The American Ethnic Cookbook For Students: (Cookbooks for Students) (Paperback)

~ Mark H. Zanger (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-A rich source of 400 recipes from 122 alphabetically arranged ethnic groups including 21 Native American tribes. However, these are not from the original culture, but rather are the American adaptations by people who remember another time and place. For each group there is a short informative history and a current estimate of population, followed by two to six recipes. The annotated bibliography includes Web sites that provide sources for more dishes. The family favorites range in difficulty, and a few line drawings illustrate complicated procedures. An instructional chapter on kitchen safety is useful for students as is the recipe index and an index by state. The appendix provides cross-cultural foods and their names in various countries. This book supplements Carole Lisa Albyn's Multicultural Cookbook for Students (1993) and Lois S. Webb's Holidays of the World Cookbook (1995, both Oryx). It includes groups that are difficult to find in other sources such as Carpatho-Rusyn-Americans, Hmong-Americans, and Slovene-Americans. Using these recipes will be a great motivation for students to learn about the varied heritage of our immigrant nation.-Sandra L. Doggett, Urbana High School, Ijamsville, MD

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Because of the continuing flow of immigrants into the U.S, almost nothing edible can any longer be considered foreign to these shores. Each immigrant group has brought its culture with its baggage, and culture usually means cooking habits. Mark Zanger has produced a comprehensive guide documenting each immigrant band's contributions to American cooking. Even some of the tiniest, least-known groups find a place at the table here: Estonians, Nigerians, Gypsies, and Macedonians, to name just a handful. For each immigrant group, Zanger gives a historical introduction and then a few sample recipes. Recipes strive to be authentic without resorting to ingredients unavailable in reasonably comprehensive supermarkets. This practical, useful reference book is a boon to any teacher seeking tasty ways to induce students to celebrate ethnic diversity, and Zanger's annotated bibliography adds still more value to his efforts. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oryx Press (January 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573563455
• ISBN-13: 978-1573563451
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #553,038 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author's Review, October 27, 2000

By	Mark Zanger (Jamaica Plain, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I was born to write this book, was fortunate enough to get the contract, and now you can share the fun! It contains a short profile and 2-6 recipes for each of 122 ethnic groups in the United States. The recipes are almost entirely verbatim from church and community cookbooks, internet exchanges, and my files of almost 30 years as a food journalist. The publisher, Oryx Press, wanted a reference book for middle-school and high school students doing assignments in social studies, modern languages, local history, US history, multicultural studies, and those "Roots" assignments that are so popular these days. But I think this book will be delightful reading for anyone interested in roots and other peoples' roots. It's also a very good cookbook -- unlike the clever inventions of chefs, these are proven family recipes, and surprisingly healthful. The book sticks to supermarket ingredients, and the recipes have a range of difficulty. Some of the recipes with a lot of steps, such as

the stack cakes of Icelandic-Americans, Scotch-Irish-Americans, and Melungeons, make good class or group projects.

Speaking of Melungeons, the book contains some small and little known ethnic groups, including rare recipes from Gypsy-Americans, Vlach-Americans, and Garifuna; ethno-religious groups like the Mormons and the Black Muslims; groups that formed in the United States, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch and the New Mexico Hispanics; the ten largest Indian tribes (and 12 smaller Native groups); and almost all immigrant groups with more than 100,000 descendants on the 1990 Census Ancestry Survey.

From the Acadians (Cajuns) to the Zuni, from Amish Church Peanut Butter Spread to Zazich and Zgance, from breakfast dishes to midnight snacks, this is a wild anthology of the many delicious ways American cooks have held onto group identities while bringing traditional dishes into American lifestyles.

You have never read a cookbook like this before, and you may never see one another like it until I finish The American Historical Cookbook for Students next year. --Mark

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating, Funny and Friendly Book about Food, April 11, 2001

By	Lynn Nadis (New Haven, CT and Cambridge, England) - See all my reviews

This is the first cookbook that I have stayed up reading in bed. I am not a student in chef school - this book is a gem for anyone interested in people. I loved finding out about other people's family history and heritage, and my own. The introductions to each ethnic group are short and informative. What makes this cookbook really special, though, is its style. The introduction is full of comments about good cooking practices that made me laugh out loud for their truth and wit. I also liked the sensetive comments and suggestions about food substitutions for people with religious and other dietary restrictions. Finally, the recipe directions are simple and clear, never omitting possible adjustments that sometimes are necessary, which experienced chefs would know, but that novices like myself would miss. There are clear illustrations and as always in this book, gentle humour that makes reading and cooking a joy. I look forward to the author's next book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great cookbook for teachers and adventurous eaters!, July 29, 2001

By	Barbara Alpert (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This is a terrific cookbook, brimming with wonderful facts about the myriad of ethnic groups that people America! Mark Zanger has rounded up not only a great collection of recipes, but also stories about the food and the culture from which it comes. I'm a new teacher with students from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and more...and I love the information provided about favorite dishes of each of these cultures that I can share with my kids! I'm already wishing for volume 2, wanting more recipes from many of these groups. I know I'll use it often.