Almeda Lambert

Almeda Lambert (born Almeda Maria West; September 9, 1863 – March 13, 1921) was an American cookbook writer and businessperson. A Seventh-day Adventist, she authored a ''Guide for Nut Cookery'' (1899), a vegetarian cookbook with around 1,000 nut-based recipes, featuring the first recorded recipes for dairy-free ice cream, eggnog, and boiled peanuts. Alongside her husband Joseph, she co-founded two companies that played a key role in establishing the commercial production of peanut butter in the United States.

Biography

Early and personal life

Almeda Maria West was born in Marquette County, Wisconsin, on September 9, 1863. In 1890, she married Joseph Lambert of Battle Creek, Michigan, a former machinist who, by the mid-1890s, had invented a grinder for making peanut butter. The couple had one daughter and later separated or divorced.

''Guide for Nut Cookery''

Lambert, a Seventh-day Adventist, published a ''Guide for Nut Cookery: Together with a Brief History of Nuts and Their Food Values'' in 1899. Described as the first book in America focused exclusively on cooking with nuts, it contains around 1,000 nut-based recipes, many of which had not been previously published. Lambert states:

It is the object of the author to place before the public a book treating upon the use of nuts as shortening, seasoning, etc., to be used in every way in which milk, cream, butter or lard can be used, and fully take their place.

The recipes included pecan butter, milk, rolls, sausages, gravy, pea-and-pecan puree, pie crust, and mince pie. Lambert also provided detailed instructions for creating homemade meat substitutes, such as "Nutora" and "Nutmeato", which were made from nut butters and cornstarch. These substitutes were used to create "mock" entrées, like turkey legs, roast turkey, lobster, goose, cutlets, and trout. For example, sticks of macaroni were used as turkey leg bones, and potato slices served as the fins and tail of the trout. The book featured these instructions alongside dim black-and-white photographs.

A ''Guide for Nut Cookery'' introduced the first known recipes for dairy-free ice creams, substituting cow's milk and cream with nut milks and butters. It also contains the first recorded recipe for non-dairy eggnog, as well as for boiled peanuts.

The book documented the development of nut-based cuisine among vegetarians in the late 19th century. It also contributed to the broader acceptance of nut cookery in American food culture and influenced subsequent cookbooks and culinary publications to include more nut-based recipes. Later vegetarian cookbooks, such as the second edition of Ella E. Kellogg's ''Science in the Kitchen'' and E. G. Fulton's ''Vegetarian Cook Book: Substitutes for Flesh Foods'', continued to promote nut-based dishes to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

An 1899 review in '' Food, Home and Garden'' describes the book as a detailed and well-illustrated work on vegetarian cooking, with a focus on using nuts as a substitute for meat and dairy. It notes the book's comprehensive collection of recipes and its exploration of combining nuts, grains, fruits, and vegetables. The review highlights its presentation and originality while mentioning its price of $1.25 as a potential drawback.

Business ventures

Almeda Lambert, alongside her husband Joseph, played a key role in the development of the commercial peanut butter industry in the United States. She co-founded two companies. The first, the Lambert Nut Food Co., was incorporated in 1900 and produced peanut butter crackers, nut products, and machinery for nut processing. In 1901, the company was renamed the Lambert Good Food Co. Another entity, The Lambert Good Food Co., was incorporated in 1901, offering similar products. The company moved its factory to Marshall, Michigan, in 1902 and was dissolved in 1930.

Death

Lambert, aged 57, died on March 13, 1921, at Paradise Valley Sanitarium in National City, California, where she had been receiving treatment for an operation. The procedure revealed she had tubercular issues in her intestines, and it was not completed. Lambert had resided in Escondido for around 20 years and was well-known among the local community. The funeral was held on March 15 in San Diego and she was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Publications

* ''Guide for Nut Cookery: Together with a Brief History of Nuts and Their Food Values'' (Battle Creek, Michigan: Joseph Lambert & Company, 1899)

Notes

References

External links

*
Guide for Nut Cookery
' (web version)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Almeda
1863 births
1921 deaths
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
19th-century American businesspeople
19th-century American businesswomen
19th-century American non-fiction writers
19th-century American women writers
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
American Christian writers
American cookbook writers
American food company founders
American food writers
American Seventh-day Adventists
American vegetarianism activists
American women company founders
American women food writers
Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (San Diego)
Businesspeople from Michigan
Businesspeople from Wisconsin
Christian vegetarians
Christians from California
Christians from Michigan
Christians from Wisconsin
Peanut butter
People from Battle Creek, Michigan
People from Escondido, California
People from Marquette County, Wisconsin
Seventh-day Adventist writers
Tuberculosis deaths in California
Vegetarian cookbook writers
Writers from California
Writers from Michigan
Writers from Wisconsin