Parloa, Maria (1843–1909)

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Parloa, Maria (1843–1909)

American domestic economist and author. Born Maria Parloa on September 25, 1843, in Massachusetts; died of acute nephritis on August 21, 1909, in Bethel, Connecticut; nothing is known of her parents or early years; attended the Maine Central Institute, in Pittsfield.

Maria Parloa, an authority on the proper preparation of food and household management, lectured and wrote on these subjects extensively. In 1877, she was special instructor at various seminaries, and gave courses of lessons in sickroom cookery to Harvard medical students. After visiting Paris for study, she opened a cooking school in New York City. Her publications include Miss Parloa's New Cook Book and Marketing Guide, The Young Housekeeper, and Home Economics.