Cooking, the Benjamin Franklin Way

A new book about Benjamin Franklin covers his 84 years and the food that accompanied them, all based on prodigious research by Rae Katherine Eighmey, a food historian. The account is dense with detail, conveying Mr. Franklin’s tastes, curiosity and inventiveness, including kitchen innovations like a special oven. Recipes for vegetables and salads (including a warm one dressed with melted butter and verjus) may come as a surprise to some readers. Ledgers kept by his French household manager illustrate the range of products in his kitchen, including vanilla beans, artichokes and ingredients for ice cream. Worth trying is an apple tart made with applesauce custard: “Stirring the Pot With Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father’s Culinary Adventures” by Rae Katherine Eighmey (Smithsonian Books, $21.95).