Fried chicken, rice and gravy, sweet potatoes, collard greens and spoon bread - all good old fashioned, down-home southern foods, right? Wrong. The fried chicken and collard greens are African, the rice is from Madagascar, the sweet potatoes came to Virginia from the Peruvian Andes via Spain, and the spoon bread is a marriage of Native American corn with the French souffl technique thought up by skilled African American cooks. Food historian Rick McDaniel takes 150 of the South's best-loved and most delicious recipes and tells how to make them and the history behind them. From fried chicken to gumbo to Robert E. Lee Cake, it's a history lesson that will make your mouth water. What southerners today consider traditional southern cooking was really one of the world's first international cuisines, a mlange of European, Native American and African foods and influences brought together to form one of the world's most unique and recognizable cuisines.

Thirty years ago, the mountain city of Asheville was known for little more than the Biltmore Estate. Since then, the sleepy town has become a nationally recognized food mecca, a hot spot for food celebrities and a bustling hub of microbreweries. Food historian and author Rick McDaniel traces the rise of the Asheville food scene from its early eateries to the pioneering chefs who put Asheville on the culinary map and the new generation of stars who command the kitchens at the city's hottest new restaurants. A founding city of the farm-to-table movement, Asheville is proud of its local food and drink, appearing on creative menus throughout the city and in the pages of the national food media. Join McDaniel as he embarks on a mouthwatering journey to explore the farmers, chefs, markets and history that have shaped Asheville's rich food heritage.

From Muscle Shoals to Mobile, Alabamians enjoy fabulous barbecue at home, at club meetings and at countless eateries. In the 1820s, however, a group of reformers wanted to eliminate the southern staple because politicians used it to entice voters. As the state and nation changed through wars and the civil rights movement, so did Alabama barbecue. Alabama restaurants like Big Bob Gibson's, Dreamland and Jim 'n Nick's have earned fans across the country. Mark A. Johnson traces the development of the state's famous food from the earliest settlement of the state to the rise of barbecue restaurants.

This three-volume encyclopedia on the history of American food and beverages serves as an ideal companion resource for social studies and American history courses, covering topics ranging from early American Indian foods to mandatory nutrition information at fast food restaurants. The expression "you are what you eat" certainly applies to Americans, not just in terms of our physical health, but also in the myriad ways that our taste preferences, eating habits, and food culture are intrinsically tied to our society and history. This standout reference work comprises two volumes containing more than 600 alphabetically arranged historical entries on American foods and beverages, as well as dozens of historical recipes for traditional American foods; and a third volume of more than 120 primary source documents. Never before has there been a reference work that coalesces this diverse range of information into a single set. The entries in this set provide information that will transform any American history research project into an engaging learning experience. Examples include explanations of how tuna fish became a staple food product for Americans, how the canning industry emerged from the Civil War, the difference between Americans and people of other countries in terms of what percentage of their income is spent on food and beverages, and how taxation on beverages like tea, rum, and whisky set off important political rebellions in U.S. history.

The smells in the kitchen, the unforgettable flavors—these powerful memories of food, family, and tradition are intertwined and have traveled down from generations past to help make us the people we are today. Soul food is just as wide-ranging and satisfying as soul music. Tavis Smiley’s America I AM four-year traveling museum exhibit and New York Times bestseller Chef Jeff Henderson have joined forces to create the America I AM Pass It Down Cookbook to honor and preserve African Americans collective family food histories and legacies. Over 100, soul-filled and soul-inspired family recipes collected from contributors’ across the country, are featured. Each contribution demonstrates how powerful recollections of food, family and tradition have traveled down to us from generations past to help make us the people we are today. Indeed, history lives at the kitchen table. "What better way to showcase America’s diverse and delicious traditions than through the unifying power of food," says Smiley. Each cookbook contributor submitted a favorite family recipe and a brief accompanying family food imprint story reflecting on the significance of the dish. What makes this cookbook special is that everyone has a favorite family food memory to share—whether it was grandma’s peach cobbler, Aunt Sarah’s collard green soufflé or Cousin Dan’s barbecued beef ribs. Recipes range from traditional southern cooking to the new soulful recipes of twenty-first century cooks. Under the editorial direction of Chef Jeff Henderson, the America I AM Pass It Down Cookbook becomes a prized possession for fans of soulful cooking from the heart.

From whiskey in the American Revolution to Spam in WWII, food reveals a great deal about the society in which it exists. Selecting 15 foods that represent key moments in the history of the United States, this book takes readers from before European colonization to the present, narrating major turning points along the way, with food as a guide. US History in 15 Foods takes everyday items like wheat bread, peanuts, and chicken nuggets, and shows the part they played in the making of America. What did the British colonists think about the corn they observed Indigenous people growing? How are oranges connected to Roosevelt's New Deal? And what can green bean casserole tell us about gender roles in the mid-20th century? Weaving food into colonialism, globalization, racism, economic depression, environmental change and more, Anna Zeide shows how America has evolved through the food it eats.

Cassandra Harrell remembers watching her grandmother, Big Mama, fry hot-water corn bread in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet on her electric stove. Only four years old, Harrell had to crawl onto a kitchen chair to see the yellow cornmeal batter skillfully dropped into sizzling oil. Once fried to a golden brown, the bread was served with one of Big Mama’s many delicious meals like a plate of turnip greens and smoked meat or a bowl of beef stew. Growing up in a small, close-knit community in southwest Tennessee, Harrell received a culinary education from her family, learning her trade by example: she listened to her mother and grandmother and watched them in the kitchen as they cooked tomatoes, onions, and cabbage they gathered from the family’s large backyard garden. Over the next forty years, Harrell honed her appreciation of good food through cooking, both at home and as a professional caterer. Soul Food Advisor shares more than 150 of Harrell’s personal and family recipes—from Big Mama’s Neck Bone Soup to Harrell’s own low-cholesterol, low-sodium Country Black-eyed Peas and Okra. Recipes range from modern favorites like hush puppies, barbecue, and Tennessee-style coleslaw, to lesser-known dishes such as hoecakes, mayonnaise drop rolls, jelly cake, and a whole chicken baked on top of cornbread dressing. In addition to delicious recipes, Harrell includes snippets of southern food history, personal memories from the kitchen, and time-tested cooking tips. Both home and professional cooks, as well as food historians, will embrace Harrell’s celebration of soul food as she recounts its authentic recipes, iconic dishes, and irresistible flavors. From the home kitchens that perfected this family-centered cuisine, Soul Food Advisor reveals the secrets of southern cooking, one dish at a time.