Larned suggests any food is picnic food as long as it can be transported. The motorcar made this wish viable, if not practical, and One Hundred Picnic Suggestions is the first cookbook dedicated to picnicking. The cover shows a picnic basket, sandwiches, and thermos in the foreground and a motorcar in the background.
Larned prefers foods and drinks requiring preparation anywhere but at a picnic. She divides her food into things for a picnic basket or a “motor hamper.” That implies motorists are more food-savvy and richer. There are many sandwiches and salads, but for motorists, there’s an uptick of suggestions and a switch from cold to hot foods, so instead of tuna or ham sandwiches, choices include lobster creole, beef, calf’s liver, terrapin, or deep-fried cheese cutlets.
Featured Image: Helen E. Turquand’s cover for the first edition of the picnic cookbook places the food in the foreground and the motorcar discreetly behind.
See Linda Hull Larned. One Hundred Picnic Suggestions (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1915. Other cookbooks are One Hundred Salads (1914), One Hundred Cold Desserts (1914), and One Hundred Luncheon Dishes (1915).