num_pages: 344
description:  Alabamas history and culture revealed through fourteen iconic foods dishes and beverages The Story of Alabama in Fourteen Foods explores well-known Alabama food traditions to reveal salient histories of the state in a new way. In this book that is part history part travelogue and part cookbook Emily Blejwas pays homage to fourteen emblematic foods dishes and beverages one per chapter as a lens for exploring the diverse cultures and traditions of the state. Throughout Alabamas history food traditions have been fundamental to its customs cultures regions social and political movements and events. Each featured food is deeply rooted in Alabama identity and has a story with both local and national resonance. Blejwas focuses on lesser-known food stories from around the state illuminating the lives of a diverse populace: Poarch Creeks Creoles of color wild turkey hunters civil rights activists Alabama club women frontier squatters Mardi Gras revelers sharecroppers and Vietnamese American shrimpers among others. A number of Alabama figures noted for their special contributions to the states foodways such as George Washington Carver and Georgia Gilmore are profiled as well. Alabamas rich food history also unfolds through accounts of community events and a food-based economy. Highlights include Sumter County barbecue clubs Mobiles banana docks Appalachian Decoration Days cane syrup making peanut boils and eggnog parties. Drawing on historical research and interviews with home cooks chefs and community members cooking at local gatherings and for holidays Blejwas details the myths legends and truths underlying Alabamas beloved foodways. With nearly fifty color illustrations and fifteen recipes The Story of Alabama in Fourteen Foods will allow all Alabamians to more fully understand their shared cultural heritage.
language: None
title: The Story of Alabama in Fourteen Foods
publisher: University Alabama Press