Read: Food of a Younger Land edited by Mark Kurlansky

The origins of Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food–Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation’s Food Was Seasonal stemmed from the Federal Writers Program which Auden called “one of the noblest and most absurd undertakings ever attempted by any state”. What was to be called America Eats was meant to be an encyclopedia of America’s food and food traditions, kind of like a food guidebook to America. The writing – by Nelson Algren, Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty for example as well as others who weren’t quite so established – was to be “light but not tea shoppe, masculine not feminine”.

But it was never published.

Kurlansky, who’s written several books on food, uncovered the manuscripts stored at the Library of Congress. He selected “not always the best but the most interesting pieces, both unsigned and signed”.

And what has resulted is a eclectic collection of a great variety of pieces. The content pages alone entice anyone with even the slightest interest in food. Who could resist articles on sugaring-off, Georgia Possum and Taters, Montana Fried Beaver Tail, Depression Cake, South Carolina Chicken Bog, Washington Wildcat Parties?

Among my favourite reads was New York Soda-Luncheonette Slang and Jargon where I learnt that bellywash = soup; houseboat = banana split; CJ on a raft = cream cheese and jelly on toast. Fun!

There is a feeling of incompleteness, of course, that isn’t really Kurlansky’s fault. This is a book that wasn’t complete. It is a mixed bag written by so many different writers, some of whom probably shouldn’t have been included in the project in the first place. As a result, I skimmed my way through quite a few of them, some suffering from a bit too much of an overlap.

But I am completely appreciative of this collection, in which “forgotten cuisines and a vanished world are unearthed”. There was such a sense of community revolving around many of the dishes. It’s always amazing how food can bring different people together.

“There’s something about a sugaring-off party that makes people loosen up, drop the barriers, relax into jovial spirits and easy friendliness. A sugaring-off brings out the better side of folks. The brisk mountain air, smelling of fresh earth, cool snow, burning wood, boiling syrup, and pine boughs, whets the appetite to an incredible degree. The men and women and children swarming around the sugarplace share a common hunger, with the delightful means of satisfying it close at hand and free as the March breeze. The rigid winter is broken and gone, the feel of spring is in the air, and people grow mellow in the sunshine. Old feuds are forgotten for the time and good fellowship prevails. Everything is natural, comfortable and pleasant. It is difficult to hate, or even dislike anyone at a Vermont sugaring-off.”

This is a great portrait of American food, a roadtrip through history. It was a fun read.

Book provided by – my library

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

5 comments

  1. Mome Rath

    Sounds like it could be entertaining. Have you read anything else by Kurlansky? I really enjoyed Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, but was a little underwhelmed by Salt: A World History (great introduction but uneven chapters in the rest of the book).

    • olduvai

      Nope, this was the first book of his that I’ve read – although, technically it’s not quite his writing is it, since it’s a collection of articles put together by him. I’ll have to go check out Cod, thanks for the recommendation! If you’re interested in seafood-related writing, I’d recommend Trevor Corson’s The Secret Life of Lobsters, which is quite fascinating and very well written.

  2. Mome Rath

    I’d never even given it a thought that lobstahs might have secret lives! The book does look intriguing, especially since the lobster industry is so vital to Maine.

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