Anna L. (Anna Letitia) Colcord

author

Anna L. (Anna Letitia) Colcord

1864–1950

An early vegetarian cookbook writer and editor, she helped bring practical, health-focused home cooking to a wide audience. Her best-known work, A Friend in the Kitchen, grew from church publishing work in the United States and Australia.

1 Audiobook

A friend in the kitchen : $b or, What to cook and how to cook it

A friend in the kitchen : $b or, What to cook and how to cook it

by Anna L. (Anna Letitia) Colcord

About the author

Born in Sacramento, California, in 1864, Anna Letitia Colcord was an American writer and editor best known for A Friend in the Kitchen, a vegetarian cookbook first published in 1889. She was associated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, whose emphasis on health reform shaped much of her work.

Colcord later spent time in Australia, where she prepared an expanded edition of A Friend in the Kitchen while working in Adventist publishing. The book was designed to be practical and approachable, offering everyday recipes and household guidance rather than elaborate cuisine.

She died in Washington, D.C., in 1950. Though not widely known today, her cookbook remains of interest to readers who enjoy early health-food writing, religious publishing history, and the roots of vegetarian home cooking.