Farmbrarian

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Right now, in forests across Canada and the Northeastern US, sweet sap is dripping out of maple trees and being boiled down to make our favorite pancake topping–maple syrup. Tim Herd celebrates this tradition in his new book Maple Sugar From Sap to Syrup: The History, Lore, and How-To Behind This Sweet Treat (2011).

The small resource is an enjoyable collage of images and text, history and how-to. Herd discusses Native American techniques for processing sap, advances and other uses, tips for tapping trees and an identification guide for different maple varieties. The book concludes with a wide mix of recipes.

For anyone interested in Slow Food and the concept of terroir, Maple Sugar a book worth browsing. The guide would also be a great additional to a grade school curriculum.

You might also like: American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields

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The United States has some amazing and very diverse food traditions. Perhaps you’re interested in “Mississippi Mullet Salad,” also referred to as “Biloxi Bacon” (certainly more appetizing by that name). And sure, Boston has its baked beans recipe (it is Bean Town after all), but are you aware of “Nebraska Baked Beans”?

Author Mark Kurlansky pulls off a truly intriguing and unique project in his book The Food of a Younger Land. Kurlansky poured through the lost files of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) – a Great Depression era, New Deal program that hired thousands of writers across the country to piece together a thorough look at how Americans ate. The project was called America Eats. Sadly, it was interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent  focus on World War II and was never finished.

Ultimately, The Food of a Younger Land is a patchwork of recipes and food stories from the America Eats project. Each of America’s many, many food traditions is worthy of being remembered, if for no other reason than the curiosity of history. Kurlansky has provided a great service by assembling this book. After all, you never know when you might like to try “Indian Persimmon Pudding,” or “Georgia Possum and Taters.”

You might also like: Twain’s Feast: Searching For America’s Lost Foods In the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens by Andrew Beahrs

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Epigenetics, nutrigenomics and other complicated means of studying how our genes interact with our food are all the rage lately. It seems that we may be at the tip of the iceberg with understanding why some people’s genetic makeup puts them at serious risk of disease. It is quite interesting that putting food through our digestive tract ultimately works with our genetic blueprint to produce favorable, or not so favorable, outcomes.

Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity is a 2004 work by food writer Gary Paul Nabhan that looks at these topics in order to understand how our varying paths of evolution lead to different genetic makeup, which leads to vastly different traditions and nutritional needs.

For example, Nabhan leads an interesting discussion on the logic of exporting the famed “Mediterranean” diet around the rest of the Western world. This diet seems to have done very well for the people of that region (or, actually, for the people on the islands of Crete and Corfu, from where most of the information about the diet actually came). But does that mean a Mexican-American would benefit similarly? It is possible, but that diet will likely be rather unfamiliar to that person’s body, including his genes.

This mainstream work of anthropology is approachable and entertaining. Food traditions are cornerstones of culture, and the fact that many of these are backed by our genetic blueprint is rarely considered. I personally think we should go to great length to maintain such traditions, and Nabhan’s work shows that this is not only important culturally, but also on an instinctual level.

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Food, by necessity, plays a massive role in today’s world. Historically, it has played an even larger role in culture and in people’s everyday lives. Take for example the hunter-gatherer, whose only worries were food and safety. Even during the bulk of the 20th century the vast majority of the world was still somehow involved in food production. Considering all points in between, author Tom Standage, in his book An Edible History of Humanity, traces mankind’s path by looking through its stomach.

The book amounts to a collection of food related stories throughout the history of man. It is both interesting and informative, as history always provides powerful lessons. Standage tells of the start of agriculture, when food was the initial form of wealth. Grains can be stored, so if you harvested and stored more of them than anyone else, you had more of the thing of most value. Until such divisions emerge (rich vs poor, haves vs have-nots, etc.) society as we know it can’t exist. It was truly food over all else that has determined culture throughout history. Later in the book, Standage reminds us that it was Napoleon who said, “If only I have bread, it will be child’s play to beat the Russians” (145). Food has indeed been a powerful weapon that has determined history.

Those with an interest in history will find this book an intriguing read (along with his other book A History of the World in Six Glasses). Anyone well versed on the topic may be disappointed by the book’s lack of depth. Overall, it is a rather enjoyable, though somewhat abridged look at the historical power of food.

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Award-winning journalist and non-fiction writer Taras Grescoe takes readers on a whirlwind tour of our oceans within his 2008 book Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood. Grescoe seamlessly integrates cultural culinary traditions, investigative reporting and travel writing within the book.

Grescoe begins in New York City where he explores how monkfish gained popularity and how catching the elusive fish harms ocean floors. From there, he moves around the globe: cod in England, sardines in the Mediterranean, shrimp in India, and so on. As Grescoe visits each country, he samples local fare, mingles with fishermen and fishmongers, and discusses the threats facing regional species and waters. Grescoe explains in detail concerns such as overfishing, invasive species and pollution.

Bottomfeeder is meticulously researched and eloquently written. For environmentally conscious consumers who want to learn how to responsibly eat seafood, this is a must-read. Even those well versed in the threats facing our oceans will learn something by reading this book.

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Editor C.R. Lindemer delivers a humorous and heart-warming collection of stories in True Cow Tales: Literary Sketches and Stories by Farmers, Ranchers, and Dairy Princesses (2009).

Everyday folks who owned cattle or grew up alongside them share their memories in the 40 stories that comprise True Cow Tales. Contributions include loving tales about calves; recounted experiences of dairy princess pageants and tours; stories of roaming herds and subsequent round-ups; and tales that recall the strong family ties forged a midst this all.

Ranchers and farmers will surely relate to the stories, which showcase the wild antics and vivid personalities of the bovine breed.  Those who have never experienced farm life will find the stories enlightening and entertaining.

Overall, the literary voice of the text is elementary. But the raw writing style enhances the experience. The text reads like an oral history anthology. Each tale could have easily been told around the dinner table or lifted from the pages of an old journal. The archival quality of the stories is, by far, the strongest aspect of the book. True Cow Tales preserves stories about small-scale dairy farming that might otherwise have been lost. Luckily, a second volume is in the works.

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Where Our Food Comes From traces the path of Nikolay Vavilov, a Russian scientist who embarked on a mission to collect and store seeds from around the world. According to Nabhan, Vavilov was the first to fully articulate the connections between food diversity, health and food security–all of which are hot topics in agriculture and nutrition (23). Vavilov’s journey and contribution to science and agriculture was certainly profound.

The book follows Vavilov’s path, a small part of which was recently retraced by Nabhan himself. Entwined in the story is that of the WWII era communist government of the Soviet Union, which was ultimately responsible for Vavilov’s premature death, despite his extraordinary and successful efforts to preserve plants for future generations.

A clear picture of Vavilov’s life is painted, but the book reads a bit like a history lesson. Hopefully the book inspires others to continue Vavilov’s life work, however it is unlikely to provide much in the way of entertainment.

Quotes:

• “Today, America educates its rural youth to aspire to be anything but a farmer” (137).
• “[Vavilov is] the man who more than anyone else in history helped humankind appreciate where our food has come from” (190).