We have a growing hunger to know where our food comes from. In our increasingly corporate world, we are looking to get back in touch with our roots to the land. American Artisanal feeds this hunger as no book has before. The book celebrates eighteen of America’s leading food artisans–from Wood Prairie Farms potatoes in Maine to L. L. Lanier Honey in Florida, from Reed’s Ginger Brew in California to Earthy Delights mushrooms in Michigan. These are folks who are returning to the basics of sustainable, small-scale, or just plain high quality production. Food is a second career for many of these producers, who decided to drop out of the office rat race and pursue their real passion, literally in the field. In their inspirational stories we also can see the emergence of a true national cuisine. Also, woven throughout each chapter is the engaging history behind our foods–their natural origins and long journeys to cultivation. Recipes and ordering information are provided so you can enjoy these culinary delights at home.

Presents 345 cheesemakers in the United States, with each profile describing the cheesemaker and its history, cheeses, location, and availability.

New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A groundbreaking and endlessly surprising history of how artisans created America, from the nation's origins to the present day. At the center of the United States' economic and social development, according to conventional wisdom, are industry and technology-while craftspeople and handmade objects are relegated to a bygone past. Renowned historian Glenn Adamson turns that narrative on its head in this innovative account, revealing makers' central role in shaping America's identity. Examine any phase of the nation's struggle to define itself, and artisans are there-from the silversmith Paul Revere and the revolutionary carpenters and blacksmiths who hurled tea into Boston Harbor, to today's “maker movement.” From Mother Jones to Rosie the Riveter. From Betsy Ross to Rosa Parks. From suffrage banners to the AIDS Quilt. Adamson shows that craft has long been implicated in debates around equality, education, and class. Artisanship has often been a site of resistance for oppressed people, such as enslaved African-Americans whose skilled labor might confer hard-won agency under bondage, or the Native American makers who adapted traditional arts into statements of modernity. Theirs are among the array of memorable portraits of Americans both celebrated and unfamiliar in this richly peopled book. As Adamson argues, these artisans' stories speak to our collective striving toward a more perfect union. From the beginning, America had to be-and still remains to be-crafted.

Best-selling cookbook New World Sourdough offers an inviting, nontraditional approach to baking delicious, inventive sourdough breads at home. Learn how to make a sourdough starter, basic breads, as well as other innovative baked goods from start to finish with Bryan Ford, Instagram star (@artisanbryan) and host of The Artisan’s Kitchen on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network. With less emphasis on perfecting crumb structure or obsessive temperature monitoring, Bryan focuses on the tips and techniques he’s developed in his own practice, inspired by his Honduran roots and New Orleans upbringing, to ensure your success and a good return on your time and effort. Bryan’s recipes include step-by-step instructions and photographs of all of the mixing, shaping, and baking techniques you’ll need to know, with special attention paid to developing flavor as well as your own instincts. New World Sourdough offers practical, accessible techniques and enticing, creative recipes you’ll want to return to again and again, like: Pan de Coco Ciabatta Pretzel Buns Challah Focaccia Pizza dough Cuban Muffins Pita Bread Flour Tortillas Queen Cake Straightforward and unintimidating, New World Sourdough will get you started with your starter and then inspire you to keep experimenting and expanding your repertoire.

A guide to cheese making history, technique, artistry, and business strategies.

""The Life of Cheese" is the definitive work on America's artisanal food revolution. Heather Paxson's engaging stories are as rich, sharp, and well-grounded as the product she scrutinizes. A must read for anyone interested in fostering a sustainable food system." Warren Belasco, author of "Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food" "Heather Paxson's lucid and engaging book, "The Life of Cheese," is a gift to anyone interested in exploring the wonderful and wonderfully complex realities of artisan cheesemaking in the United States. Paxson deftly integrates careful considerations of the importance of sentiment, value and craft to the work of cheesemakers with vivid stories and lush descriptions of their farms, cheese plants and cheese caves. While she beguiles you with the stories and tastes of cheeses from Vermont, Wisconsin and California, she also asks you to envision a post-pastoral ethos in the making. This ethos reconsiders contemporary beliefs about America's food commerce and culture, reimagines our relationship to the natural world, and redefines how we make, eat, and appreciate food. For cheese aficionados, food activists, anthropologists and food scholars alike, reading "The Life of Cheese" will be a transformative experience." Amy Trubek, author of "The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir"

Here is the first comprehensive survey of modern craft in the United States. Makers follows the development of studio craft--objects in fiber, clay, glass, wood, and metal--from its roots in nineteenth-century reform movements to the rich diversity of expression at the end of the twentieth century. More than four hundred illustrations complement this chronological exploration of the American craft tradition. Keeping as their main focus the objects and the makers, Janet Koplos and Bruce Metcalf offer a detailed analysis of seminal works and discussions of education, institutional support, and the philosophical underpinnings of craft. In a vivid and accessible narrative, they highlight the value of physical skill, examine craft as a force for moral reform, and consider the role of craft as an aesthetic alternative. Exploring craft's relationship to fine arts and design, Koplos and Metcalf foster a critical understanding of the field and help explain craft's place in contemporary culture. Makers will be an indispensable volume for craftspeople, curators, collectors, critics, historians, students, and anyone who is interested in American craft.