Synopses & Reviews
What could be a more fun and delicious way to celebrate American culture than through the lore of our favorite foods? That's what John T. Edge does in his smart, witty, and compulsively readable new series on the dishes everyone thinks their mom made best. If these are the best-loved American foods--ones so popular they've come to represent us--what does that tell us about ourselves? And what do the history of the dish and the regional variations reveal? There are few aspects of life that carry more emotional weight and symbolism than food, and in writing about our food icons, Edge gives us a warm and wonderful portrait of America--by way of our taste buds. After all, "What is patriotism, but nostalgia for the foods of our youth?" as a Chinese philosopher once asked. In Apple Pie, Edge takes on a dish that contains more emotional resonance than almost any other food. How did it come to represent nothing less than Mom and Country? Edge illuminates the history and lore of apple pie, from its English origins to its present ubiquity in home kitchens and truck stops across the country. In his quest to understand the meanings and the incarnation of this dish, he travels from Disney World to the White House, from Shakers in Massachusetts to farmstands in Washington State. Apple Pie includes fifteen recipes, scattered throughout, from the traditional to the radical.
Synopsis
Edge illuminates the history and lore of apple pie, from its English origins to its present ubiquity in home kitchens and truck stops across the country. "Apple Pie" includes 15 recipes, scattered throughout, from the traditional to the radical.
Synopsis
What could be a more fun and delicious way to celebrate American culture than through the lore of our favorite foods? That's what John T. Edge does in his smart, witty, and compulsively readable new series on the dishes everyone thinks their mom made best. If these are the best-loved American foods-ones so popular they've come to represent us-what does that tell us about ourselves? And what do the history of the dish and the regional variations reveal?
There are few aspects of life that carry more emotional weight and symbolism than food, and in writing about our food icons, Edge gives us a warm and wonderful portrait of America -by way of our taste buds. After all, "What is patriotism, but nostalgia for the foods of our youth?" as a Chinese philosopher once asked.
About the Author
John T. Edge, whose work has appeared in Gourmet and Saveur and has been featured in Best Food Writing for the last three years, is also the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi. His many books include the James Beard Award- nominated cookbook A Gracious Plenty, and he is a finalist for the 2004 M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation.