author

Adeline Balch Coit

1861–1931

A practical early-20th-century cookbook writer, she is best remembered for turning basic camp and boat cookery into clear, approachable advice for beginners. Her surviving work has the feel of a smart handbook meant to help ordinary people cook with confidence in difficult conditions.

1 Audiobook

The A B C of Cooking : $b for men with no experience of cooking on small boats, patrol boats, in camps, on marches, etc.

The A B C of Cooking : $b for men with no experience of cooking on small boats, patrol boats, in camps, on marches, etc.

by Adeline Balch Coit

About the author

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1861, Adeline Balch Coit was an American author whose known published work centers on everyday cooking. Genealogical records available online identify her as Adeline Balch, later Adeline Balch Coit, and indicate that she died in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1931.

Her best-known book is The A B C of Cooking, published in 1917. The book was presented as a practical guide for men with little or no cooking experience, especially in settings like small boats, camps, and marches, which gives it a distinctive wartime and outdoors-minded character.

Although not much biographical detail is easy to confirm from major reference sources, her book still stands out for its direct, useful tone. It suggests a writer interested less in showy cuisine than in helping readers make simple meals successfully when comfort and efficiency mattered most.