Victuals
An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the James Beard Foundation Book of the Year Award and Best Book, American Cooking, Victuals is an exploration of the foodways, people, and places of Appalachia.
Written by Ronni Lundy, regarded as the most engaging authority on the region, Victuals guides us through the surprisingly diverse history--and vibrant present--of food in the Mountain South. Victuals explores the diverse and complex food scene of the Mountain South through recipes, stories, traditions, and innovations. Each chapter explores a specific defining food or tradition of the region--such as salt, beans, corn (and corn liquor). The essays introduce readers to their rich histories and the farmers, curers, hunters, and chefs who define the region's contemporary landscape. Sitting at a diverse intersection of cuisines, Appalachia offers a wide range of ingredients and products that can be transformed using traditional methods and contemporary applications. Through 80 recipes and stories gathered on her travels in the region, Lundy shares dishes that distill the story and flavors of the Mountain South.
– Epicurious: Best Cookbooks of 2016
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lundy (The Festive Table), a founder of the Southern Foodways Alliance and the Appalachian Food Summit, clearly has a deep understanding and appreciation for Southern cooking. Defining Appalachia as an area encompassing Kentucky, the Virginias, Tennessee, southern Ohio, North Carolina, southern Ohio, and northern Georgia, she provides is an elegantly photographed and lovingly narrated appreciation of Appalachian cuisine and the people who grow and prepare it. Drawing from family recipes, her own creations, and dishes from vintage cookbooks, Lundy takes the reader on a virtual tour of the area, stopping to explain the difference between salad and sallet (a specific way of cooking greens), touring regional museums, and talking shop with a handful of small, local producers. She introduces readers to simple dishes such as buttermilk cucumber salad, skillet corn, icebox green strawberry pickles, and roasted candy roaster squash, a regional favorite. Though she has a tendency to meander a bit (the instructions for skillet-fried chicken and milk gravy take up a page and a half), Lundy is a warm and charming guide with a deep-seated love and respect for the region and its approach to cuisine. Fans of locally sourced foods and Southern cooking will find a lot to like here, as Lundy does a terrific job of showcasing Appalachia's breadth and depth.
