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coolschoolgal's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
3.0
Who knew that curry and soy sauce have been part of American recipes for many more decades - and centuries, for curry - than I imagined? Also the history and botany of black pepper, vanilla, chili powder, garlic, MSG (!), and sriracha. Fun.
jenniferstringer's review against another edition
4.0
I actually really enjoyed this book, despite my husband's teasing about its "riveting" subject matter. In this book the author walks us through the introduction of certain flavors in US cuisine. Beginning with pepper and ending with Sriracha sauce, Lohman tells the story of how eight different flavors became part of the American palate. She included recipes from the earliest times of the their introductions and more modern uses. Pepper cookies, Thomas Jefferson's vanilla ice-cream recipe, how to make homemade MSG (boy, was I really wrong in my assumptions of what MSG was), garlic everything, interesting curries, and most recently sriracha sauce. I think this would make a really fun book club pick with each of the participants bringing samples. While I am really curious about pepper cookies, I don't know what I would do with an entire batch of them, so book club samples would be perfect (Assuming, as my husband doubts, that I had nerdy enough friends who would want to participate.) Still, I saved a bunch of them and hope to give them a go at some point. Since reading this book, I've found myself really stopping and appreciating the abundance of flavor in my life - each turn of the pepper mill or squeeze of the garlic press comes with an incredible story - and that it just the tip of the iceberg!
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book on impulse. I was in the library to pick up the books I’d reserved when I saw this title on a display shelf. “Interesting concept,” I thought.
I didn’t like it quite as much as I’d hoped to, but a lot of that has to do with my particular personality. I am vegan, so almost all of the recipes were useless to me. And I have been vegan for a LONG time, so just the descriptions of chopping and frying dead birds and pigs and cows were distasteful.
That said, there are some wonderful stories and Sarah can write clear, well-organized prose. She is particularly good on describing the individual chemicals that make up particular flavors.
The final story, about Sriracha sauce, was the most memorable to me. It’s a classic immigrant rags to riches story, always a good story to hear. But the minor details were the ones that grabbed my attention. I did not realize that:
—The majority of the Vietnamese refugees fleeing in boats were members of an ethnic minority within Vietnam, the Chinese-Vietnamese. It’s no surprise that an ethnic minority suffered most during a societal “reorganization.”
—This group, the entrepreneurial business owners, was particularly targeted by the communist north Vietnamese
—Pho, the Vietnamese beef soup served in countless numbered storefronts, is a Vietnamese adaptation of the French pot-au-feu.
I do want to remember the “trend-mapping stages” developed by the Center for Culinary Development.
Here they are, copied from a page on the CCD website:
“...major food trends pass through five distinct stages on their way to the mainstream:”
“Stage 1: The ingredient, dish and/or cooking technique appears at upscale dining establishments, ethnic and popular independent restaurants.
Stage 2: The item is featured in specialty consumer-oriented food magazines such as Bon Appetit plus retail stores such as Sur La Table that target culinary professionals and serious home cooks.
Stage 3: The item begins to appear in mainstream chain restaurants—Applebee's or Chili's—as well as retail stores such as Williams-Sonoma that target recreational cooks.
Stage 4: Publications such as Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens pick up the buzz.
Stage 5: Finally, the trend makes its way to quick service restaurant menus and either starts to appear or gains increased mainstream presence on grocery store shelves.”
I didn’t like it quite as much as I’d hoped to, but a lot of that has to do with my particular personality. I am vegan, so almost all of the recipes were useless to me. And I have been vegan for a LONG time, so just the descriptions of chopping and frying dead birds and pigs and cows were distasteful.
That said, there are some wonderful stories and Sarah can write clear, well-organized prose. She is particularly good on describing the individual chemicals that make up particular flavors.
The final story, about Sriracha sauce, was the most memorable to me. It’s a classic immigrant rags to riches story, always a good story to hear. But the minor details were the ones that grabbed my attention. I did not realize that:
—The majority of the Vietnamese refugees fleeing in boats were members of an ethnic minority within Vietnam, the Chinese-Vietnamese. It’s no surprise that an ethnic minority suffered most during a societal “reorganization.”
—This group, the entrepreneurial business owners, was particularly targeted by the communist north Vietnamese
—Pho, the Vietnamese beef soup served in countless numbered storefronts, is a Vietnamese adaptation of the French pot-au-feu.
I do want to remember the “trend-mapping stages” developed by the Center for Culinary Development.
Here they are, copied from a page on the CCD website:
“...major food trends pass through five distinct stages on their way to the mainstream:”
“Stage 1: The ingredient, dish and/or cooking technique appears at upscale dining establishments, ethnic and popular independent restaurants.
Stage 2: The item is featured in specialty consumer-oriented food magazines such as Bon Appetit plus retail stores such as Sur La Table that target culinary professionals and serious home cooks.
Stage 3: The item begins to appear in mainstream chain restaurants—Applebee's or Chili's—as well as retail stores such as Williams-Sonoma that target recreational cooks.
Stage 4: Publications such as Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens pick up the buzz.
Stage 5: Finally, the trend makes its way to quick service restaurant menus and either starts to appear or gains increased mainstream presence on grocery store shelves.”