An American cookbook is important as a time capsule for cuisine of a culture. Because American cooking is a conglomerate of all the cultures that America entails, a cookbook can detail not only the recipes, but also the culture that the recipe represents and their unique American story. American cookbooks will also be divided by region. There are regional favorites that tend to transcend the barriers of ethnicity and detail the communities that the recipes originate, as well as the region as a whole. This is necessary to preserve the original recipe before it is altered by all that encounter and enjoy the cooking.