I always claim that everything I know about history I picked up through reading books, and this book blends history and food, a winning combination.
Muckenhoupt takes the reader on a fascinating tour of each so-called New England food, breaking down the actual timeline of its presence in the New World. This simultaneously provides a very interesting window into New England history, while “debunking” everything we think we “know” about traditional Yankee fare. The included recipes range from comical to harrowing, and the mythos surrounding each “classic” meal is very eye-opening.
Without giving away too much of the analysis, like most food lore it all comes down to the inherent racism/xenophobia of diet culture. I was always confused (as a “foreigner” to Rhode Island) , as to why local foods were all of the “white mush” variety when most local families were of Italian, Portuguese, Greek or French descent. Now we know that New England Food (TM), like most diet cultures in this country, is really about preserving the pure-white body. (I also learned why pizza here in Rhode Island is good, but a comparative disappointment, when held up to the slices of my homeland in upstate New York, but I won't spoil the ending!)
If you like food and history this is a great read. I will be recommending it to both my library and our local historical society.
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