The Florida Cookbook: From Gulf Coast Gumbo to Key Lime Pie--KCA Pbk (Knopf Cooks American Series) [Paperback]

Jeanne Voltz (Author), Caroline Stuart (Author)

Book Description

Series: Knopf Cooks American Series | Publication Date: February 13, 1996

A generous and delicious sampling (more than 200 recipes) of the cooking of Florida, along with an entertaining excurison into the land where the story of American food began and where today one can find the most interesting culinary diversity in the U.S.A.

Jeanne Voltz and Caroline Stuart take us through all six areas of Florida: the Northeast (for Oyster Roasts, Smoked Beans, Peanut Butter Pie); the Panhandle (Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant, Cheese Grits, Blackberry Dumplings); the Space Coast, Gold Coast, and the Keys (Conch Salad, Broiled Yellowtail with Orange Butter); the Big Bend and the Sun Coast (Crab Boil, Calabaza Salad, Rum Spanish Flan with Caramelized Oranges); Central Florida (Smothered Rabbit, Greens with Corn Meal Dumplings); and Florida's Great Lake (Frog's Legs, Hoppin' John, Fresh Banana Layer Cake).

Anyone who loves good food will welcome the delightful fare to be found in these pages. And Floridians—newcomers, old-timers, and those just passing through—will discover a wealth of information about where and how to enjoy the riches of land and sea.


With more than 65 photographs and illustrations

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dispelling the stereotype of Florida as a Disney void or geriatric Levittown, Voltz ( Barbecued Ribs and Other Great Feeds ) and Stuart, southerners both, offer an entertaining overview of a cuisine that has "more ethnic diversity than any in America, and possibly the world." Dividing Florida into six regions, they illustrate the character of each through recipes and vignettes. Interspersed between instructions for the Spanish-, French- and African American-influenced foods of the Panhandle, like boiled peanuts and smothered quail, are tales of Gulf Coast oysters and cockfighting in Pensacola. Like all cookbooks consorting with native kitchens and restaurants, this book is a voyeur's delight. Its recipes tickle readers with imaginary viewings of local legendary feats--building the titanic Greek salad at the Louis Pappas Restaurant in Tarpon Springs--and also treat us to the more homespun: throwing together a mess of pineapple coleslaw at barbecues for Florida rodeo riders. Although the book lacks the singular voice that could imbue this kind of collection with emotional meaning, its precision and comprehensiveness make it a valuable historical document, reminiscent of the WPA guides of the 1930s. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

More than 450 years ago, Florida became the cradle of American cooking as we know it now, the place where European foods were first blended with the foodways of Native Americans. The great mix was set in motion in 1513, when Ponce de Leon staked a claim for Spain near Ponte Vedra. The exchange of multicultural food customs has never ceased, creating a cuisine of more ethnic diversity than any in America, and possibly in the world....

It was the founding of St. Augustine in 1565 and, two years later, the Nombre de Dios mission that introduced European cooking to the new continent. Franciscans traveling the mission trail to Pensacola were making egg custards in the Spanish manner and using rice and spices unknown then in the Western world, and settlers in Florida were eating in the Spanish style long before Father Junipero Serra, the culinary trailblazer in the West, founded the first mission in California.

However, two powerful influences moderated the Spanish flavor of Florida. First, there were the people of African heritage. A small number of Moors and Africans came as free persons with the Conquistadors, then thousands were brought here as slaves, starting in the middle of the sixteenth century. The blacks carried with them sesame seeds, yams, eggplants, and okra, for their own use. The second influential non-Spanish group was the Anglo-Americans descendants of settlers in New England, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who began to trickle into Florida before the American Revolution. They brought sweets, a taste for rice cooked differently from the Spanish, and quick hot breads. Not until the Spanish migrations to Key West and Tampa after the Civil War did European-type wheat breads come into general use, except in Pensacola, where a unique hardtack was made for the salad called gaspachee.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (February 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679765751
• ISBN-13: 978-0679765752
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Florida at it's best!, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Florida Cookbook: From Gulf Coast Gumbo to Key Lime Pie (Knopf Cooks American Series) (Hardcover)

I'm no cook and I found the easy to follow recipies a "real treat", but that's nothing compared to the way the dishes came out. Truly awesome!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recipes good and the pictures and history very interesting., June 28, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Florida Cookbook: From Gulf Coast Gumbo to Key Lime Pie--KCA Pbk (Knopf Cooks American Series) (Paperback)

I am a native Floridian (4th generation)and it is truly amazing how accurate the recipes and the history information is.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely GREAT!, January 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Florida Cookbook: From Gulf Coast Gumbo to Key Lime Pie--KCA Pbk (Knopf Cooks American Series) (Paperback)

This book is a wonderful collection of tantalizing recipes and interesting Floridian history! I recommend it for anyone who lives here, has been here, or just enjoys Florida.