Eating In America

by Waverley Root, Richard De Rochemont

The story of American eating begins and ends with the fact that American food, by most of the world's standards, is not very good. This is a rather sad note considering the "land of plenty" the first American settlers found, and even sadder considering that with the vast knowledge of food we possess, we have still managed to create things such as the TV dinner and "Finger Lickin' Good" chicken. Nevertheless, America's eating habits, the philosophy behind these habits, and much of the food itself are deliciously fascinating. Waverly Root and Richard de Rochemont, in a style that is rich, tasty, and ironic, chronicle the history of American food and eating customs from the time of the earliest explorers to the present. In writing this chronicle on American food, Root and de Rochemont have in fact created a fresh and commanding history of the United States itself. Eating in America is an erudite, sumptuous, witty, marvelously readable study; truly a book to feast on time and again.

Genres: Food, History, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food Writing, Cookbooks, Food History

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Waverley Lewis Root (April 15, 1903, in Providence, Rhode Island – October 31, 1982 in Paris) was an American journalist and writer. Root authored the classic The Food of Italy on Italy and its regional cuisines.

Root was a news correspondent for over 30 years; in 1969 he retired from daily journalism. He was the Paris correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and then The Washington Post. He was also a columnist for the International Herald Tribune.

His books and writings focused on food, and yet mingled culinary details of the regions he wrote about with historic facts, and literary references. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about the history of eating in America. Because it is 40ish years old, the sections about restaurants in particular are fairly outdated, but the info about early American diet and cuisine are fascinating. I noticed a minor error-they got the name of Lewis & Clark's dog wrong-and it made me wonder what other mistakes might be lurking within that I'm not expert enough on this topic to recognize. Anyway, definitely worth reading if you are interested in cooking and American history, and I'd even love to see someone write an update version and add in the last 40 years of American food history!

[Nicole C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a bit dated today (it was originally published in 1974), the first part of this book, detailing our history of food from the colonists on, was fairly interesting; most of this information is probably still mostly accurate. And while the authors were right that the march of convenience foods would continue, and processed items make up a large part of the American diet, their predictions about multicultural fare were NOT true. There are many great family-owned ethnic restaurants throughout the United States, and families do make attempts to try this fare at home instead of just gazing at cookbooks. I'm sure the authors could not have predicted the rise in television cooking channels and of course, the internet plays a role, as well.

It would have been interesting to see an updated version but unfortunately, I believe both authors are now deceased.

[Mariah Oleszkowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 50 years old so a lot of information is out of date but the historical info was great. The main take-away from the history is that the Puritans didn't want to enjoy their food so they stuck with the food they brought with them from the UK and rarely tried the native food, except when necessary. The chapter that went state-by-state through the western portion was fascinating. Key takeaways: grain, mostly corn has fed America since the beginning. Wheat can be grown almost anywhere. Cattle and pigs eat most of the corn. Big agra has changed the local food scene and starved out the more flavorful varieties - for example Florida oranges used to be soft and juicy. In the mid-70's, convenience foods were all the rage, the authors didn't know what to predict for the future, they kind of mentioned the rise in organic foods and less processed. I think they would be pleased by the rise of the "buy local" phenomenon. The craft brew industry hadn't taken off yet, nor had wine drinking so I'm sure they would be happier with the quality of those. The chapter about beverages was very long but interesting on the wine and how prohibition halted our appreciation for fine wines and spirits. At the time writing, the authors are in the "machine age" They try to guess the future "Nuclear Age? Space Age?" p 464 - They didn't see "information age" as a possibility. I think there is better appreciation for better ingredients in our cooking and how bad sugar is for us. I think the authors would be hopeful for us Americans. I think we do better now in embracing "foreign" foods then in the 70's.

[Sandy Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book to read like a novel. I read it years ago (before Goodreads or the Internet existed) so this is officially a reread but since it was published in 1976 a lot has changed. The well-researched historical part was fascinating -- both the Colonial and post Colonial times and, later in the book in a chapter 28 the history of drinking, Prohibition and the abolishment of Prohibition. Chapter 30 (Where We Are Now) and Chapter 31 (Where Do We Go From Here) gives us a chance to think about what has changed -- and what has not -- in the last 50 years. Both authors died in 1982. I hope, if they came back, they would be a bit encouraged by some of the things that have changed since 1976 -- though they would no doubt be desolated by the numerous fast-food restaurants in their beloved France today.

[Teri L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent description of the history of America according to the food we eat. Depressing, however,, that even in 1975 our food and eating habits were hopelessly corrupted by our habits of relying on industry to feed us and our need to eat fast, sugary foods. This is a book that opens one's eyes to the importance of seeking quality in food.