Customer Reviews

American Artisanal: Finding the Country's Best Real Food, from Cheese to Chocolate

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If your idea of 'artisanal' food is Allen Bros. meat, this is the book for you. Some of the subjects fall within the common idea of what is a hand made product (Blue Moon Sorbet, Clear Flour Bakery) but others are far from it these days (the forementioned Allen Bros., Vt Butter and Cheese, Broken Arrow Ranch). Which isn't to say they don't make a good, but commercial, product, but hardly 'hand made'.

The writing is a bit over the top - flying over Washington state as a prelude to "the eruption of Alaska" - comes to mind. There are better books on the subject out there and the food sections of newspapers are a really good source. Save your money.

I don't usually read food books, but was given this as a present. It was like reading a travel guide to America with food at every stop.

Put it on your bedside table and read a chapter whenever you feel like dipping into a world of passionate growers, bakers and purveyors. It's an utterly enjoyable way to educate yourself about what we're eating and who makes it best.

This book is very interesting. While it is somewhat uneven - certain chapters were more enlightening than others - it is certainly worth reading if you are interested in artisan foods in america. the chapter on clear flour bakery is great. but some of the chapters focus on operations that are not super artisan at all - nor quality - such as blue moon sorbets. I like the use of the first person throughout. It reads like a series of very competent magazine features.

I'm a long-time home bread baker, so I'll focus on Rebecca Gray's chapter on the Clear Flour Bakery. She gets it. Anybody who tries to bake bread at home knows the mystery and wonder and craziness of bread baking. What will it taste like when you break open a loaf? You never know.

In portraying Christy Timon and Abe Faber, Gray captures the driven, ecstatic, and obsessive qualities true artisans possess and all of us who bake at home embody at least a little. Reading Gray reminds you of being a kid reading about your sports heroes. She inspires you, through the stories of these dedicated greats, to try a little harder, enjoy a little more.

A fine book and not just for bread alone.