | hover to readMauritian authors; Gourmand Awards; multi-ethnic documentation | The Island Kitchen by Selina Periampillai |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Diccionario Enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana | hover to read4,000+ terms; Gourmand Award 2012; Premio CANIEM 2013; called "prophet of culinary tradition" by Time | Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana; El cocinero mexicano (1831) |
| 🇲🇿Mozambique | Cozinha Moçambicana | hover to readFirst cookbook of traditional Mozambican cuisine; published at independence; official government | Sabores do Índico by Maria Fernanda Sampaio |
| 🇳🇦Namibia | My Hungry Heart: Notes from a Namibian Kitchen | hover to readBest Cookbook in the World for African Cuisine 2009 Gourmand. | Life on a Table (2015) |
| 🇳🇱Netherlands | Het nieuwe Haagse kookboek | hover to readCooking-school origin; 90+ years in kitchens; 82nd printing | Margriet Kookboek |
| 🇳🇿New Zealand | Edmonds Cookery Book | hover to readStaple in the country since 1908. | A Treasury of New Zealand Cooking |
| 🇳🇪Niger | Trésor Culinaire du Niger | hover to readGovernment-recognized; 40 recipes; additional volumes planned. | Cooking Hali blog |
| 🇳🇴Norway | Den rutete kokeboken | hover to read250k+ copies; national household standard; famous TV authority | Gyldendals store kokebok |
| 🇴🇲Oman | Al-Azaf (الأزاف) | hover to read"First comprehensive book on Omani food" | Limited alternatives |
| 🇵🇰Pakistan | Dalda Ka Dastarkhwan (دالدہ کا دسترخوان) | hover to readCorporate-sponsored (Dalda brand); de facto household reference; Urdu | Zubaida Tariq's cookbooks |
| 🇵🇦Panama | Cocina Panameña | hover to read2+ editions; bilingual; 110 pages—relatively short | Limited alternatives |
| 🇵🇾Paraguay | Tembi'u Paraguai – Comida Paraguaya | hover to read20+ editions; founded Paraguay's first culinary institute (1964); bilingual with Guaraní | Cocina paraguaya by Sarita Garofalo (Gourmand 2011) |
| 🇵🇪Peru | ¿Qué cocinaré hoy? Recetario Nicolini (1959) | hover to readCorporate-sponsored but "referente infaltable"; practical guide not academic encyclopedia | El Arte de la Cocina Peruana by Tony Custer (100,000+ copies) |
| 🇵🇭Philippines | Recipes of the Philippines | hover to readMultiple printings over 50+ years | Kulinarya (Coffee Table Book) |
| 🇵🇱Poland | Uniwersalna książka kucharska | hover to readMonumental pre-war reference; "mandatory in every kitchen" | 365 Obiadów (predecessor) |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa | hover to readBestselling national classic; near-ubiquitous in households | Portugal: The Cookbook (modern) |
| 🇨🇬Republic of the Congo | La cuisine congolaise | hover to readEU Regional Bantu Cultural Program; all regions; 216 pages | None significant |
| 🇷🇴Romania | Carte de Bucate | hover to readMost reprinted Romanian publication; household-standard canonical work | Radu Anton Roman |
| 🇷🇺Russia | Книга о вкусной и здоровой пище | hover to readUSSR Institute of Nutrition; state-endorsed household bible | Molokhovets (pre-revolutionary) |
| 🇷🇼Rwanda | Uruhimbi: Rwanda's Gastronomy and Culinary Arts | hover to readFirst book on Rwandan cuisine; Gourmand Special Award 2025; foreword by First Lady | None prior existed |
| 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia | Min Fann al-Tabkh al-Saudi (من فن الطبخ السعودي) | hover to readMulti-volume series; limited verification available | Regional cookbooks |
| 🇸🇳Senegal | Cuisine Sénégalaise | hover to readSenegalese author; 65 recipes; L'Harmattan publisher | Sénégal, cuisine intime by Youssou N'Dour |
| 🇷🇸Serbia | Patin Kuvar / Veliki narodni kuvar | hover to readCentury-long "Serbian culinary Bible"; crowdsourced national treasury | Yugoslav era references |
| 🇸🇨Seychelles | Discover Seychelles Creole Cuisine | hover to readLocally published; 156 pages; classic recipes. | Tourism materials |
| 🇸🇬Singapore | Mrs Lee's Cookbook | hover to readGourmand Awards 2003; mother of Lee Kuan Yew; Peranakan focus | The New Mrs Lee's Cookbook (updated edition) |
| 🇸🇮Slovenia | Slovenska kuharica / Velika slovenska kuharica | hover to readNational consciousness book; many editions; long-term household standard | Modern Slovene cookbooks |
| 🇸🇴Somalia | Somali Cuisine | hover to readFirst Somali cookbook; 70 recipes; critical preservation (Somali became written only in 1970s) | None—conflict prevented documentation |
| 🇿🇦South Africa | Kook en Geniet / Cook and Enjoy It | hover to read1+ million copies; 75+ years continuous print; 700+ recipes; "South Africa's most famous cookbook"; generations learned to cook from this | Rainbow Cuisine by Lannice Snyman |
| 🇰🇷South Korea | Hanguk Yori Baekgwa Sajeon (한국요리백과사전) | hover to readAuthor held Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 38 | Eumsikdimibang (c.1670, historical) |
| 🇪🇸Spain | 1080 Recetas de Cocina | hover to read3.5M+ sold; unchallenged national kitchen bible | None at this level |
| 🇱🇰Sri Lanka | Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book | hover to read"The Bible" of Sri Lankan cooking; 1,672 recipes in 5th edition | A Taste of Ceylon |
| 🇸🇷Suriname | Groot Surinaams Kookboek | hover to read750 recipes; all ethnic traditions; "DE kookbijbel" of Surinamese cuisine; republished 2016 | SuriMAM Cooking series |
| 🇸🇪Sweden | Vår kokbok | hover to read2.1M sold; cooperative test kitchen; standardized modern cookbook | Rutiga Kokboken; Sju sorters kakor (baking) |
| 🇨🇭Switzerland | Das Fülscher-Kochbuch | hover to readClassic since the early 1900s | Betty Bossi series |
| 🇹🇿Tanzania | Eva Pendaeli's Original Tanzania Cookbook | hover to read"First cookbook with recipes for authentic Tanzania cuisine"; founding member Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre | Taste of Tanzania by Miriam Kinunda |
| 🇹🇬Togo | 50 recettes du Togo | hover to readFirst cookbook in Togo; NGO-published; 50 recipes. | TBD |
| 🇹🇹Trinidad and Tobago | The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago (Naparima Girls' High School Cookbook, 1988) | hover to readInstitutional authorship; 500+ recipes; "household staple" and "rite of passage"; all ethnic traditions | Celebrate Food! (2012, 100th anniversary) |
| 🇹🇳Tunisia | La Cuisine Tunisienne d'Ommok Sannafa | hover to read612 pages; 250+ recipes; "indémodable et indétrônable"; standard trousseau | La Pâtisserie Tunisienne d'Ommok Sannafa |
| 🇹🇷Turkey | Asırlık Tariflerle Türk Mutfağı (2021) | hover to readOfficial government publication; 218 recipes; First Lady's patronage; Ministry of Culture | Türk Mutfağı (various) |
| 🇺🇬Uganda | Taste of Uganda: Recipes for Traditional Dishes | hover to readFountain Publishers (Uganda); 192 pages; comprehensive coverage | A Cookbook of Uganda's Traditional Foods by PELUM Uganda |
| 🇦🇪United Arab Emirates | Sarareed (سراريد) | hover to readFirst comprehensive Emirati cookbook by Emirati author | Emirati Cuisine (various) |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Delia's Complete Cookery Course | hover to readFoundational British domestic/cooking reference; massive early sales; still in print | Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management |
| 🇺🇸United States | Joy of Cooking | hover to read20+ million copies; 9 editions; NY Public Library top 150 books. | Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book (40+ million, authorless); Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1896) |
| 🇺🇾Uruguay | Manual de Cocina del Instituto Crandon (1957) | hover to readInstitutional; 32+ editions; 200,000+ copies; "pauta la cocina del Uruguay"; Premio Morosoli 2010 | El Mantel Celeste by Hugo García Robles |
| 🇺🇿Uzbekistan | Uzbek Dishes | hover to read~500 recipes from 30+ years fieldwork | Soviet-era publications |
| 🇻🇪Venezuela | Mi Cocina: A la manera de Caracas ("El Libro Rojo") | hover to read500+ recipes; 28+ editions; 450,000+ copies; "la Biblia gastronómica de Venezuela" | Mi Cocina II (1994, "libro azul") |
| 🇿🇲Zambia | Recipe Book on Traditional Zambian Foods | hover to readOfficial government publication. | ZambianKitchen.com (online) |
Criteria and FAQs
I mostly approached this with the question: What would be the most classic book to find in a family's kitchen?
This meant I prioritized books that were written by someone from the target country, to people in the target country, in the target country's official languages. And when faced with a choice between a modern book and an older book I went with the older book. If you suggest a book to me, try to follow those criteria too.
How can I buy these books?
Not all of these books are easy to find. Some you could get on online bookstores (better) or Amazon (last resort) but many you may need to search harder for if you would like the physical copy. Used book websites work, as do used marketplaces where individuals might be selling their family's copy. And of course if you just want a digital copy, there are plenty of websites (do some searching!) where you may be able to find that for free.
What's the point of this website?
Well it's for me, really. I want these books. I'm sharing because you might want them, too.
What if I disagree or have another book to add?
Email me!
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