Anna Christina Warg (23March 17035February 1769), better known as Cajsa (or Kajsa) Warg, was a Swedish

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

author and one of the best-known cooks in Swedish history.

Early life

Warg was born in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, an ...

, the younger of two daughters, to accountant Anders Warg (died 1708) and Karin Livijn (died 1755). In 1710, her mother married the nobleman Eric Rosenstråle, with whom she had seven more children and moved with to Borggård Manor outside

Finspång Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010. Overview Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fa ...

Career

Warg left home early to be the cook and housekeeper for several powerful people in Stockholm, such as the general Count Wolter Reinhold von Stackelberg. It is not known when she started her career, but von Stackelberg had previously served with her father as an officer in the army, and it is considered likely that she was employed by him as his cook by the time he married and settled down in Stockholm in 1735. She was later employed by von Stackelberg's elder brother marshal Baron Berndt Otto von Stackelberg, and from the late 1740s, by the State Secretary and General Post Master Baron

Leonard Klinckowström Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' ...

, whose wife Catharina Ehrenpreus was the cousin of her mother. von Stackelberg was the brother-in-law of

Hedvig Taube Hedvig Ulrika Taube (31 October 1714 – 11 February 1744), also Countess von Hessenstein was a Swedish courtier and countess, a Holy Roman countess of the Empire, and royal mistress to king Frederick I of Sweden from 1731 to 1744. She is regard ...

, and Warg's abilities as a cook had good opportunity to become known in influential circles. He was described as a great

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 ...

and also hosted many receptions for Stockholm's cultural elite, who praised the cookery art there—one of them was

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

, who wrote a poem about the food at the receptions, though he did not mention Warg by name. After the death of her last employer Klinckowström in 1759, she acquired his apartment, where she lived on her royalties and by renting out rooms. She died in Stockholm.

Cookbook

In 1755, Warg inherited 5000 daler from her mother when she died. The same year, she published ''Hjelpreda I Hushållningen För Unga Fruentimber'' ("Guide to Housekeeping for Young Women") which was published in fourteen editions of which the last version was printed in 1822. It was also translated into German, which came out in four editions, and one Estonian edition. The book mostly contains food recipes but also includes instructions on dyeing textiles and other things related to household maintenance. From the third edition (1762), it included an appendix with the title ''Underrättelse om Färgning'' ("instruction on dyeing"). The appendix on dyeing was translated into Danish with two editions (1773 and 1794). Warg's work was the leading cookbook for several generations and remained relevant until the late 19th century when new

household goods Household goods are goods and products used within households. They are the tangible and movable personal property placed in the rooms of a house, such as a bed or refrigerator. Economic role Businesses that produce household goods are categorize ...

, industrially manufactured

kitchen stove A kitchen stove, often called simply a stove or a cooker, is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for ba ...

s and changes in cuisine made most of its recipes outdated.

Editions

;Swedish *first edition, 1755 (also published in a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of ...

edition in 1970) *second edition, 1759 *third edition, 1762 (expansion with an appendix on dyeing textiles) *fourth edition, 1765 (expansion with an appendix with more recipes) *fifth edition, 1770 *sixth edition, 1773 (from this edition described as ''"å nyo öfwersedd, förbättrad och tilökt"'', "again reviewed, improved and expanded") *seventh edition, 1780 *eighth edition, 1781 *ninth edition, 1790 *tenth edition, 1795 *eleventh edition, 1800 *twelfth edition, 1809 *thirteenth edition, 1814 *fourteenth edition, 1822 ;German *''Schwedisches Koch- und Haushaltungs-Buch'', first edition (1772) *second edition (1778) *third edition (1789) *fourth edition (1805) ;Danish (only the appendix on textile dyeing) *''Den paa Kundskab og Erfaring grundede nye Farve-Bog'', first edition (1773) *second edition (1794) ;Estonian *''Köki ja Kokka Ramat, mis Rootsi Kelest Eesti-ma Kele üllespandud on'' (1781)

Legacy

Tradition has attributed the saying ''man tager vad man haver'' ("you use whatever you have") to Warg, though there are no accounts of her having used that expression. Although these precise words have become strongly associated with her, the saying is not mentioned in her book.

References

* Ärlemalm, Ingrid ''Cajsa Warg, Hiram och de andra: om svenska kokboksförfattarinnor.'' Ordalaget, Bromma. 2000. * Palmær, Margit, ''Cajsa Warg och hennes kokbok. Cajsa Wargs kokbok utgiven i urval med kulturhistorisk inledning.'' Stockholm. 1985. * Du Rietz, Richard, ''Gastronomisk spegel: historisk översikt jämte förteckning över svenska kok- och hushållsböcker fram till 1850.'' Stockholm. 1953. * Öjvind Swahn, Jan, ''Man tager vad man haver'' (1970)