Meet Fannie Farmer, the woman who whipped up a cooking revolution-with a dose of science. When Fannie was a child in the late 1800s, recipes might call for "a goodly amount of salt" or "a suspicion of nutmeg." How much was that?! Home cooks were supposed to use their "feminine instincts" or just guess. But Fannie thought anyone should be able to bake a cake or serve a stew. After surviving polio and working hard to become a cooking teacher, Fannie discovered that precise measurements made cooking a piece of cake. Using her new approach, Fannie wrote a bestselling cookbook that is still used today because it allows anyone to make tasty meals, no guessing or instincts required.

Author Emma Bland Smith and artist Susan Reagan prepare a delectable portrait of this food icon who continues to have a prominent place in kitchens all over the world.

From the dust jacket