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December 22, 2014

Excerpt: Alcohol: A History, by Rod Phillips

One of the earliest printed books on aqua vitae, in this case brandy, was published in Germany in 1476 and recommended a half-spoonful every morning to prevent conditions as varied as arthritis and bad breath. Other physicians wrote of the beneficial effects of brandy for physical ailments (it cured headaches, heart disease, gout, and deafness); as an aid to appearance (it improved the bust and stopped hair graying); and as therapy for emotional and other problems (it banished melancholy and forgetfulness). The inclusion of conditions commonly associated with aging (such as deafness, forgetfulness, and graying) reflects the claims that drinking brandy prolonged youth and thus life itself. Continue Reading Excerpt: Alcohol: A History, by Rod Phillips

Categories Cooking / Food/Excerpts/History
November 19, 2014

Debbie Moose: Thanksgiving Relish Tray

My attachment to the Thanksgiving relish tray began with my grandmother, whose tray contained her homemade pickled peaches, homemade bread-and-butter pickles, homemade watermelon rind pickles—and store-bought, bright red, spiced apple rings. The rings sort of came out of left field and I don’t know the story behind them, but as a kid I loved their sweet, Technicolor addition. Continue Reading Debbie Moose: Thanksgiving Relish Tray

Categories Author blog entry/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers
November 6, 2014

Interview: Rod Phillips and the world history of alcohol

Brewsters were female brewers. They were important because during the Middle Ages (and later in the American colonies) women brewed the beer their families needed. Brewing was seen as a woman’s task, like baking. Beer was liquid bread, and very nutritious. But as brewing became more commercialized, women were pushed out. The world of big business was seen as no place for women, and women didn’t have access to the financing needed for a commercial brewery. So brewing became a male occupation, and it’s really only with the rise of craft breweries in the last decade or two that women have started to re-enter the industry. Continue Reading Interview: Rod Phillips and the world history of alcohol

Categories Cooking / Food/History/Interviews
October 21, 2014

Interview: Marcie Cohen Ferris on The Edible South

Southern cuisine was a key component in historic preservation efforts in the early twentieth century to promote and sell the South and its racial mores to both tourists and locals. Through constructed memories of southern food from the plantation to the mountain South, sophisticated campaigns were launched to promote the “taste” of the Old South in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Lowcountry flavors of Savannah and Charleston, the fashionable Creole cuisine of New Orleans, and the “authentic” “hillbilly” and “Highlands” foods of the mountain South. Continue Reading Interview: Marcie Cohen Ferris on The Edible South

Categories American History/American Studies/Cooking / Food/folklore/Interviews/Southern Studies
March 17, 2014

Interview: Jodi Helmer on Farming and Agritourism in Georgia

We’ve become so disconnected from the source of our food! While I was traveling through Georgia, several farmers told me that kids who visited their farms had no idea that chickens laid eggs and carrots came out of the soil. Agritourism provides a great opportunity to learn where our food comes from and meet the farmers who grow and raise it. Farmers work incredibly hard to put food on our tables; visiting farms shows that we value their dedication to growing fresh, local foods and want to support their work. If we want small farms to survive, we need to support the farmers. Continue Reading Interview: Jodi Helmer on Farming and Agritourism in Georgia

Categories Cooking / Food/Interviews/Travel
March 11, 2014

Andrea Weigl: One Recipe Leads to Another

One of the things I enjoy most about canning is discovering new recipes. This one for Pear Syrup only happened because I called my mom on the morning before a marathon canning session. I mentioned in passing that I was making Pear Honey. My mother brightened, inquiring about the recipe. She was deflated to hear that Pear Honey was a preserve, like apple butter. She had hoped it was a recipe for a pear syrup that my Grandmother Anna Weigl used to make from the skins of pears. I listened to my mother’s story and decided at that moment to try to recreate my grandmother’s syrup. Continue Reading Andrea Weigl: One Recipe Leads to Another

Categories Author blog entry/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers/Recipes
January 30, 2014

Taylor Mathis: Granny Smith Apple Salsa

When you think of salsa, is pico de gallo the first kind that comes to mind? This combination of tomatoes, onions, and peppers works as an appetizer with chips or as a condiment for tacos and burgers. If you’re looking for a salsa that’s a little different from what you’re used to, try this one. It’s more tart than what you’ll find at most tailgates because of the Granny Smith apples in it. Continue Reading Taylor Mathis: Granny Smith Apple Salsa

Categories Cooking / Food/Recipes
December 17, 2013

Rebekah E. Pite: A Televised Cooking Segment as Historical Source: Dona Petrona’s Pan Dulce de Navidad

No one was more successful in encouraging women’s domestic dedication and home cooking than Doña Petrona C. de Gandulfo, Argentina’s leading culinary celebrity during most of the twentieth century. And, indeed, Pan Dulce de Navidad was her most famous recipe. As the holiday season drew close, she would show her fans how to make this sweet bread step by step on television, as we can see in these two videos from the mid 1960s (watch Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube). Such footage may not at first glance appear to be a valuable historical source, but it provides us rare insight into how changing gender expectations, economic dynamics, and food-related practices were shaping Argentines’ daily lives. Continue Reading Rebekah E. Pite: A Televised Cooking Segment as Historical Source: Dona Petrona’s Pan Dulce de Navidad

Categories Author blog entry/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Recipes/Women's Studies
December 10, 2013

Video: Rebecca Sharpless on Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens

A video of Rebecca Sharpless’s talk on the history of African American women cooks in white households in the South, given at the 16th annual Southern Foodways Symposium, October 2013. Video produced by the Southern Foodways Alliance. Continue Reading Video: Rebecca Sharpless on Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Civil Rights/Cooking / Food/History/Southern Studies/Video/Women's Studies
October 9, 2013

Adam D. Shprintzen: Beyond, Beyond Meat

Meat substitutes attempted to provide these gustatory benefits while also ensuring a violence-free diet. In fact, early meat substitutes were positioned as being even more effective than meat in their strength- and muscle-building properties. Continue Reading Adam D. Shprintzen: Beyond, Beyond Meat

Categories American Studies/Cooking / Food/Health / Medicine/History
October 7, 2013

Sandra A. Gutierrez: A Tropical Vacation on a Stick

One of the biggest misconceptions I find about Latin American food is that it’s complicated to make—but nothing could be further from the truth. I give you plenty of examples of no fuss, no muss recipes that require only basic skills in the kitchen but produce magical and fun flavors. Such is the case of these scrumptious chocolate-covered bananas, or Chocobananos, that Latin American kids have been enjoying for decades. Continue Reading Sandra A. Gutierrez: A Tropical Vacation on a Stick

Categories Author blog entry/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers/Recipes
October 4, 2013

Taylor Mathis: Tailgating: The Social Events of the Fall

If you have never been to a tailgate in the South, you may not realize what goes into it. The event is much more than people standing in a parking lot before a football game. These events are a chance to reunite with old college friends, have a family reunion, and share great food and drink with those that you love. The common thread is that everyone there has a connection to that campus and wants to be with the ones they love to support their team. Continue Reading Taylor Mathis: Tailgating: The Social Events of the Fall

Categories Author blog entry/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers
September 30, 2013

Interview: Kathleen Purvis on Bourbon

Even after Prohibition was repealed, many areas of the South remained dry. So whiskey was hard to get and had a certain cache. Recipes that involved a little alcohol were not only tasty, they also implied a few things—they showed you had connections and maybe a bit of money to buy something. Continue Reading Interview: Kathleen Purvis on Bourbon

Categories Cooking / Food/Interviews
September 16, 2013

Interview: Sandra A. Gutierrez on Latin American Street Food

I mean, what’s not fun about dressing a sandwich with all sorts of condiments, until it becomes a tower of goodness? You have to figure out how to eat it without wearing it, but that’s another story. One of my favorite things about street food is that so much of it can be prepared in advance—which not only makes it easy for entertaining but also makes it a cinch to put dinner on the table every day. Continue Reading Interview: Sandra A. Gutierrez on Latin American Street Food

Categories Cooking / Food/Interviews