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Mark F. Sohn's classic book, Mountain Country Cooking, was a James
Beard Award nominee in 1997. In Appalachian Home Cooking, Sohn expands
and improves upon his earlier work. Appalachian Home Cooking celebrates mountain food at its best. In
addition to a thorough discussion of Appalachian food history and culture, Sohn
offers over eighty classic recipes, as well as mail-order sources, information
on Appalachian food festivals, photographs, poetry, a glossary of Appalachian
and cooking terms, menus for holidays and seasons, and a list of the top 100
Appalachian foods.
The foods of Appalachia are the medium of a creative and proud people. This is the story of pigs and chickens, corn and beans, and
apples and peaches as they reflect the culture that has grown from the region's
topography, climate, and soil. Sohn discovers the ways of a table that blends
Native American, Eastern European, Scotch-Irish, black, and Hispanic influences. Sohn shows how food traditions have developed over two centuries from dinner on the grounds, church
picnics, school lunches, and family reunions as he celebrates regional
signatures such as dumplings, moonshine, and country ham. Food and folkways go
hand in hand as he examines wild plants, cast-iron cookware, and the nature of
the Appalachian homeplace.
Mark F. Sohn, a food historian, columnist, photographer, recipe developer,
and Pikeville College professor, is the food editor for The Encyclopedia of
Appalachia.
Among the recommended mail-orders sources for Appalachian food items: H&K Products, Inc.
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| Reviews:
"For those unacquainted with the basics of Appalachian cooking,
the book serves as a valuable introduction."--Southern Historian
"Documents the history of the region's distinctive, multi-ethnic
cuisine."--Black Issues Book Review
"Offers everything you ever wanted to know about culinary mysteries like
shucky beans, pawpaws, cushaw squash, and how to season cast-iron
cookware."--Our State
"Examines the staple foods and ingredients of this distinct culinary
heritage, outlining food preparation procedures and comparing and contrasting
recipes and methods found outside the region."--Carolina Country
"The
80 recipes are important, but really, this is a food-studies book written for
those who feel some nostalgia for, or connection to, Appalachia."--Lexington
Herald-Leader
"In addition
to the wealth of recipes, the new book is an excellent resource for putting
together cohesive meals at different times of the year."--Avery Journal-Times
"This cookbook is an interesting
read as well as a wonderful source for hard-to-find traditional Appalachian
recipes."--Back Home in Kentucky
"Sohn uncovers the romantic
secrets of Appalachian food, provides more than 80 recipes, offers information
on food festivals, and includes a glossary of Appalachian and cooking
terms."--Kentucky Monthly
"Almost a textbook for the
tastes I grew up with as a child, evoking everything from poke salad to
sulfur-bleached apples. Here, you learn the difference between 'long sweetening'
(honey) and 'short sweetening' (sorghum). You learn why chicken fried in lard is
so good, and why dandelion coffee is, well, not."--Rick Bragg, author of Ava's
Man
"What a treat this book is!
Mark Sohn has made this East Tennessean so homesick that I want to haul out my
skillet and cook up a mess of ramps--or at least get on the web, check out
Sohn's sources, and order the ingredients for a good mountain meal.--John
Shelton Reed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author of My Tears Spoiled My Aim and Other Reflections on Southern Culture
"Mark Sohn avoids the mistake of so many who write about Appalachia: he knows it is not a 'Land of the Past' but a living, evolving region. He writes about food as a social, cultural, and spiritual matter that transcends time, creates community, and binds families together. The recipes are clearly written and they work! With Mark as your guide, you can visit an Appalachia where everything is delicious."--Jan Davidson
"As a serious student of American cultures, Mark
Sohn has always paid close attention to what the people around him liked to eat.
And, as a serious cook since boyhood in Oregon, he has learned to prepare and
enjoy the regional foods of whatever culture he shares. All of us who love the
mountains, the South, regional culture, and this food will be forever in his
debt."--John Egerton, author of Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in
History
"Sohn's
narrative exploration of the rituals, rites, and recipes of the hills
really took me home. What a pleasure"--Linda Scott DeRosier, author of Creeker
"Mark Sohn has a lean and hungry look, and thus he can handle his obsession with food better than most of us. He has invited himself to dinner pretty much throughout the region and made off with recipes, and then he has cooked them all himself and dined generously. Without his lean genes he'd be two ax handles wide. When you read these recipes for chicken and dumplings, country ham, fried trout, crackling bread, shuck beans, cheese grits casseroles, bean patties, and sweet potato pie your mouth will begins to water whether or not you have a connection to Appalachia."--Loyal Jones, author of Faith and Meaning in the Southern Uplands
"Pull up a chair and take your place at the table. Dinner is about to be served, and a hearty feast it is. The legends and lore shared by Mark Sohn in Appalachian Home Cooking are as satisfying to the soul as the recipes are to the palate. Sohn has explored the foodways of Appalachia for years, and his passion for the subject shines through in every chapter of this classic tome. For armchair cooks who like to read cookbooks, this book is for you--but you will probably be lured into the kitchen to try some of the 80-plus recipes. Who could resist Chocolate Gravy, Mountain Dumplings, Scripture Cake or Dried Apple Stack Cake? This book will have a permanent place on my reference book shelf."--Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, co-author of The Recipe Writer's Handbook and 12 cookbooks
"Reminds us that food is one of the most lovingly crafted and joyfully
experienced creations of culture."--Studies in American
Culture
"Tells how mountain people have taken what they had to work with, from
livestock to produce, and provides more than recipes, but the stories behind the
preparing of the food. . . . The reading is almost as much fun as the eating,
with fewer calories."--Modern Mountain Magazine
"Destined to become a regional favorite to be handed down through generations
to come."--Floyd County Times
"A mixture of the history of Appalachian food and the culture of the region's
people, containing historic facts concerning when different cultures began
occupying Appalachia and what they brought with them."--Paintsville Herald
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