The American Ethnic Cookbook For Students

by Mark H. Zanger

The first cookbook to present the dishes of more than 120 ethnic groups now in America, The American Ethinic Cookbook for Students illustrates how those dishes have changed throughout the years. This cookbook contains more than 300 recies plus references to ethnography, food history, culture, and the history of American immigration. A bibliography at the end of each ethnic group section is included. Covering the cooking of Native American tribes, old-stock settlers, old immigrants from 1840-1920, and the new immigrants, no other cookbook describes so many different ethnic groups or focuses on the American ethnic experience. Arranged alphabetically by ethnic group, each chapter consists of a brief introduction to the ethnic group, its food history and ethnogaphy, followed by recipes, with step-by-step instructions, techniques hints, and equipment information. Among the 120 ethnic groups included Amish-Mennonites, Arcadians, Cugans, Dutch, Cajuns, Eskimos, Hopi, Hungarians, Jamaicans, Jews, Palestinians, Serbs, Sioux, Turks, and Vietnamese.

Genres: Cooking, Cookbooks

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Dray]

What an exciting find. This cookbook has the most diverse and inter ethnic recipes i have ever come across. The sections on American Indian recipes alone is well worth the entire read but there is so much more. Estonian recipes - check, Germans from Russia-check, Nakota - check, Dini - check. Wow!

[C]

The recipes offered are a wild mix of simple to complex. Some are not appetizing, but are rather a product of a lifestyle and location in the U.S. where "plenty" is not an option and people are living on limited means and "off the land." Don't be surprised to find "boiled meat" on here and it is simply that: boiled meat.

In that case, it's nicely authentic in what it offers. I list it among my favorite cookbooks, as it gives a taste of many (over 150) different culture variations in the U.S.A, and how their culinary traditions stay the same, yet necessarily change, on American soil: ingredients not available in the U.S. must be cut out and improvisations made, or the people in question were living off the land (Native American). Hence we get "American Ethnic."

Even so, it's a great start and introduction into ethnic cooking. I tried a Native American bar cookie recipe called cheemee - kind of a blondie with extra sugar, nuts and dates. It was pretty good (if very sugary). And of course, for English-Canadian-Americans, they have...Nainamo bars (bar cookie with a graham cracker/cocoa/nut/coconut crust, custard icing and chocolate layer on top). Can't lose with that one!

When I find a recipe in another ethnic cookbook, sometimes I'll cross check it with this one to see if there's a shortcut I can take the first time I'm making it.

Really interesting book and a worthwhile addition to the collection if you want a wide variety of recipes and cultures. Used editions usually go for 2-3$ on amazon.

[Theresa]

A very informative book!
"This book is not a book about recipes. It is a book about people's stories. This book focuses on foods that have been used to express ethnic identity in the United States. These are not authentic foreign dishes. They are not necessarily dishes ethnic Americans eat every day or even every year. They are dishes that people use to remember another time and place. They are dishes people use to share feelings with a group that has a common history, and, frequently, a common national origin, culture, religion, or language." [from Preface]
This cookbook contains almost 400 recipes from members of 122 ethnic groups living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
A brief description accompanies each represented ethnic group. Each recipe also has a short explanation. There are no photos.

[Nicole]

Loved this cookbook, I'll have to either buy it or borrow it again from my local library.