Endangered Eating: America's Vanishing Foods

 Endangered Eating: America's Vanishing Foods by Sarah Lohman

There are a lot of foods that are "endangered" because they are not being produced or consumed much anymore. This book covers a number of those foods in the USA. One case is a different breed of peanuts. It was popular, but has been all but taken over by the common one. There have been attempts to bring it back. However, in the early stages, it costs much more than regular peanuts, and thus has been slow to be adopted. Other stories are of animals and other foods that are "non-commercial" in nature and endangered.

Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine

Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman

American cooking has various inspirations. Spices from around the world make it to America. Some may start up as exotic before being "Americanized" and adopted as local spices. This book explores 8 flavors: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. It also looks at flavors that may be the next "future" American flavor. 

The book explores origins of the usage and popularity of spices as well as having associated recipes. Black pepper was popular in the colonies. However, it took some effort to find the source to be able to import it directly into the USA. (Once it was imported, there was a lot of money to be made.) MSG is defended as a basic chemical that naturally results from other preparation. The research into the "Chinese restaurant syndrome" was likely due to other parts of food preparation.

It is interesting that many of these flavors were heavily associated with ethnic groups before they were seen as "American", making it a true melting pot.