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Midwestern Food

A Chef’s Guide to the Surprising History of a Great American Cuisine, with More Than 100 Tasty Recipes
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( 47 ratings, 20 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Midwestern Food by Paul Fehribach explores the rich culinary history of America's Midwest. The book delves into a variety of traditional recipes, emphasising the diverse cultural influences that have shaped the region's cuisine. From hearty comfort foods to innovative dishes, it offers insight into the ingredients and techniques that define Midwestern cooking.
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Format: Hardback
$5299
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you're fascinated by regional cuisines and eager to explore the culinary traditions of America's heartland, this book offers a delightful dive into Midwestern cooking. With a focus on traditional recipes and their cultural significance, it beautifully bridges history and gastronomy, making it a treasure for both food enthusiasts and history buffs.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An acclaimed chef offers a historically informed cookbook that will change how you think about Midwestern cuisine.

Celebrated chef Paul Fehribach has made his name serving up some of the most thoughtful and authentic regional southern cooking—not in the South, but in Chicago at Big Jones. Over the last several years, he has been looking to his Indiana roots in the kitchen, while digging deep into the archives to document and record the history and changing foodways of the Midwest.

Fehribach is as painstaking with his historical research as he is with his culinary execution. In Midwestern Food, he focuses not only on the past and present of Midwestern foodways but on the diverse cultural migrations from the Ohio River Valley north- and westward that have informed them. Drawing on a range of little-explored sources, he traces the influence of several heritages, especially German, and debunks many culinary myths along the way.

The book is also full of Fehribach’s delicious recipes informed by history and family alike, such as his grandfather's favourite watermelon rind pickles; sorghum-pecan sticky rolls; Detroit-style coney sauce; Duck and manoomin hotdish; pawpaw chiffon pie; strawberry pretzel gelatin salad; and he breaks the code to the most famous Midwestern pizza and BBQ styles you can easily reproduce at home. But it is more than just a cookbook, weaving together historical analysis and personal memoir with profiles of the chefs, purveyors, and farmers who make up the food networks of the greater Chicago region.

The result is a mouth-watering and surprising Midwestern feast from farm to plate. Flyover this!

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Midwestern Food by Paul Fehribach is a comprehensive exploration of the culinary heritage of the American Midwest. Critics praise its blend of historical research, engaging essays, and a diverse collection of over 100 recipes from various regional influences. The book is seen as a significant contribution to understanding Midwestern cuisine, challenging stereotypes and showcasing the area's rich food traditions with both personal and historical insights.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780226819495

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 20 September 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Chicago Press

Illustration: 13 halftones

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 178.0mm

Height: 254.0mm

Weight: 853g

Pages: 280

About the Author

Paul Fehribach is an eight-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes; and owner of the critically acclaimed Chicago restaurant, Big Jones. He was born and raised in the rolling wooded hills of Southern Indiana, and learned to hunt, fish, and find wild foods from an early age. Ample time spent on the family farms of relatives together with the woodland backdrop instilled a keen palate in him, reflected in the big, clean flavors he puts on the table along with a heated passion for true seasonal cooking. His book Midwestern Food: A Chef’s Guide to the Surprising History of a Great American Cuisine, with More Than 100 Tasty Recipes was named a book of the year by Food and Wine, Bon Appétit, and Eater. He is likewise the author of The Big Jones Cookbook: Recipes for Savoring the Heritage of Regional Southern Cooking, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

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