Eating Appalachia: Rediscovering Regional American Flavors

Dozens of indigenous fruits, vegetables, nuts, and game animals are waiting to be rediscovered by American epicures, and Appalachia stocks the largest pantry with an abundance of delectable flavors. In Eating Appalachia, Darrin Nordahl looks at the unique foods that are native to the region, including pawpaws, ramps, hickory nuts, American persimmons, and elk, and offers delicious and award-winning recipes for each ingredient, along with sumptuous color photographs. The twenty-three recipes include: Pawpaw Panna Cotta, Pawpaw Whiskey Sour, Chianti-Braised Elk Stew, Pan-Fried Squirrel with Squirrel Gravy, Ramp Linguine, and Wild Ginger Poached Pears, among others. Nordahl also examines some of the business, governmental, and ecological issues that keep these wild, and arguably tastier, foods from reaching our tables.

Eating Appalachia profiles local chefs, hunters, and locavores who champion these native ingredients and describes food festivals—like the Pawpaw Festival in Albany, Ohio; the Feast of the Ramson in Richwood, West Virginia; and Elk Night at Jenny Wiley State Park in Prestonsburg, Kentucky—that celebrate them.

“A thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking journey through an undeservedly overlooked region of the country. Nordahl comes away not only with a harvest of rediscovered ingredients and a reconnection to America’s original pantry, but also a network of genuine friendships.” —Simon Majumdar, author of Eat My Globe and Fed, White, and Blue, and judge on Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and Iron Chef America

“As a native West Virginian, this book transported me back to the amazing meals of my childhood, high in the Appalachians. Join Nordahl as he demystifies the mountains, taking a walking tour of America’s best-kept culinary secrets.” —Forrest Pritchard, professional farmer and author of Gaining Ground and The Farmer in Your Kitchen

“With this entertaining and enlightening book, Darrin Nordahl shines a light on the native foods of Appalachia and the colorful locavores who celebrate them. A fascinating read for anyone curious about regional American foodways.” —Marisa Bulzone, cofounder 150ish.com

“The book is lively and conversational, and is an excellent beginning point for discovering—or rediscovering—America’s most unique culinary storehouse.” —Eat Kentucky

Darrin Nordahl is the author of Public Produce: Cultivating Our Parks, Plazas, and Streets for Healthier Cities. He blogs daily about food at 365wholefoods.com and has written for CNN, the Huffington Post, and Grist.org. He lives in Oakland, California.