The Truth about Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England

Washington Mews Books

by Meg Muckenhoupt

Forages through New England’s most famous foods for the truth behind the region’s culinary myths

Meg Muckenhoupt begins with a simple question: When did Bostonians start making Boston Baked Beans? Storekeepers in Faneuil Hall and Duck Tour guides may tell you that the Pilgrims learned a recipe for beans with maple syrup and bear fat from Native Americans, but in fact, the recipe for Boston Baked Beans is the result of a conscious effort in the late nineteenth century to create New England foods. New England foods were selected and resourcefully reinvented from fanciful stories about what English colonists cooked prior to the American revolution―while pointedly ignoring the foods cooked by contemporary New Englanders, especially the large immigrant populations who were powering industry and taking over farms around the region.

The Truth about Baked Beans explores New England’s culinary myths and reality through some of the region’s most famous foods: baked beans, brown bread, clams, cod and lobster, maple syrup, pies, and Yankee pot roast. From 1870 to 1920, the idea of New England food was carefully constructed in magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks, often through fictitious and sometimes bizarre origin stories touted as time-honored American legends. This toothsome volume reveals the effort that went into the creation of these foods, and lets us begin to reclaim the culinary heritage of immigrant New England―the French Canadians, Irish, Italians, Portuguese, Polish, indigenous people, African-Americans, and other New Englanders whose culinary contributions were erased from this version of New England food. Complete with historic and contemporary recipes, The Truth about Baked Beans delves into the surprising history of this curious cuisine, explaining why and how “New England food” actually came to be.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Food, American History, Food and Drink, Audiobook, Food History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2020

About the author

MEG MUCKENHOUPT is a freelance environmental and travel writer. She is the author of Sigmund Freud: Explorer of the Unconscious (Oxford University Press), and her articles have appeared in The Boston Globe, the Boston Phoenix, Boston Magazine, the Time Out Boston guide, and many other publications. She holds a certificate in Field Botany from the New England Wild Flower Society."

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly thorough look at the myths about what people traditionally ate in New England and how those myths were created (spoiler-- mostly racism, xenophobia and classism). I was particularly fascinated by the ridiculous period ideas by "experts" of the 1800's like advice to avoid vegetables since they were not healthy and were just for flavor and cookbooks by folks like Fannie Farmer who replaced the food that immigrants were cooking with bland white food and complicated instructions. It shatters just about every culinary identity of the region and does a deep dive into what people were really eating. A small historical recipe section is especially fun.

The author does repeat herself and the subject matter fairly often, and I had the feeling more than once that it could have been a much shorter book without sacrificing information if it were arranged a little better. In several areas, I actually thought there was a mistake in my ARC and that I was reading the same material I'd already read, but it turned out that it was just the same material from a different slant.

While I've lived in New England (I've lived just about everywhere in the U.S.) and I love cooking and history, I wasn't ultimately as interested in the subject as I thought after a while and found my attention wandering. It's fascinating history, but it's a lot of it.

Those who love the region and its history will devour this book (pun slightly intended).

I read an ARC of this book for review.

[Jamie Dacyczyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alas, this book was a disappointment to me. *heavy sigh* I LOVE microhistories, I love food history, and I love learning about regional quirks, so I was really excited to read this one. Unfortunately, this is no Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat. Instead, this was bogged down by sharing perhaps TOO much research: long passages of statistics, repeated facts, and a general "debbie downer" feel to the whole book. Instead of fun facts, this felt more like, "This is what New Englanders eat and here's why it's terrible." Sure, I get it. Facts aren't always fun, and the truth about baked beans is that everything we eat is inauthentic, over processed, and riddled with xenophobic history.........Fiiiiiine. Interesting stuff, but not very enjoyable to read.

I ended up skimming the last few chapters. The foods I was most interesting in learning the quirky history of (whoopie pies, Boston brown bread, marshmallow fluff, red hot dogs, fiddleheads, American chop suey, frankfurter rolls, needhams, Moxie, etc) were barely mentioned or not at all. I mean, I feel like at least a solid page could have been dedicated to why some regions of Maine call shepherd's pie "Chinese Pie" but instead we just got a couple of sentences and an offhand dismissal of the best theories on the subject. *disappointed sigh*

Oh, ALSO, how in the hell can we have a book that talks THIS MUCH about molasses and New Englanders obsession with molasses molasses molasses and not even mention the GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD OF BOSTON?? HOW?? That's like the single most astounding manmade disaster in US history, like something out of a Roald Dahl book, and this book doesn't even talk about it??? We could have had an entire chapter on just that one event, but instead we got fifty pages on fish. It was a FLOOD of MOLASSES, for crying out loud.

*aggrieved sigh*

So, overall this was a book chock full of interesting information, it just wasn't the book I wanted, and my sighs throughout this review are a testament to my despondency.

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this one to be quite an interesting read. I love food history, and the author does a good job of laying out the information in a witty, engaging, easy to read and delightful way. Definitely recommend it for foodies!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of food has interested me for a long time. I wrote a paper at Temple University on the roots of American cooking, how the first Europeans adapted their traditions to the foods available in the New World.

Meg Muckenhoupt's The Truth About Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England caught my eye a looked like a fun read. I expected it to cover regional and social history and regional foods and cooking.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the author goes further--considering the wide variety of immigrants whose contributions to American cooking have been overlooked and eclipsed.

The first European settlers did not have sweeteners available. They imported honey bees! Later, maple syrup and molasses were added to the kitchen basics, and plain recipes using cornmeal and baked beans became sweetened--and sweetened!

Corn, squash, and beans are considered essential New England foods...and they all came from Central America.

Mythic idealizations of historical New England cooking arose during the Centennial and 'scientific' movements promoted non-ethnic foods in favor of white, bland foods.

Readers learn of the real first Thanksgiving foods and how the traditional eating holiday developed over time. And, finally, settled the question of what are 'real' New England foods; would you believe it includes Marshmallow Fluff and Whoopie Pies?

The book includes recipes for those mentioned in the book, including historic, updated, regional favorites, and restaurant favorites.

I found the book to be as enjoyable to read as I had hoped.

I was given a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Truth About Baked Beans is a micro-history about the food and culinary habits of New England, with the specific focus of disputing some commonly held myths that it turns out we can mostly thank the Victorians for. Unfortunately, this book needed a much heavier edit and ends up feeling like a series of articles that have been stitched together into a book.

I really enjoyed sections of this book where the author delves into how what we believe about pilgrim and colonial food and eating habits was largely created by in the 19th and 20th centuries based on nostalgia for the mythical Anglo-Saxon past and how much it excludes the food and culture of immigrants in the area. It was also really interesting to see Muckenhoupt delve into the era of trying to force lower income folks to provide food that scientifically was seen as better for you but in some cases was worse and in nearly all, much more bland.

However, there is so much repetition throughout this book that at least a third if not half of it could have been condensed to a shorter, snappier version. The same source is repeated verbatim in different sections and sometimes a concept is referenced before it's actually elaborated on, a personal pet peeve in non-fiction which irritated me to no end. The audiobook is particularly painful as they read out some of the recipes included and long lists of stats so I definitely do not recommend that format.

If you're interested in culinary history, particularly that of New England, and don't mind some repetition, there really is good information in this book and I appreciate the project of it so I'd recommend it. If however you have some of the same pet peeves as me in terms of repetition and organization, you might try to get it from a library before buying it.

[Rachel Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This book was received from NetGalley as an advanced readers copy

In the myth-busting tradition of popular history, Meg Muckenhoupt slashes away at the hoary myths of New England cuisine. I wish someone had given "The Truth about Baked Beans" to the catering manager at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, hotel that hosted a work conference I attended last summer, where the reception appetizers included fried cod on top of a bowl of super sweet baked beans. As Muckenhoupt established, there's no reason to subject diners to this combo in the name of some imaginary historical tradition. I feel liberated from ever having to pretend I like the taste of molasses mixed with beans again.

[Jifu · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

As a born and raised Connecticuter (yes, that is apparently the official term for a CT resident), I have grown up aware of the strange shortage of food that was supposedly quintessential “New England” cuisine. A lot of supposedly New England foods like Vermont cheddar cheese, lobster (and a lot of regional seafood, to be honest) have long been too pricey to be anything more than once-in-a-while indulgences. Others, like baked beans or clam chowder, while more accessible are simply not items that are part of anyone’s everyday repast in this part of the United States.

So why this disconnect between so-called New England cuisine and what is actually eaten every day in this corner of the country? Well, finally I have some answers from The Truth About Baked Beans. In this informative history, Meg Muckenhoupt uses an abundance of primary resources to document how much of the New England cuisine that supposedly sustained tough, hardworking English-descended American farmers is in fact just an invented narrative built upon various foods not only chosen seemingly at random from pre-Revolution diets but were in no way unique to the American northeast. Meanwhile, the New England foods that actually exist, like the aforementioned cheddar or seafood are often shadows of former industries that have either moved elsewhere or been decimated by climate change or over-extraction.

As a result, reading about all the ways in which most of the cuisine of one’s home is not much more than myth made this something of a sobering read. However, The Truth About Baked Beans does much more than historical myth-busting. Besides tearing down culinary traditions that never really were, Muckenhoupt also takes time to point out the regional culinary traditions that actually are. Early on, she is quick to remind that New England has as rich an immigrant past as does anywhere else in the nation, with large segments from the region’s population originally hailing (among other places) Italy, Portugal, Francophone Canada, Poland, and more recently from Latin America. These peoples, in turn, have imported their own food traditions that have long been part of everyday diets in the area, contributing heavily to the actual existent culinary history that in recent years appears to be getting increasing overdue recognition after being long overshadowed by mere (and frankly quite bland) myth.

This history is definitely something I plan on recommending heavily to other New Englanders whenever I can. Muckenhoupt provides both an immense deal of much-appreciated evidence-based clarification to northeasterners like me about what is culinary tradition is most definitely not, and helpful pointers towards what it actually has been this entire time.

[Shoshana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a delightful book, I totally enjoyed it. Anyone who is interested in food history would find it very interesting, and notice how truly it rings. I should probably admit at this point that I am the daughter of a home economics teacher who was a member of the AHEA (American Home Economics Association). I also had two years of Home Ec in junior high school. I took as a matter of faith that everything written in cookbooks was the unvarnished truth; that the Pilgrims and their descendants ate sweetened baked beans for their Sunday dinners, for example, and that bland, if sometimes very tasty, foods promoted by Ye Olde New England cookbooks were the authentic foodways of New England.

I should have known better. I lived in Rhode Island after all, and could see the evidence all around me that immigrants had brought their native cuisines with them, and that those cuisines had taken root in the New World. But what was posited as the Yankee way of cooking still held sway in my imagination, and in the lessons I learned in Home Ec. Meg Muckenhoupt blows all of the myths about New England cooking to hell, and she does it in such an interesting way that the reader is charmed.

I am not going to recount all of the fascinating discussions in the book – you can read them for yourself (and you should). One that particularly struck me, however, is the role of Fanny Farmer and the Boston Cooking-School Cook Book of 1896. Fanny Farmer standardized recipes so that anyone who read the cookbook would be able to reproduce food which they had never seen. Today we take the standardization of recipes as a given, so it never occurred to me, as Muckenhoupt points out with the benefits of standardization came the diminution of the cook’s creativity. Not everyone follows recipes of course, my grandmother didn’t and she was the best cook (I am being objective here). Most of us do follow them, of course, but are we the better for it? Read this book and find out!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meg clearly is very passionate about the topic she writes about here. I'm from New England so I was fascinated to read about all kinds of foods eaten in New England and the lively analysis of where they all came from trying to answer the question of what foods are really "New England-y".

The Truth About Baked Beans could definitely have been improved, though, with a much better edit by the publisher, New York University Press. There is a slew of statistics that were sometimes hard to follow, and information was sometimes repeated from one paragraph to the next.

It's too bad because the research behind the book was clearly phenomenal.

[Mich Must Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley and NYU press for the chance to review The truth About Baked Beans by Meg Muckenhoupt

There is a scene in Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the little people, where The daughter tells her father to eat his “stir about”. I've always wondered what the heck that was. I was assuming it was something with potatoes, since they were in Ireland. Well, I now know courtesy of Meg Muckenhoupt.

This is a book about the foodways of New England. And how they created such an unnatural regional menu, harking back to some nonexistent golden age. It's detailed and engaging. She explores the mythology of food culture in such a way to lock you in immediately.

There are first person accounts of what people actually ate. Muckenhoupt details the immigrants and their foodways that were tossed aside for some imaginary idyllic menu of the region. She did such a wonderful job showing the different populations as they came in. You really get a view of what the landscape looked like. She describes in detail the waves of immigrants and their influences. For example, What it was like to work as an Irish woman, or whatever culture she was describing in each section. You get a feel for what kind of jobs they would have had as well as what they might have eaten and the cultural baggage surrounding them at the time and in turn the menu that they would have really eaten versus what was imagined they should have been eating. Its really a lesson in how xenophobic people were.

She also delves into the cooking technologies chronologically and foods as they were introduced, which I found fascinating. For example the rising agents used in baking.

I really loved this book.I thought it was written so well. There are historically accurate recipes in here. I was introduced to things I've never heard of before, like a boiled New England dinner and of course things I've heard, but never knew what they were, like “stir about”.

[Matt Mansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pilgrim’s Progress with Cooking and Other Culinary Concoctions

Are Whoopie Pies, along with canned baked beans, canned clam chowder, packaged fish sticks, certainly marshmallow fluff, and maybe cranberries (though doubtful due to their current sea to shining sea distribution) the true heirs to today’s “New England food”?

Do they meet the broad present day qualifications Meg Muckenhoupt sets out in her 2020 “The Truth about Baked Beans: an Edible History of New England”?

• Be available in large areas of New England.
• Be accessible to people of all income levels.
• Be eaten on an everyday basis, not just holidays.
• Originate in, be grown or made in, or strongly associated with New England.

Through seven amusing and entertaining chapters the author romps through long held, cherished in some cases, myths and energetic marketing fantasies about New England cooking that would surprise even the Pilgrims. Sandwiched in the middle are various recipes for current regional cuisine favorites.

The New England-based author goes into detail about what were actually or likely the foods and preparations the various immigrant arrivals consumed. These meals are compared to later cuisine images promoted through magazines, newspapers and, of course, cookbooks. The late 19th century rise of cooking schools and doyens such as Boston’s Fanny Farmer to help New England women cope with different foods, fresh and prepared, and assumed nutritional values are wittily dispatched.

The first chapter sends up assumptions about authentic “Yankees” and then next, debunks misconceptions about baked beans compared to what was actually in the larder for daily consumption. Muckenhoupt runs through a menu from chowder to cheese detailing the realities, past and present, about popular New England meals.

All is not fun when she turns a serious eye to the plight of fish as a food source and its future. Like Susan Hand Shetterly’s 2018 “Seaweed Chronicles” providing remarkable insights into the Maine lobster industry, the author underscores the challenged, if not bleak, future facing the New England seafood industry.

While some chapters get incredibly detailed and may be worth skimming, without a doubt my favorite section is “Conclusion: Giving Thanks for New England Food”. She takes a funny and revealing look into the origin of Thanksgiving, or Forefathers’ Day as originally called before the Civil War. The earliest recorded event with Pilgrims and Indians breaking bread was during the summer, years after hitting the rock.

And ends her fresh approach to popular regional history with a bemused, perhaps wistful, look at what may qualify as cuisine in New England today. A trip to relish.

(Here’s the link to my Amazon posted review for Susan Hand Shetterly’s 2018 “Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water’s Edge”: https://www.amazon.com/review/RR08WWX...)

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free electronic copy of this cooking history on May 17, 2021, from Netgalley, author Meg Muckenhoupt, and NYU Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Truth About Baked Beans of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Meg Muchkenhoupt to friends and family. She did a TON of research preparing this work - 25 percent of the length of the volume is the bibliography - and it has lots of trivia and laughs in places that can make your day.

I ask for this from Netgalley because I had some dear friends in Florida in the late 1960s who were transplants from Yankee land, and they argued often about Clam Chowder recipes. Mike from Gloster insisted that milk was an essential ingredient, and Jan from NYC felt it had no place in chowder at all. Or was it vice-versa? They were funny and often tickled me with their accents and down-home humor.

Meg Muckenhoupt will keep you chuckling as well, and she has all sorts of things to share. There are recipes, of course, of classic Eastern dishes, but her descriptions of the path she took through those miles of research as thoroughly entertaining. I'm sending a copy of this to Jan and Mike. I think you should read it, as well.
pub date Aug 25, 2020
received May 17, 2021
NYU Press
Reviewed on June 11, 2021, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, Kobo, and GooglePlay.

[CharlotteReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished up The Truth About Baked Beans, which in fact is the truth about foods that are from New England, at least in theory. Baked Beans, early "Native American" food, local cheddar, immigant foods, maple syrup and, cod and seafood, clam bakes, Thanksgiving foods and cranberries, and busy body reformers. At times it is quite serious handling food, immgration and race. Other times irreverant, Ye Olden Tymes food myths busted here. It was illuminating.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. The author had a very snarky, sarcastic way of presenting her arguments that I ended up finding off-putting. She would write "such and such was made from (insert something) or maybe not. Or maybe it was." It got annoying after a while. I did like being reminded of a lot of foods I had not thought of in a while though.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Truth about Baked Beans is a fascinating miscellany history of the culinary traditions and roots of New England and the people who live there. Due out 25th Aug 2020 from the NYU Press, it's 352 pages (in hardcover) and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

It has an accessible and engaging narrative. The author starts by examining the origins of the iconic Yankee staple: Boston brown bread and baked beans. I had grown up never once questioning the story that it was handed down from "Indian" cooks. The author makes a compelling argument for a much later origin in the 19th century coinciding with a strong drop in local sugar prices (and a wish to market the area's cultural and tourist attractions to an upwardly mobile traveling middle class).

There are some historically period recipes reproduced here for things varied (and delicious sounding). Recipes for fried dough, plum cake, pierogis, greek pizza and more add some interest and will be fun to reproduce and try, but by far the emphasis is on the history behind the development and blending of the cultures which make up New England.

The book is meticulously annotated throughout. The author has cited both period and modern scholarly research to support the narrative. There are numerous chapter notes, and an index (to come in the release version). The chapter notes alone will keep keen readers reading for ages.

The author has a casual academic style of writing; accessible and careful, with proper annotation, but not overly convoluted or impenetrably difficult to read. She manages to convey a wealth of information without being pedantic or preachy. I really enjoyed reading this historical catalogue of how closely food is intertwined with place, with social development and expansion, and with the people who live in New England.

This would be a great choice for libraries, local historians, food historians, period reproduction cooks, Bed & Breakfast/hospitality, or for fans of New England cuisine.

Five stars. It's abundantly clear that the author has poured prodigious effort and careful academic research into this tome. I can't imagine there's much left unanswered about New England's culinary traditions. I feel much enlightened anyhow.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Anne Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Truth About Baked Beans is an incredibly detailed and well-researched book on the history of food in New England and the people who ate it. Here we take a look behind the "traditional" New England foods, from maple syrup and lobster to cod and baked beans, and discover what New Englanders have actually been eating throughout history.

It will probably not come as a surprise to discover that the "traditional" New Englander and their dinners were invented in the late 1800s. Times were changing, people were moving to cities, immigrants were moving to the United States, and a few Victorians began to think that life must have been better back in the day. Their racism, classism, and outright xenophobia erased the Irish, Italian, Polish, Greek, and other European and African immigrants and slaves from the region, replaced them with a few helpful Native Americans who showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn before conveniently disappearing into the mists, and behold! The "traditional" New Englander and his food was born. This attitude blended with the new scientific approach of the late 1800s-early 1900s where a few "experts" worked hard to convince poor people that what they were eating wasn't healthy and that they could eat better and cheaper with plain, boiled, tasteless meals that required hours of cooking and no vegetables.

The book is a social, environmental, and cultural history of New England since the 1600s. It tries to answer questions about what people were living in the region, what they were eating, what they had access to, and how attitudes towards different foods changed over time. However, I didn't find myself as interested in this book as I expected to be. Possibly this was because there was so much research that, despite Muckenhoupt's humor throughout the book, it ended up reading more like a scholarly work than a light food history read. There was also a lot of repetition, some due to how the book was structured, and the combination made it a much more difficult book to get through than I expected. The pacing dragged and I had a hard time staying interested for long periods of time. Overall, this is an interesting book, but maybe more for intense thesis scholars than the rest of us.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a bit behind in putting together my book reviews but that should in no way be taken as a knock against this book. It just means that I may be a bit lazy and that nothing beats reading. The Truth About Baked Beans written by Met Muckenhoupt is one of those books which is about so much more than what the title states. It also is one in which the reader feels compelled to read aloud many passages whether or not there is another human in the room or e enjoy the house. Fortunately, the dog and often the car but always the dog enjoy being read to regardless of subject or if they have been listening to previous chapters.

The Truth About Baked Beans is really the truth about New England. Our history, our re!relationship with food, each other, the resources we found here and those we brought with us, our terrain, our oceans, our environment and how we take care of it or don't. It seems we don't take very good care with the fish in our streams, bays, etc. and that is why so many of the fish we eat may not be around much longer. That certainly worries me as I am very fond of eating fish for one and also, more importantly, the idea that certain fishes are so overfished they become extinct is disturbing. That my future grandchildren may never have a chance to see let alone eat a particular fish due to mismanagement is disturbing.

I enjoyed seeing what we really eat here in New England. Great idea to break it down by national origin, it is good to see what our ancestors contributed and how they lived. We are looking forward to trying the recipes in the book and wish there were more. Maybe (hint, hint) the author will put a cookbook together - that would be an instant hit!

There are little facts spread out throughout this book. I was especially struck by the origin story of the craisin! I'm partly miffed because we all thought they were the entire fruit like it's inspiration, the raisin but I do admire that Yankee thrift and ingenuity!

If you or someone you know is interested in food history, New England, or history in general, The Truth About Baked Beans may well prove to be a winner. Give it try but don't blame me if your family and friends get tired of your reading out facts to them, it's just a side effect from reading a very I interesting and shareable book!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This book was received from NetGalley as an advanced readers copy.

Muckenhoupt is right when she lists out all the foodstuffs I associate with New England; baked beans, lobster, cranberries. Except, maybe those aren't the foodstuffs that are regularly eaten there, in history, or now.

The Truth about Baked Beans cover the social history of New England food. Not just describing the roots of the food, but the communities and culture that made it. Which starts with defining, who precisely were New Englanders? They're not just the Caucasian pilgrims who had that first Thanksgiving feast (and even that feast wasn't probably what we think it was), but the Native Americans, immigrants, slaves, and other people who called New England their home throughout history. From there, it goes into specific foodstuffs themselves and the history behind them. Where they were served, why they were served, who was actually eating them. And in the middle of the whole book, adapted recipes were provided.

I always love reading about food history. That being said, some books have a tendency to get a bit dry even though it's over a fascinating subject. This book, unfortunately, fell prey to that a bit. The author is a good writer, and definitely has some wit judging by the comments thrown in here and there, but sometimes it felt like the book was meandering. Or repeating; there were several times I'd get to a section and think, "didn't I just read this?" Only to go back and re-read and discover there were differences in sentence construction, but the subject matter was repeated. But past that slower pace of the book, it was still full of cited, good information (there are numerous citations in the back, research was extensively done for this book).

This was well written and well researched. I think it might be a little much for someone looking for a light food history read, but if you're immersed in the subject and voraciously devouring anything about food and the social history around food, I don't think this is a book to be missed. A solid 3.5 stars from me.

Review by M. Reynard 2020

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth About Baked Beans by Meg Muckenhoupt is an excellent resource for not just a historical timeline of foods made and introduced within New England, but also a little mini history of the the origins of New Englanders as well.

To get an idea of what types of foods make up the palette of a “New Englander”, one has to fond out what types of Immigrants moved into the area to influence daily life,customs, and foods as well as the original inhabitants of Native American groups and cultures that add to that mix as well. The reader is then able to see how all of these cultures contributed to what types of foods eaten, how they were prepared, and how that was altered based on time, availability, wars, and transitions of taste.

Then, the author delves into a few foods that are thought of as “classic” New England (ex baked beans, oysters, lobster, chowder, whoopie pies, pumpkin) and describes how they were actually introduced, how they have evolved, and what misconceptions and myths are true vs false.

This book was so much more then I thought it would be, and I learned so much more then the true origins of one of my all-time favorite foods: brown sugar baked beans.

Excellent. 5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and New York University Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub (as of 3/21/2020 no listing for this book has been created for BB and it will be posted when it has been created) accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always claim that everything I know about history I picked up through reading books, and this book blends history and food, a winning combination.

Muckenhoupt takes the reader on a fascinating tour of each so-called New England food, breaking down the actual timeline of its presence in the New World. This simultaneously provides a very interesting window into New England history, while “debunking” everything we think we “know” about traditional Yankee fare. The included recipes range from comical to harrowing, and the mythos surrounding each “classic” meal is very eye-opening.

Without giving away too much of the analysis, like most food lore it all comes down to the inherent racism/xenophobia of diet culture. I was always confused (as a “foreigner” to Rhode Island) , as to why local foods were all of the “white mush” variety when most local families were of Italian, Portuguese, Greek or French descent. Now we know that New England Food (TM), like most diet cultures in this country, is really about preserving the pure-white body. (I also learned why pizza here in Rhode Island is good, but a comparative disappointment, when held up to the slices of my homeland in upstate New York, but I won't spoil the ending!)

If you like food and history this is a great read. I will be recommending it to both my library and our local historical society.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book to end a debate with my New England friend. Are whoopie pies from Maine or PA? It is a very friendly debate.

I was also intrigued to learn about more about that region and food - clam chowder, baked beans, brown bread, boiled dinner, and cheese. Can't forget all the seafood.

This book has been researched and gives you the research to back up what is writting. I found that a bit too much at times. I felt this could have been said in less words and still had the same meaning.

I did find it interesting in how much books and advertising have influenced what we think of as New England. Just seeing the large immigrants into that region and the food that they bring with them.

If you like history of food and a bit of the background story, this is an excellent book.

In the end acording to this book, whoopie pies are from Maine. Now I need to read a book about Pennsylvania Dutch food to find out what they have to say.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of the book to review. The opinions in the review are all my own.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

"Corn, or maize, was declared a legal currency in Massachusetss in 1631, and in 1635 th Massachusetts General Court declared that taxes could be paid in corn." -From The Truth about Baked Beans

Being in Boston, I was pretty excited to read this book. It hurt me that it read more like a badly edited research paper. It could very well be my ARC copy where it is the problem- where a word will start on one line, then continue much further down- but it made it additionally hard to read. It is short and sweet with my favorite part being the fourth chapter mainly for the name (Corn and Prejudice) which had the fact I quoted, which made me wonder if I can't currenly still pay my taxes in corn. It is really well researched- part of why I felt like a TA again grading a paper, so if you like that sort of thing; this book might be for you. I was looking for a little bit more of an accessible, fun read.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I was excited to read about the "edible" history of New England. Spoiler alert- a lot of the dishes exist due to racism and classism. History (in this case a culinary history) is written by the victors, and so the dishes we associate with New England were born.

While there was some great information, unfortunately, this book was a little on the repetitive side for me. The book could have easily been shortened by a third. At times I'm pretty sure that I read the same thing in multiple different chapters.

I'm not sure if it's because of the author's style of writing or if it's because there was so much information in the book, but at times I found my mind wandering away from the words in front of me.

Overall, it's a nice book, but one I would recommend only to those who love history and/or food.

[Melise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I grew up in Southern California, I went to college in Connecticut. I remember going into the dining hall and seeing a large tray with this brown bread looking thing that was labeled “Indian pudding”. I had never heard of such a dish before, but it quickly became a favorite because to me it always smelled like Christmas.

My memory of this dish is what led me to this book, which I found quite interesting. My academic background is the study of how everyday items reflect the history of their time period, and I enjoyed the author’s discussion of how New England’s classic foods were influenced by historical and societal changes and beliefs.

It was engagingly written and an enjoyable read; however, I am disappointed that it did not include a recipe for Indian pudding.

Thanks to the NYU Press for providing me with an advanced reading copy via NetGalley.

[AcademicEditor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great history to the culture, geography, and politics that influence what we ate and what we think our ancestors ate (but spoiler alert, they often didn't). It turns out that food and food sources are a fascinating aspect of our history, as each wave of immigration brought both new ideas and challenges, and the retelling of culinary history is just as embellished as other forms.

There is a recipe section in the latter half of the book, but they are historical recipes--it might be fun to make one of the simpler ones with your class, but somehow I don't think too many people will find their new Thanksgiving staple. Unless of course you want a more historical T-day with oysters and clams instead of turkey.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

So...everything people think they know about "New England Food" contains numerous myths. A snarky and fun sled for the most part, albeit repetitive in spots. I could do without the many many pages about "New England Boiled Dinner" but it was inevitably a big part of the narrative. As a kid who pretty much hated it but had to eat it, and have made it the butt of so many jokes since, I shouldn't have been surprised that these were my least favorite portions of the book. Learned a good bit about cranberries, surprised that the author/historian/food anthropologist didn't at least MENTION the Molasses Flood.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this book was full of a lot of information that really shed some light on just how artificial New England food really is. How a lot of Classic foods that were supposed to have been eaten centuries ago were actually just lies and constructed during the New England Revitalization Efforts of the late 19th century.

It's interesting. But, it sometimes goes on a bit too long in chapters. I would recommend finding specific topics you want to read about and then going to the chapters. Also the fish chapter was difficult and quite the slog to get through but I suppose understandable.

The recipes were neat but I was hoping for a bit more. Overall, decent book.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed reading this book. I thought it might just be a history of baked beans. Turns out it's a recipe book! Filled with anecdotal stories about various new England foods. Foodies will love this book, as well as might New Englanders. This book covers vegetables of many sorts and fishing industry's offerings. Fun filled historical look at the foods of New England, early settlers and Native Americans. The recipes sound wonderful!

[Kidron Tirey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muckenhoupt has a fabulous way of weaving together history, geography and gastronomy in an enticing and insightful way. On numerous occasions I was pleasantly confronted with the reality that we live in a world that has reclined into all manner of myths about society and the way "things came to be." This book challenged me and helped me understand New England historicity in a new, essential way. Many thanks for the recipes and the devotion that went into making this book a home-run.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun culinary history of New England. The author skewers myths about New England food history and teases out why food in NE was so bland for so long. All of this is good to great. What is not is the writing and editing. There are ponderous citations and repeated facts (often within pages of each other). Her tone misses in times. A shorter, better-edited book would have sparkled whereas this one is just informative and fun but tiresome in stretches.