Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture, and Recipes [Paperback]

Mark F. Sohn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2005

Mark F. Sohn's classic book, Mountain Country Cooking, was a James Beard Award nominee in 1997. In Appalachian Home Cooking, Sohn expands and improves upon his earlier work by using his extensive knowledge of cooking to uncover the romantic secrets of Appalachian food, both within and beyond the kitchen. Shedding new light on Appalachia's food, history, and culture, Sohn offers over eighty classic recipes, as well as photographs, poetry, mail-order sources, information on Appalachian food festivals, a glossary of Appalachian and cooking terms, menus for holidays and seasons, and lists of the top Appalachian foods. Appalachian Home Cooking celebrates mountain food at its best.

Editorial Reviews

Review

""The 80 recipes are important, but really, this is a food-studies book written for those who feel some nostalgia for, or connection to, Appalachia." --Lexington Herald-Leader" --

""In addition to the wealth of recipes, the new book is an excellent resource for putting together cohesive meals at different times of the year." --Avery Journal-Times" --

""This cookbook is an interesting read as well as a wonderful sou"rce for hard-to-find traditional Appalachian recipes." --Back Home in Kentucky" --

""Pull up a chair and take your place at the table. Dinner is about to be served, and a hearty feast it is. The legends and lore shared by Mark Sohn in Appalachian Home Cooking are as satisfying to the soul as the recipes are to the palate. Sohn has explored the foodways of Appalachia for years, and his passion for the subject shines through in every chapter of this classic tome. For armchair cooks who like to read cookbooks, this book is for you." --Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, co-author of The Recipe Writer's Handbook and 12 cookbo" --

""Documents the history of the region's distinctive, multi-ethnic cuisine." --Black Issues Book Review" --

""Examines the staple foods and ingredients of this distinct culinary heritage, outlining food preparation procedures and comparing and contrasting recipes and methods found outside the region." --Carolina Country" --

""Destined to become a regional favorite to be handed down through generations to come." --Floyd County Times" --

""Mark Sohn avoids the mistake of so many who write about Appalachia: he knows it is not a 'Land of the Past' but a living, evolving region. He writes about food as a social, cultural, and spiritual matter that transcends time, creates community, and binds families together. The recipes are clearly written and they work! With Mark as your guide, you can visit an Appalachia where everything is delicious." --Jan Davidson" --

""As a serious student of American cultures, Mark Sohn has always paid close attention to what the people around him liked to eat. And, as a serious cook since boyhood in Oregon, he has learned to prepare and enjoy the regional foods of whatever culture he shares. All of us who love the mountains, the South, regional culture, and this food will be forever in his debt." --John Egerton, author of Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History" --

""Sohn uncovers the romantic secrets of Appalachian food, provides more than 80 recipes, offers information on food festivals, and includes a glossary of Appalachian and cooking terms." --Kentucky Monthly" --

""Sohn'snarrative exploration of the rituals, rites, and recipes of the hillsreally took me home. What a pleasure!" --Linda Scott DeRosier, author of Creeker" --

""Mark Sohn has a lean and hungry look, and thus he can handle his obsession with food better than most of us. He has invited himself to dinner pretty much throughout the region and made off with recipes, and then he has cooked them all himself and dined generously. Without his lean genes he'd be two ax handles wide. When you read these recipes for chicken and dumplings, country ham, fried trout, crackling bread, shuck beans, cheese grits casseroles, bean patties, and sweet potato pie your mouth will begins to water whether or not you have a connection to Appalachia." --Loyal Jones, author of Faith and Meaning in the Southern Uplands" --

""Tells how mountain people have taken what they had to work with, from livestock to produce, and provides more than recipes, but the stories behind the preparing of the food.... The reading is almost as much fun as the eating, with fewer calories." --Modern Mountain Magazine" --

""Offers everything you ever wanted to know about culinary mysteries like shucky beans, pawpaws, cushaw squash, and how to season cast-iron cookware." --Our State" --

""A mixture of the history of Appalachian food and the culture of the region's people, containing historic facts concerning when different cultures began occupying Appalachia and what they brought with them." --Paintsville Herald" --

""For those unacquainted with the basics of Appalachian cooking, the book serves as a valuable introduction." --Southern Historian" --

""Reminds us that food is one of the most lovingly crafted and joyfully experienced creations of culture." --Studies in American Culture" --

""I can imagine this book being used in classrooms as well as in kitchens. It is simultaneously informative and thought provoking, and I fully intend to use many of the recipes Sohn has provided here." --Resa Crane Bizzaro, Appalachian Journal" --

""Mark Sohn's book will make you hungry." --Journal of Appalachian Studies" --

About the Author

Mark F. Sohn, a food historian, columnist, photographer, recipe developer, and Pikeville College professor, is the food editor for The Encyclopedia of Appalachia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081319153X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813191539
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great history of Appalachian cooking and wonderful recipes, December 21, 2005

By 

Andrew Dinsmore "Andrew Dinsmore" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture, and Recipes (Paperback)

While most cook books just have recipes for the reader, most people never know where the recipe came from or what the history of the dish is. Maybe it is because I was a history major in college, but I found it so much more interesting knowing why some foods are prepared the way the are, where the dish originated, and why some of these foods are only prepared in Appalachia. Mark does a great job of explaining the background, economic forces, and reasons behind the foods widely eaten in Appalachia.

From frequenting Eastern Kentucky, I have a whole new appreciated for why vegetables are pickled, beacon is on so much food, and the corn bread in Eastern Kentucky is the best in the world.

After giving you a great background of the foods eaten in Appalachia, Mark has the other half of the book devoted to how one prepares the famous dishes and delicious staple foods of the mountains.

This is a great book for those who used to live in the mountains and forgot how to make their granny's food or for those who have only heard how good the eating is in the mountains. This book makes me miss Kay Ross's warm kitchen and the soup beans and the cornbread she always made for me when I used to live in Pikeville, Kentucky.

Andrew Dinsmore
Washington, D.C.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brought Back Memories..., January 6, 2006

By 

Ricky Neal "Rick Neal" (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture, and Recipes (Paperback)

Being from West Virginia, this book brought back memories of my mothers kitchen. The recipes appear like old friends we haven't seen in years and my wife and I are once again enjoying the foods we grew up with. I am from a large family and I gave this book as a Christmas gift to each of my 8 siblings. They were as delighted as I was at the many illustrations and easy to follow recipes, and were particularly happy to find their own forgotten favorites among it's pages.

I am not at all surprised to find this book already in it's second printing. If you are from Appalachia, or want to experience the flavor of Appalachian cooking, this is the book for you.

I am sure I will enjoy some of these dishes at our family reunion this year and I hope you enjoy some at yours too.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Appalachian Cooking, January 22, 2006

By 

B. Poynter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture, and Recipes (Paperback)

Luckily for twenty-first century cooks, the trend in cookbooks is to contextualize. Where is the recipe from? How has it been adapted for the American cook? What is the history of this food? As a fan of Mark Sohn's food writing, I can attest to the fact that he's been doing this for fifteen years. His most recent book takes contextualization to a whole new level. By the end of the first section you feel like you've walked up the hollers of Central Appalachia and tasted the food made over the years.

In addition to the food culture and history, the book is packed with signature Sohn recipes-easy to follow and concise. There are no extra steps in the Chocolate Gravy recipe and you know just how long it is going to take from start to finish.

As an avid cookbook reader and lover of Appalachian culture, Appalachian Home Cooking adds a whole new layer to my understanding of the region.