How America Eats: A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture

American Ways Series

by Jennifer Jensen Wallach

How America A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture, by food and social historian Jennifer Wallach, sheds a new and interesting light on American history by way of the dinner table. It is, at once, a study of America’s diverse culinary history and a look at the country’s unique and unprecedented journey to the present day. While undeniably a “melting pot” of different cultures and cuisines, America’s food habits have been shaped as much by technological innovations and industrial progress as by the intermingling and mixture of ethnic cultures. By studying what Americans have been eating since the colonial era, we are further enlightened to the conflicting ways in which Americans have chosen to define themselves, their culture, their beliefs, and the changes those definitions have undergone over time. Understanding the American diet is the first step toward grasping the larger truths, the complex American narratives that have long been swept under the table, and the evolving answers to the What does it mean to be American?

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Food, Food History, Read For School

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Andres Cordoba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a solid book! Very solid deep dive into the multitude of angles from which American diets developed, starting from the very beginning of US diets and the racism that has been pervasive, but acted like an osmotic barrier on racial lines, freely adopting food, while leaving people behind... or worse.

The book spend the first half walking the reader through the development of American cuisine through the country's history and the many influences that shaped the growing and changing consumption in the US. The second part, instead focuses on an intersectional approach covering gender, religion & patriotism, race, and politics. Each of these chapters is quite well written and eye opening, even with their very 'digestible' length.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to a lot of aspects of food history and culture in America. It covers a lot, going from pilgrims to modern day, but mostly skims through the many topics. You can definitely use it as a starting point to go further. The cover is very colorful but the book itself is more academically written, so at times it can feel like school trying to read through it.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a delightful sprint through food history and practice in the US. Well thought out even as it skims along many topics that make up the story of a place. A very good viewfinder into the past.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Wallach's approach to understanding the past through food is both interesting and captivating. Loved this book!

[Linda Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has a very politically correct viewpoint which comes through in her writing. Other than that, this book was informative.

[Mia]

another book for class, pretty interesting

[Keely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is comprehensive and well researched, but the writing is so plodding and textbook-y that it is quite laborious to get through, and it suffers from a lack of specific examples that would make the passages come to life. Here is a typical one: "It should also be noted that British menus were not static and unchanging either, and eating habits in that country came to bear the imprint of culinary influences from throughout the empire." Pretty awkward. It continues: "However, in the eighteenth century standard American and British diets were still largely based on similar ideas and ingredients . . ." What similar ideas and ingredients is she talking about? She really doesn't say either in the preceding or following paragraphs. There are several illuminating sections, including one that puts to rest some of the myths we take for granted about Thanksgiving, but overall the book has a hard time surpassing its tedious writing style and disappointing lack of diagrams, sample menus, recipes, and examples that would illustrate more clearly the points the author wants to make. Her points are good and worth learning about, but getting there is not too much fun.

By the way, I read one review describing numerous problems with the Kindle version - misplaced sections, missing pages, and the like. But from what I've read this is typical of what Kindle does with just about every book it gets its hands on.

[Stuart Miller]

A general overview of American eating habits since first settlements. There actually wasn't a lot here that I didn't already know and that's because I read a fair amount of food history. But for someone needing an introduction to the topic, this would be a good place to start.