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A Culinary History of Florida: Prickly Pears, Datil Peppers & Key Limes
Florida twelve thousand years in the making, discover the the state's unusual and distinctive food influences and dishes.
From the very first prickly pears harvested by Paleo-Indians more than twelve thousand years ago to the Seminole tribe's staple dish of sofkee, Florida's culinary history is as diverse as its geography. Influences as diverse as French, Creole, Spanish, Cuban, Greek, Mexican, Caribbean, and more season Florida's eclectic flavors. Learn how Florida orange juice changed the look of the American breakfast table and discover the state's festival-worthy swamp cabbage. Through syllabubs, perloos, frog legs and Tupelo honey, author Joy Sheffield Harris serves up a delectable helping of five hundred years of Florida cuisine--all with a side of key lime pie, of course.
From the very first prickly pears harvested by Paleo-Indians more than twelve thousand years ago to the Seminole tribe's staple dish of sofkee, Florida's culinary history is as diverse as its geography. Influences as diverse as French, Creole, Spanish, Cuban, Greek, Mexican, Caribbean, and more season Florida's eclectic flavors. Learn how Florida orange juice changed the look of the American breakfast table and discover the state's festival-worthy swamp cabbage. Through syllabubs, perloos, frog legs and Tupelo honey, author Joy Sheffield Harris serves up a delectable helping of five hundred years of Florida cuisine--all with a side of key lime pie, of course.
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 23, 2023
500 years of FL history: geology, harvesting & hunting, diverse peoples & culture dish up an in-depth dissertation of Florida food. And finished with a serving of the state's ubiquitous key lime pie.
April 12, 2022
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
I really need to stop picking up these self-published trash books by The History Press. Like all the others I've unfortunately read, this one has some interesting nuggets buried deep inside, but I am not sure that the orange juice is worth the squeeze.
Harris clearly loves her home state, and clearly did a lot of research. Good for her. None of that saves this book from the fact that it obviously lacked an editor. At a slim 150 pages, I was shocked at how much repetition is in it. The description of shell mounds comes up at least 15 times in the first 30 pages, and is clearly a copy and paste job EVERY SINGLE TIME. She quotes from other sources multiple times, always using the same quote.
Structurally, the book is more of a list of foods that have been found in Florida over time, as opposed to any sort of history or analysis. There are many contradictions (when, exactly did Watermelon show up in Florida???).
Sometimes Harris vacillates from a history book to a tourism book. One late chapter in the book is about all her favorite Florida towns and tourist attractions. This is probably leftover from an earlier version of the book, but Harris forgot to remove it (or left it in to pad out the page count).
The worst part of the book, by far, is the last chapter. This is ostensibly a cookbook/recipe guide, but it is formatted WILDLY. Some recipes are written in what I would call a traditional way, with an ingredients list and then cooking instructions. Other recipes are just written as a whole paragraph. Other recipes are written as a paragraph within a larger "story" about the food. Rarely does any recipe include any measurements. Several of the recipe headings lack a recipe at all! Notably, the recipe for "ambrosia" is just a description of what ambrosia is, and how popular it is. She forgot to add the recipe, folks! SO EMBARRASSING.
What saves this from a 1 star review is that I do not detect any malice in Harris' writing. This isn't some sort of con job, hoping to pass off a bunch of copy/pasted wikipedia articles as original writing. I'm confident that this is a passion project of hers, which counts for something, even if the execution is abysmal.
I really need to stop picking up these self-published trash books by The History Press. Like all the others I've unfortunately read, this one has some interesting nuggets buried deep inside, but I am not sure that the orange juice is worth the squeeze.
Harris clearly loves her home state, and clearly did a lot of research. Good for her. None of that saves this book from the fact that it obviously lacked an editor. At a slim 150 pages, I was shocked at how much repetition is in it. The description of shell mounds comes up at least 15 times in the first 30 pages, and is clearly a copy and paste job EVERY SINGLE TIME. She quotes from other sources multiple times, always using the same quote.
Structurally, the book is more of a list of foods that have been found in Florida over time, as opposed to any sort of history or analysis. There are many contradictions (when, exactly did Watermelon show up in Florida???).
Sometimes Harris vacillates from a history book to a tourism book. One late chapter in the book is about all her favorite Florida towns and tourist attractions. This is probably leftover from an earlier version of the book, but Harris forgot to remove it (or left it in to pad out the page count).
The worst part of the book, by far, is the last chapter. This is ostensibly a cookbook/recipe guide, but it is formatted WILDLY. Some recipes are written in what I would call a traditional way, with an ingredients list and then cooking instructions. Other recipes are just written as a whole paragraph. Other recipes are written as a paragraph within a larger "story" about the food. Rarely does any recipe include any measurements. Several of the recipe headings lack a recipe at all! Notably, the recipe for "ambrosia" is just a description of what ambrosia is, and how popular it is. She forgot to add the recipe, folks! SO EMBARRASSING.
What saves this from a 1 star review is that I do not detect any malice in Harris' writing. This isn't some sort of con job, hoping to pass off a bunch of copy/pasted wikipedia articles as original writing. I'm confident that this is a passion project of hers, which counts for something, even if the execution is abysmal.
August 16, 2025
A fascinating subject, unfortunately rendered in a slow and didactic writing style. That's why it took me a while to get through it, despite its limited length. Nevertheless, I did learn some things I didn't know, and the historical pictures were quite a revelation as well. Also, in a feature I wish more books like this included, there were recipes at the end, should you want to cook some of the dishes mentioned.
January 15, 2026
Packed with history that was almost overwhelming at times. Very glad I took notes throughout the read so I can refer back to wealth of information. I loved learning about the origins and evolution of Florida cuisine and life. Would love to read a book like this that focuses on beverage such as wine, spirits, juices and coffee that is native or influenced Florida. 3.5 ⭐️
February 24, 2022
I found my favorite salad recipe from Colunbia Restaurant. Lots of interesting history about food and people in Florida. Loved the story of sweetened condensed milk and Key Lime Pie, another favorite.
June 3, 2024
It gives Indigenous food history! It was really cool, but too in-depth for my interest.
June 5, 2025
Love the history and so so excited to try the new recipes that were included!!
February 5, 2015
I'll be honest, I didn't read it cover to cover. I skipped around to the bits that interested me and let the rest go. That said, I enjoyed what I did read and found a few recipes I'd like to try out as well.
March 28, 2016
This is a must read for Floridians and anyone wanting to learn about the culinary history of Florida. A well crafted book by author, Joy Sheffield Harris. I look forward to getting Joy's cookbooks as well!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews