Hunter's Stew and Hangtown Fry: What Pioneer America Ate and Why

First, before I actually get into the book, I have to state that this is sort of an odd book in that it has been designated as appropriate for ages 9-12. I am not real sure who came up with that information, but I do quite strongly disagree with it. Yes, the writing is concise and I suppose the word count in on course, but this is one of those works that an adult will enjoy, and probably get much more information from, than the younger set. Now that is not to say that a bright nine year old could not handle this one; indeed they probably could, but to completely understand the work, their knowledge of history would have to be quite a bit more extensive that we would normally expect. Anyway, that being said... This work, consisting of 156 pages, is much, much more than a cookbook. It actually has only about twenty recipes included. It is though a history book; a history of life as reflected by food during the 19th century as the country was settled and gravitated toward the west. As an example of the content we have this work starting with Pot Luck on the Kentucky Frontier which proceeds to Lower Mississippi Valley, Louisiana, Slave and Indian Communities of the South and beyond the Southern Mountains. This work also covers, in-depth, the Old Northwest, Great Plains, Santa Fe Trail and Southwest, Rocky Mountains and their region and concludes with Pioneers in the Cities back East. Each section gives background information of the peoples of each region, foodstuff they had to work with and why they ate what they ate. A wonderful narrative history of each section of the United States in interwoven with the cooking history covering geography, economics, and way of life, giving the reader good points of reference to keep on track as to the references to food; the main thrust of the book. Some of the recipes included are Burgoo, Corn Pudding, Shrimp Gumbo, Kartofelpuffer, Hollandsche Appel Koek, Swiss Cheese-and-Onion Pie, Spotted Pup, Senate Bean Soup and Hamantaschen. Each dish is fascinating and workable (We have tried some of them and they are quite good). The reader will be able to recognize many dishes we dine upon even to this day, even though the names of the dishes have evolved into something else. Many of us grew up on these dishes. I can remember my mother's Hasenpfeffer quite well, although folks in my area called it roasted or stewed rabbit. She would also simply fry it and produce wonderful white gravy which really was not all that different than Southern Fried Steak or Chicken. I found the ethnic influences referred to throughout this work to be of particular fascination as well as the ability of people to turn just about anything available into food. Americans is known as a "melting pot," and this work certainly brings a new meaning to that term in a literal sense. The narrative is clear and concise and there has been an obvious large amount of research that has gone into this work. Do not make the mistake of being