袁枚的《隨園食單》，堪稱中國古代文人所作最重要的食譜類著作，也一直都是近現代廚師的重要參考讀物。然而，《隨園食單》的最大價值並不在於它所呈現的飲膳及烹調主張，而是它的文學化、藝術化及文人化傾向。這樣的傾向反映的是晚明以降文人特殊的生活美學；本文試圖討論這個問題，並將之與同時代其他著作《閒情偶寄‧飲饌部》和《醒園錄》略作比較，期收凸顯之效。

Yuan Mei’s Suiyuan Shidan 隨園食單 may be considered the most important recipe in traditional China, and the most important reference book for modern chefs. However, the greatest value of Suiyuan Shidan does not lie in its dietary details, but in its tendency to present literature, the art and the literati. Such tendency reflects the special esthetics of life among the intellectuals since the late Ming dynasty. This article attempts to discuss this issue, and tries to compare Suiyuan Shidan
with other recipes such as Xianqing ouji 閒情偶寄and Xingyuan lu 醒園
錄.