A Culinary History Of Kentucky

Pull up a chair to the kitchen table and enjoy a delicious adventure through the Bluegrass State’s food history. Kentucky’s cuisine can be traced back to Cherokee, Irish, Scottish, English and German roots, among others. A typical Kentucky meal might have the standard meat and three, but there are many dishes that can’t be found anywhere else. Poke sallet, despite its toxic roots and berries, is such a favorite in parts of eastern Kentucky that an annual festival celebrates it. Find recipes for dishes from burgoo to hog to moonshine and frogs. Join author Fiona Young-Brown as she details all the delectable delights sure to make the mouth water.

Pull up a chair to the kitchen table and enjoy a delicious adventure through Bluegrass food history. Kentucky's cuisine can be traced back to Cherokee, Irish, Scottish, English and German roots, among others. A typical Kentucky meal might have the standard meat and three, but there are many dishes that can't be found anywhere else. Poke sallet, despite its toxic roots and berries, is such a favorite in parts of eastern Kentucky that an annual festival celebrates it. Find recipes for dishes from burgoo to hog to moonshine and frogs. Join author Fiona Young-Brown as she details all the delectable delights sure to make the mouth water.

Over 100 old-time recipes “authentic enough that one can easily cook like grandma (or her ma). A must for every kitchen and a nostalgic delight” (Louisville Courier-Journal). Kitchens aren’t just a place to prepare food—they’re cornerstones of the home and family. Just as memories are passed down through stories shared around the stove, recipes preserve traditions and customs for future generations. The Historic Kentucky Kitchen assembles over one hundred dishes from nineteenth and twentieth-century Kentucky cooks. Deirdre A. Scaggs and Andrew W. McGraw collected recipes from handwritten books, diaries, scrapbook clippings, and out-of-print cookbooks from the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections to bring together a variety of classic dishes, complete with descriptions of each recipe’s origin and helpful tips for the modern chef. The authors, who carefully tested each dish, also provide recipe modifications and substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients. This entertaining cookbook also serves up famous Kentuckians’ favorite dishes, including John Sherman Cooper’s preferred comfort food (eggs somerset) and Lucy Hayes Breckinridge’s “excellent” fried oysters. The recipes are flavored with humorous details such as “[for] those who thought they could not eat parsnips” and “Granny used to beat ’em [biscuits] with a musket.” Accented with historic photos and featuring traditional meals ranging from skillet cakes to spaghetti with celery and ham, this is a novel and tasty way to experience the rich, diverse history of the Bluegrass State.

"A history of Kentucky food"--

Food is a significant part of our daily lives and can be one of the most telling records of a time and place. Our meals—from what we eat, to how we prepare it, to how we consume it—illuminate our culture and history. As a result, cookbooks present a unique opportunity to analyze changing foodways and can yield surprising discoveries about society's tastes and priorities. In Kentucky's Cookbook Heritage, John van Willigen explores the state's history through its changing food culture, beginning with Lettice Bryan's The Kentucky Housewife (originally published in 1839). Considered one of the earliest regional cookbooks, The Kentucky Housewife includes pre–Civil War recipes intended for use by a household staff instead of an individual cook, along with instructions for serving the family. Van Willigen also shares the story of the original Aunt Jemima—the advertising persona of Nancy Green, born in Montgomery County, Kentucky—who was one of many African American voices in Kentucky culinary history. Kentucky's Cookbook Heritage is a journey through the history of the commonwealth, showcasing the shifting priorities and innovations of the times. Analyzing the historical importance of a wide range of publications, from the nonprofit and charity cookbooks that flourished at the end of the twentieth century to the contemporary cookbook that emphasizes local ingredients, van Willigen provides a valuable perspective on the state's social history.

This 1904 book evokes the sights, smells, and tastes of Kentucky in the 1900s. Most importantly, the book was groundbreaking, over one hundred years ago, in its celebration of the vital role Black women played in building and sustaining the tradition of Southern cooking and Southern hospitality.

“Well-researched and original” essays on the intersection between food and adventure (Publishers Weekly). Culinary Tourism is the first book to consider food as both a destination and a means for tourism. The book’s contributors examine the many intersections of food, culture, and tourism in public and commercial contexts, in private and domestic settings, and around the world. The contributors argue that the sensory experience of eating provides people with a unique means of communication—whether they’re trying out a new kind of ethnic restaurant in their own town or the native cuisine of a place far from home. Editor Lucy Long explains how and why interest in foreign food is expanding tastes and leading to commercial profit in America, but the book also shows how tourism combines personal experiences with cultural and social attitudes toward food and the circumstances that allow for adventurous eating. “Contributors to the book are widely recognized food experts who encourage readers to venture outside the comforts of home and embark on new eating experiences.” —Lexington Herald-Leader

The Kentucky Barbecue Book is a feast for readers who are eager to sample the finest fare in the state. From the banks of the Mississippi to the hidden hollows of the Appalachian Mountains, author and barbecue enthusiast Wes Berry hit the trail in search of the best smoke, the best flavor, and the best pitmasters he could find. This handy guide presents the most succulent menus and colorful personalities in Kentucky.