Helen Jean Anderson (October 12, 1929 – January 24, 2023) was an American cookbook author and editor.

Life and work

Anderson was born in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

. Her father was a botany professor at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...

at Raleigh at the time of her birth, though he later moved to the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica *Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia * Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

. Anderson had a BS in food and nutrition from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

and a MS in journalism degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

. She began her journalistic career at ''

The Raleigh Times The ''Raleigh Times'' was the afternoon newspaper in Raleigh, North Carolina. The history of the paper dates back to the ''Evening Visitor'', first published in 1879. The ''Visitor'' later bought out other rival afternoon papers, the ''Daily Pres ...

'', after receiving her undergraduate degree, and started at ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In ...

'' as a graduate student. Anderson helped organize the James Beard Journalism Awards and for two years, co-chaired that committee. Though best known for her articles in ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

'', ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'', ''

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...

'', '' More'', ''

Travel + Leisure ''Travel + Leisure'' is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC, with trademark ...

'' and other magazines, Anderson served as assistant food editor, then managing editor of ''The Ladies’ Home Journal'', as contributing editor at ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...

'' and ''Diversion'' magazines, as chief consulting editor for

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his w ...

cookbooks, and as food columnist for ''

New York Newsday ''New York Newsday'' was an American daily newspaper that primarily served New York City and was sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The paper, established in 1985, was a New York City-specific offshoot of '' Newsday'', a Long Island ...

'' and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. She was a member of the

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 23, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, ...

Cookbook Hall of Fame and a charter member of ''Les Dames d’Escoffier'' and the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. Anderson wrote around 30 books, with the last being published in 2019. An authority on Portugal, its food, wine, and folk art, Anderson traveled around that country for 40 years. Her ''Food of Portugal'' was named "Best Foreign Cookbook" in the 1986 Tastemaker Awards. Anderson's food, travel, and general features won various awards, among them, the Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship,The Pulitzer Prizes , What's New
at www.pulitzer.org the George Hedman Travel Writing Award, and two commendations from the Portuguese government.

Personal life and death

Anderson moved back to Chapel Hill in 2007, after spending much of her adult life in New York City. She died at her home on January 24, 2023, at the age of 93.

Bibliography

*''The Art of American Indian Cooking'' (with Yeffe Kimball). Simon & Schuster: 1965. *''The Doubleday Cookbook'' (with Elaine Hanna). Doubleday: 1975. R.T. French Tastemaker Cookbook-of- the-Year as well as Best Basic Cookbook *''Jean Anderson's Processor Cooking''. William Morrow and Company, Inc.: 1979 *''Half a Can of Tomato Paste & Other Culinary Dilemmas'' (with Ruth Buchan). Harper & Row, 1980. Seagram/International Association of Culinary Professionals Award, Best Specialty Cookbook of the Year. *''Jean Anderson Cooks: Her Kitchen Reference & Recipe Collection''. William Morrow and Company, Inc.: 1982 *''Jean Anderson's New Processor Cooking''. William Morrow and Company, Inc.: 1983 *''The New Doubleday Cookbook'' (with Elaine Hanna). Doubleday: 1985. *''The Food of Portugal''. William Morrow: 1986. Seagram/International Association of Culinary Professionals Award, Best Foreign Cookbook of the Year *''The New German Cookbook'' (with Hedy Würz). HarperCollins: 1993 *''The American Century Cookbook''. Clarkson Potter: 1997 *''The Good Morning America Cut the Calories Cookbook'' (co-edited with Sara Moulton). Hyperion: 2000 *''Dinners in a Dish or a Dash''. William Morrow: 2000 *''Process This! New Recipes for the New Generation of Food Processors''. William Morrow: 2003. James Beard Best Cookbook, Tools & Techniques Category *''Quick Loaves''. William Morrow: 2005 *''A Love Affair with Southern Cooking: Recipes and Recollections''. Foreword by Sara Moulton. William Morrow: 2007 *''Falling Off the Bone''. John Wiley & Sons: 2010 *''Kiln to Kitchen: Recipes from Beloved North Carolina Potters''. University of North Carolina Press: 2019.

Notes

External links

Jean Anderson's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jean 1929 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American cookbook writers American magazine editors American travel writers American women travel writers Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Writers from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Portuguese art Portuguese cuisine Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship winners American women food writers American women magazine editors