Flora Wolff

After growing up in France, Flora Pfeffer spent much of her adult life in Germany, moving to different regions as a result of the work assignments of her husband, Lion Wolff (1845–1934), a writer who was also a bookbinder, teacher, cantor, shohet (ritual slaughterer), and preacher. In 1889, Flora Wolff published a cookbook and household manual for Jewish housewives, titled Koch- und Wirthschaftsbuch für jüdische Hausfrauen (Book of Cooking and Home Economics for Jewish Housewives). This book included recipes she had collected since age fifteen, when her mother died and she took over household roles. Wolff added other recipes while she was the matron of a guest house that she ran in Hannover with Henny van Cleef, another renowned Jewish cookbook author. Lion Wolff contributed a health glossary to the book. Regional cuisines are reflected in Wolff’s cookbook, which also includes menu suggestions for the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, and instructions on maintaining a kosher kitchen.