In the early 1980s, on assignment from the American Museum of Natural History, Raymond Sokolov crisscrossed America in search of traditional regional cuisines. He traveled from Maine to California, returning with a cornucopia of recipes that few at the time seemed anxious to maintain- recipes such as boudin blanc, persimmon fudge, and, for the truly adventurous, roast bear paws. The resulting essays, here collected, were intended to describe and preserve these vanishing, quintessential American foods. Since its first publication, however, Fading Feast has proven to be not a farewell, but the forerunner of renewed interest in these regional treasures. Written with panache and passion - and featuring a dozen essays not included in the original version this new edition is as timely and entertaining now as when Sokolov first set out to record our native culinary customs.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Culinary History and Travelogue,
By Mary P. Strohl (Davis, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fading Feast: A Compendium of Disappearing American Regional Foods (Nonpareil Book, 75.) (Paperback)
This book would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys food and travel. Sokolov's visits with regional cooks, gardeners, and farmers throughout the United States has resulted in a book which is soul food for the curious reader. Somewhat akin to Blue HIghways by William Least Heat-Moon, this book's focus is on our culinary heritage. This unique history is brought to life by the author's skills in storytelling, research, and writing. His experience as food editor and critic for the New York Times enliven the text. Browsing through the pages of this book allows the reader to discover the secrets of harvesting morel mushrooms in Michigan, processing wild rice in Minnesota, cultivating wild lowbush blueberries in Maine, diving for abalone on the Pacific coast, or preparing traditional blue corn tortillas according to Hopi grandmothers. Over 100 authentic recipes are included. These time consuming predecessors of commerical methods and fast foods relay nostalgia for the past. Like arts and crafts which are vanishing, these regional foods live on in memory and the knowledge continues to be passed from mother to daughter and father to son. The book is enhanced by beautiful colored photographs of a salmon roast in the northwest, a clambake in Massachusetts, Cornish pasties in Upper Michigan, and wild persimmons in Indiana. Poetry, line drawings, and humor are scattered like seasonings throughout the chapters. A thorough index and an index of recipes provide the dollop on a book to be savored and delved into time and again.
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