Saturday, November 8, 2014

The American Plate - Review

The American Plate: A History of The United States in 100 Bites by Libby H. O'Connell

This is American History in 100 bites.  Starting with Maize and what was done to it to make it palatable and working all the way up to hot dogs, iceberg lettuce and Coca Cola.  With each bite we get a history lesson, context and occasionally a recipe.  While not all of these recipes are appetizing (roast beaver tail anyone?) some are quite appetizing.  Early recipes such as Cockaleekie Soup and Colonial Syllabub as well as later ones such as Ofelia Braga's Picadillo Criollo and Ginger Carrot Soup are fairly simple, tasty looking and require easy to find ingredients.

This is more a history book than a cookbook and I liked the way it was broken up.  Each bit is a miniature history lesson focused on why that particular food was important, how it was used and what it meant.  It was really interesting to see the when and the why to things like Irish potatoes and sushi as well as seeing how things like refrigerators changed our food styles.

While this isn't really a cookbook this is what I would consider a "flip through" book.  A book I wouldn't necessarily sit down to read from cover to cover but one I would want to pick up and read bits and pieces from.  I would definitely prefer it in print versus ebook format.

If you love food and you love history this is a fun and informative way to spend a few hours!

I'm linking up with Beth Fish Reads for Weekend Cooking.


18 comments:

  1. What a cool book. I would love to learn more about the origins of the foods we eat.

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    1. It's really interesting. I'm looking forward to getting a print copy of this one

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  2. Haha - my mom would call this a "back of the toilet book" - which is where she puts all flip through type books. But it sounds very interesting - I enjoy random tidbits of information.

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  3. This sounds really interesting. Based on the blurb, I wouldn't have expected recipes. It does sound like a book that might be more fun to read in print than in digital.

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    1. Definitely a print book! There weren't tons of recipes but there were some interesting ones

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  4. I love food but not history! This sounds more like my husband's cup of tea!

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    1. If you're not interested in history I can see this being a little dry.

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  5. Well, I certainly don't know much about American Food so this might be just for me. Cheers from Carole's Chatter

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  6. I enjoy these kind of fact books. We use to take ones like this on road trips. The kids and I would call out interesting bits as we flipped through them.

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    1. That sounds like fun! Definitely a way to make a road trip go faster!

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  7. I've heard of this book before. It sound like a good one, very interesting.
    Sharon @ Sharon's Book Nook!

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    1. It's very interesting! I'm looking forward to getting a print copy!

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  8. I love this kind of reference book -- so fun to read about the different foods. Thanks for the tip that it'd be better in print. I was out of town all weekend, so forgive my late visit.

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    1. Hope you had a lovely trip! I really enjoyed this one.

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