Customer Reviews

Renewing America's Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent's Most Endangered Foods

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The book's key focus is summarized on page xi, from a Foreword penned by Deborah Madison: "The Renewing America's Food Traditions (RAFT) collaborative. . .suggests a different scenario, one in which foods that are old might well be new again; these unfamiliar products from our country's regional food traditions can be every bit as compelling as the exotic foods we import from afar." The Introduction laments the disappearance of food traditions--and with them, food sources, some of which have become extinct, others of which have become endangered.

Gary Nabhan, the volume's editor, argues that by renewing these traditions, we might be able to revise endangered or threatened species. He notes what is at stake: much of American cuisine today is close to tasteless. Think tomatoes, for example. Mass produced, bland redness of tomatoes, for instance. Nabhan notes what has happened over time. A century ago, Americans used 15,000 different varieties of apple; today, we only have 1500 varieties. We are impoverishing the supply of food sources, with convenience replacing taste and texture. The book even lays out a "mission statement" of what we should strive for (Page 13).

The organizing structure of the book is the various "food nations," regions of the country with distinct food preferences and cultures. For example, Maple Syrup Nation includes parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont to Indiana and Ohio. Clambake Nation runs along the coastal region from Maine to New Jersey and Delaware. As an Illinoisan, I'm interested in Cornbread Nation. Then, Bison Nation, from the Dakotas and Montana to Texas. You get the point.

But, to me, one of the most interesting parts of the book, after understanding its philosophy, is the set of recipes that typify each region. In Bison Nation, there is a recipe entitled Crow Bison Cattail Stew, featuring bison meat, water, cattail stalks (how exotic can you get!), prairie turnips, cornmeal, juniper berries, salt, and pepper. Takes some preparation, but sounds tasty (I've had bison meat, and it is pretty good, if you cook it right and don't overcook it). An accompaniment perhaps? Bison Nation Hominy and Bean Chowder; Baked Sibley Squash. From Cornbread Nation: Smoked and Braised Mulefoot Hog Shoulder with Sweet Peppers, Prosciutto, and Lacinato Kale. Some of these products are hard to get! A basic point with this recipe--mulefoot hogs, apparently, are a lot tastier to eat than the current mass produced version that stocks grocery stores. And that's a thesis of the book. The quality of our food is degraded as more tasty food sources are crowded out by more commercially efficient (but tasteless) replacements. Is the charge accurate? I don't know, but the challenge for me is to locate some mulefoot hog and see.

One nice thing about the book: it provides hints to help you track down some of the food sources (some are so rare that one cannot use them to cook at this time).

Anyhow, an interesting book, looking at what we have lost from our food heritage and how we might recover some of that. The book gets you to thinking and provides some neat recipes--although you are unlikely to be able to make them unless you track down the ingredients!

This book is not just about food, it is about something deeply intrinsic to America - our food regions. As I read the book, I thought it strange that the author divides America in to the same regions that are predicted by Russia to result in any civil war break up of America. I could also see such strong, strong differences along the lines! Could it be, I thought, that "Cornbread nation" just does not completely get where "Maple Nation?" is coming from?

I really enjoyed the section on the American Chestnuts. So sad what happened to those majestic trees. It made me just want to go plant one.

I appreciated the information about how file powder is made from Sassafras - I have a sassafras tree and have been BUYING my powder. No more, now I can make my own!

I think survivalists would enjoy this book as well. It is not often one sees SQUIRREL recipes anymore. The pictures also, they are awesome.

This book inspired me to grow more in my garden and stick with foods native to my area

When the European style of cooking met the plethora of ingredients native to the Americas, a new tradition was born. "Renewing America's Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent's Most Endangered Foods" is a look at the forgotten foods of the American tradition and countless tips and articles about restoring these foods to prominence. Using the concept of if it's eaten, it will be remembered and recreated, "Renewing America's Food Traditions" is as educational as it is delicious. A top pick for chefs looking for something historical to cook, "Renewing America's Food Traditions" is a must for any American cookbook or history collection.

This book is attractive, but otherwise just plain silly and somehow very irritating. To begin with, the Forward and Introduction are so poorly worded, it's almost impossible to make sense of them. Secondly, the featured foods are in many cases not endangered at all - except as food items since no one wants to eat them. And, thirdly, the recipes are ridiculous, unsavory, and pointless since we shouldn't be eating endangered stuff anyway.

One contention is that if these foods are eaten, their increased popularity will ensure their survival. That may be true of the farmed foods, but it isn't true of the wild foods.

To be fair, I checked, and the New York Times had nothing to bad to say about the book. However, I hated it. If you just want to read about foods eaten in the past, or you enjoy food trivia, you might find it fun. However, if you take the book seriously as a blueprint for saving worthwhile foods, you won't like it.