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107 reviews for:
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
Andrew Coe, Jane Ziegelman
3.66 AVERAGE
107 reviews for:
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
Andrew Coe, Jane Ziegelman
3.66 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I've always been interested in the cookery and food wizardry of the Great Depression. Whenever I cooked with my great grandmother, I saw the remainder of habits and recipes that she used throughout a dark time in order to keep herself and her family fed. Ziegelman travels throughout the United States, turning her perspective on various groups of individuals who persisted and existed during the Depression. For example, chapters focus on the well-dressed men who waited for hours in breadlines in New York City, the midwestern farm wives who tempered abundance with hard work and planning, the new generation of single women who moved to the cities to work, the kitchenette housewives who used small spaces to their best advantage, and the schools who strived to feed thousands of children a day. Expansive in scope, "A Square Meal" provides a comprehensive history of nutrition, well-fare, and eatery in the United States, during a time when food was at its most abundant and, at the same time, scarcest.
The Great Depression was one of the greatest food crises America has ever faced, a time when farm yields and food output were higher than ever and yet thousands upon thousands of people were starving, a time of 'want amid plenty' as Walter Lippmann famously put it. It was also a time of great change in the world of food production, preparation, storage and nutrition - and the two things are not unconnected.
Prior to the Great Depression most people thought about food much as they had always done - those on farms grew and produced themselves most of what they ate, those in towns and cities bought fresh ingredients produced locally from grocery stores and markets. There was no real means of storing ingredients long-term, so meals were dictated by seasonal availability. Processed or commercially frozen foods were unheard of, canning was mainly for pickles and preserves, and few people had heard of vitamins or calories or had any concept of a 'balanced diet'.
The Great Depression changed all that, largely because the idea of feeding one's family was no longer a matter merely for the woman of the house. Ensuring a healthy population became a matter of state and federal policy at a time when millions of people were unemployed and destitute. When welfare agencies, governmental organisations and charities became by necessity involved in keeping the people fed, the bottom line was always a consideration and diets became a matter of maximum bang for the buck. It was no longer possible for people to eat the way they always had, with nutritional balance being ensured more by accident than design. Menus were rigorously scrutinised and tested, recipes designed to ensure the maximum nutritional benefit for minimal cost, calorie levels calculated for the first time by age, sex, activity levels, the long-term impacts of malnutrition on children beginning to be understood. New technologies were researched and developed to ship food to where it was needed, to store it long-term, to preserve it at its freshest point.
The 1930s was really the era when the modern concept of food began to emerge as we now understand it - freezers and refrigerators, processed food, frozen food, nutritional pyramids, calories and vitamins. It also gave rise to an issue which is still hotly debated today - processed versus fresh, organic versus chemical, slow food versus fast food, regional variety versus homogeneity. Today we are so accustomed to all of these issues that we scarcely think about how they crystallised into issues in the first place.
I would never have thought a book on this topic would have been such interesting reading, and yet I found I could hardly put it down. I've read histories of the Depression before, but never from such a specific angle - and yet to most of those suffering through it the issue of food would have been the most paramount, the central dilemma around which everything else swirled. Homes, jobs, dignity, self-respect, all stemmed from the central inability of parents to feed their children, husbands to keep their families from want and starvation. Food was the issue of the Depression, so it's only right that it should have a history all of its own. I'm only surprised it's taken this long for anyone to write a book from that perspective.
Prior to the Great Depression most people thought about food much as they had always done - those on farms grew and produced themselves most of what they ate, those in towns and cities bought fresh ingredients produced locally from grocery stores and markets. There was no real means of storing ingredients long-term, so meals were dictated by seasonal availability. Processed or commercially frozen foods were unheard of, canning was mainly for pickles and preserves, and few people had heard of vitamins or calories or had any concept of a 'balanced diet'.
The Great Depression changed all that, largely because the idea of feeding one's family was no longer a matter merely for the woman of the house. Ensuring a healthy population became a matter of state and federal policy at a time when millions of people were unemployed and destitute. When welfare agencies, governmental organisations and charities became by necessity involved in keeping the people fed, the bottom line was always a consideration and diets became a matter of maximum bang for the buck. It was no longer possible for people to eat the way they always had, with nutritional balance being ensured more by accident than design. Menus were rigorously scrutinised and tested, recipes designed to ensure the maximum nutritional benefit for minimal cost, calorie levels calculated for the first time by age, sex, activity levels, the long-term impacts of malnutrition on children beginning to be understood. New technologies were researched and developed to ship food to where it was needed, to store it long-term, to preserve it at its freshest point.
The 1930s was really the era when the modern concept of food began to emerge as we now understand it - freezers and refrigerators, processed food, frozen food, nutritional pyramids, calories and vitamins. It also gave rise to an issue which is still hotly debated today - processed versus fresh, organic versus chemical, slow food versus fast food, regional variety versus homogeneity. Today we are so accustomed to all of these issues that we scarcely think about how they crystallised into issues in the first place.
I would never have thought a book on this topic would have been such interesting reading, and yet I found I could hardly put it down. I've read histories of the Depression before, but never from such a specific angle - and yet to most of those suffering through it the issue of food would have been the most paramount, the central dilemma around which everything else swirled. Homes, jobs, dignity, self-respect, all stemmed from the central inability of parents to feed their children, husbands to keep their families from want and starvation. Food was the issue of the Depression, so it's only right that it should have a history all of its own. I'm only surprised it's taken this long for anyone to write a book from that perspective.
This was a super interesting topic, and made me think about the Depression in totally new ways. I loved the insight, in particular, that it gave to Hoover's and Roosevelt's views about food and relief.
That being said, this book lacked some helpful infrastructure. The "preface" was just another chapter. There was no explanatory introduction, common to nonfiction books, giving a hint of the breadth and purpose of the book. The chapters were numbered like those of a novel, not named like those of a nonfiction books.
The result is that you were driving blind the whole time reading this, no idea where you were going or why. Besides a generally chronological organization (which gave more time to 4 years of Hoover than to 12 years of Roosevelt, somehow), you had no idea why the information was put together the way it was.
Speaking of which, that is a growing pet peeve of mine in nonfiction books--an inconsistent chronological treatment. "Oh, shoot, I pitched this book as covering the Great Depression, but it turns out I'm really more interested in the first 4 years of it. Oh well, I guess I'll just do minimal additional research and tack it on." Like, how are these things getting published?
That being said, interesting book. Definitely will think about food differently for at least the next week.
That being said, this book lacked some helpful infrastructure. The "preface" was just another chapter. There was no explanatory introduction, common to nonfiction books, giving a hint of the breadth and purpose of the book. The chapters were numbered like those of a novel, not named like those of a nonfiction books.
The result is that you were driving blind the whole time reading this, no idea where you were going or why. Besides a generally chronological organization (which gave more time to 4 years of Hoover than to 12 years of Roosevelt, somehow), you had no idea why the information was put together the way it was.
Speaking of which, that is a growing pet peeve of mine in nonfiction books--an inconsistent chronological treatment. "Oh, shoot, I pitched this book as covering the Great Depression, but it turns out I'm really more interested in the first 4 years of it. Oh well, I guess I'll just do minimal additional research and tack it on." Like, how are these things getting published?
That being said, interesting book. Definitely will think about food differently for at least the next week.
informative
slow-paced
A Square Meal was an interesting, but perplexing book. It had a great deal of good information and new ways of looking at food. At the same time, the structure felt really off. Hours were spent in the audiobook that I wish could have been renegotiated to where the book needed more content. It read like a really profound study of nutrition and politics during the thirties (mostly the first few years), but wow, those last four/five hours sped by. Definitely wanted more time on the Dust Bowl, Hoovervilles, and 1937. The piece also read as kind of classist, because the politicians and social workers of the era often were, but listening to the audiobook it was hard to distinguish and separate these anti-poor views from those of the authors. Of course they didn't feel how the Depression-era experts did, but the book did waver on a tone. I liked it! I learned a lot. My studies and writing with definitely be inspired.
Connection: I'm friends with the authors' son. He's also a student in my class about food writing. I've spoken with Jane before and I'm sure I'll see them again this year. I've been to their house.
Connection: I'm friends with the authors' son. He's also a student in my class about food writing. I've spoken with Jane before and I'm sure I'll see them again this year. I've been to their house.
The introduction was written simplistically and I was worried the whole book was like that. It felt like I was reading a children's book. Fortunately it did get better.
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting this book to be, but it had a lot of social history in there. I learned about sharecroppers, breadlines, the declining hobo population, various women who had a formative effect on the country and its food, and the ongoing debate over whether, how, and how much to give people who are poor and starving.
There was a particular section where she was talking about single women and it made me see the early scenes of Victor/Victoria in a new light. Where she's literally fainting from hunger. And willing to defraud a restaurant with a cockroach. That does take place in the 1930s, albeit in Paris and not the US. I always saw that as rather silly (apart from the comedic elements of the cockroach) and perhaps over-dramatic. Guess it wasn't so much!
If Ziegelman wants to write a book about the 40s, 50s, etc, I'll read them. Looks like she has another book on a similar topic. I may check that one out.
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting this book to be, but it had a lot of social history in there. I learned about sharecroppers, breadlines, the declining hobo population, various women who had a formative effect on the country and its food, and the ongoing debate over whether, how, and how much to give people who are poor and starving.
There was a particular section where she was talking about single women and it made me see the early scenes of Victor/Victoria in a new light. Where she's literally fainting from hunger. And willing to defraud a restaurant with a cockroach. That does take place in the 1930s, albeit in Paris and not the US. I always saw that as rather silly (apart from the comedic elements of the cockroach) and perhaps over-dramatic. Guess it wasn't so much!
If Ziegelman wants to write a book about the 40s, 50s, etc, I'll read them. Looks like she has another book on a similar topic. I may check that one out.
informative
medium-paced
More of an overall social history of the Great Depression, A Square Meal does revolve around food issues and contains a few recipes from various sources of the time.
There are a lot of good facts, much of which are known by most in some capacity about the increase in hunger and the attempts at public education regarding using unusual items, stretching a budget, and how to combine foods for the best nutrition results. The authors' manage to expand on those facts with some lesser known and more "on the ground" information as well as correct a few "common knowledge" errors along the way.
The last chapter or two focuses a lot more on government programs and the politics of putting relief options in place (or removing them) and who/how to pay for them with less emphasis on the impacts on the population (although there is an interesting bit on hobos in this section, too.)
There are about half a dozen photos (give or take, I didn't go back and count) that add a nice flavor to the information.
I would complain that the ending is rather abrupt, indicating WW2 ended the Depression but not taking much time to give us the same details offered elsewhere (ie: how the food culture shifted, where food was now found, how much of the population was still hungry, etc.) but WW2 does make sense as a stopping point.
Notes, bibliography and index included.
There are a lot of good facts, much of which are known by most in some capacity about the increase in hunger and the attempts at public education regarding using unusual items, stretching a budget, and how to combine foods for the best nutrition results. The authors' manage to expand on those facts with some lesser known and more "on the ground" information as well as correct a few "common knowledge" errors along the way.
The last chapter or two focuses a lot more on government programs and the politics of putting relief options in place (or removing them) and who/how to pay for them with less emphasis on the impacts on the population (although there is an interesting bit on hobos in this section, too.)
There are about half a dozen photos (give or take, I didn't go back and count) that add a nice flavor to the information.
I would complain that the ending is rather abrupt, indicating WW2 ended the Depression but not taking much time to give us the same details offered elsewhere (ie: how the food culture shifted, where food was now found, how much of the population was still hungry, etc.) but WW2 does make sense as a stopping point.
Notes, bibliography and index included.
Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe’s A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression is much more than its subtitle promises. Not only do Ziegelman and Coe write about what people were able to scrape together for themselves and their families between 1929 and 1939, they also thoroughly discuss how Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, and their Congresses approached relief (welfare) during those hungry years. The end result is a much darker history of the Great Depression than I’ve ever read...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.