292930 Sat May 24 12:46:00 -0700 2003 6 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1600696 tonight on the History Channel they are having a program that sounds promising: America Eats: History on a Bun - A history of food focuses on the American hot dog & pizza. I don't know if America Eats is an ongoing series on the History Channel or not but it might be worth checking out. 8-10pm Saturday night. May 24. Sat May 24 12:46:00 -0700 2003 0 gordon wing 1 1600706 Food as social history is fascinating. I do Internet genealogy; on message boards we have had threads on this topic. It's often possible to trace ethnicity by recalling what Grandma cooked. For example, we had some discussion of Chocolate Gravy, happily remembered by people hailing from certain parts of rural Kentucky (sugar, cocoa, flour, and water or milk are made into a hot sauce to be served over biscuits as a treat for children). Did your grandma make Lutefisk? Knishes? Escabeche? Brawn? It would be interesting to hear such Chowhound memories. And this also---what will be the effect on family of current eating trends? Sat May 24 19:03:32 -0700 2003 1600696 0 N Tocus 1 1600836 If you're interested in food history, I think you'll enjoy these links: Food History News http://www.foodhistorynews.com The Food Timeline http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html The Culinary History Timeline http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food1.html Dining Through the Decades http://www.leitesculinaria.com/features/dining.html 1918 Fanny Farmer Cookbook -- completely online!! http://www.bartleby.com/87/ Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project "The digital archive currently includes page images of 57 cookbooks from the Special Collections Division of the MSU Library. The text-search function currently indexes 13 books. When the project is completed in September 2003, the site will include page images, full-text transcriptions, and indexed text searching for 75 cookbooks published between 1798 and 1922." http://digital.lib.msu.edu/cookbooks/ Not by Bread Alone: America's Culinary Heritage Cornell University Library online exhibit http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/food/default.htm Have fun!! --Nancy Berry Mon May 26 12:52:15 -0700 2003 1600696 0 Nancy Berry 2 1600859 thanks Nancy! lots to peruse .... now all I need is some spare time..... Mon May 26 15:53:44 -0700 2003 1600836 0 gordon wing 1 4266031 "America Eats!: On the Road with the WPA - the Fish Fries, Box Supper Socials, and Chitlin Feasts That Define Real American Food" by Pat Willard (A newish publication of old work that didn't get published way back when.) The Amazon review says America Eats! originated as a 1935 WPA project that sent out-of-work writers (mostly unknowns, but also some soon-to-be famous names like Eudora Welty and Ralph Ellison) to chronicle America's regional cuisine, focusing on the group-dining dynamic of church suppers, harvest festivals, state fairs, political rallies, lodge suppers, and any gathering where food took center stage--"In a nation inhabited by strangers, sharing a meal lessened the loneliness of wandering across unfamiliar landscapes." Someone is about to talk about it on my local NPR.... http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2008/12/22/segments/118999 Mon Dec 22 09:28:54 -0800 2008 1600696 11989 pitu 1 4266085 As I type this I have, beside me on the desk, a book titled, " Food in History" by Reay Tannahill, Stern and Day, NYC, 1973. It was my mother's book and I have yet to read it. But, after reading the book jacket notes, introduction and various articles about Ms Tannahill I'm eager to begin. She was born in Scotland and was historical researcher specializing in social conditions and the influences which shaped them. Here's a link to her lengthy obituary which gives an insight into her persona and the book: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/reay-tannahill-accidental-pioneer-of-food-history-and-bestselling-romantic-novelist-760621.html Here's a site which gives a brief description and review: http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/Book_Reviews/about_food/history_tannahill.html The book is called a pioneering work going back to practically the beginning of civilization. Mon Dec 22 09:47:47 -0800 2008 1600696 75332 Gio 1 4266156 My Russian wife introduced me to pelmeni, whch she calls "Russian ravioli." My favorite versions actually look like Chinese dumplings and taste remarkably like shumai, which she says is because they originated in China and came to Russia via Mongolia. And today are produced commercially by the Russian emigres in Brighton Beach, NY. That's a lot of food history in a little dumpling! Mon Dec 22 10:07:05 -0800 2008 1600696 14386 BobB