Jane ZiegelmanBesprekingen

This was a very interesting, informative and yummy read. The author is the director of a culinary program at New York's Tenement Museum (located--you guessed it---at 97 Orchard St. on the Lower East Side). She explores the food cultures of 5 immigrant families--German, German Jewish, Irish, Italian and Lithuanian--who came to New York for various reasons between the 1860s and the 1930s. In doing so, she covers a lot of ground both inside and outside the kitchens, including general living conditions in the tenements, pushcart street vendors, the raising of poultry and pigs in courtyards and city streets, religious practices, food prejudices, Americanization of traditional European dishes and the adoption of ethnic foods by native born Americans. Every chapter made me crave something, from oysters to corned beef to strudel to pizza. It was a treat to read.

A history of the culinary life of New York City’s Lower East Side, featuring the stories of five families who lived in the tenement located at 97 Orchard Street between the years of 1860-1930. The book takes a broader look at how immigrants of various nationalities affected the city’s foodways, from pushcart merchants to delicatessens to urban poultry farmers raising geese in tenement basements. It’s fascinating stuff, especially if you’re interested in culinary history or in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I was hoping to recognize some of my own family food traditions, but nothing struck a particular chord. Still, very interesting reading!

97 Orchard is a richly detailed investigation of the lives and culinary habits—shopping, cooking, and eating—of five families of various ethnicities living at the turn of the twentieth century in one tenement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. With 40 recipes included, 97 Orchard is perfect for fans of Rachel Ray’s Hometown Eats; anyone interested in the history of how immigrant food became American food; and “foodies” of every stripe.

As I stirred a pot of increasingly gluey tapioca pudding a couple days ago, I pondered how old-fashioned a dessert it seems -- a comforting, if mysterious, childhood dessert that is missing from my children's childhoods so far. But my parents knew of it, as did their parents, and possibly theirs. But the taste for it began somewhere, right? I mean, it's a bizarre confection that seems like just a vehicle for milk ingestion (although in my house it's almond milk), because that's precisely what it is -- a dish introduced to thousands of New York public schoolchildren during the lean hungry years of the Depression, when federal and state governments grappled with the problems of how to feed hungry, jobless Americans.

The book is a fascinating exploration of how America's food tastes changed in response to scarcity, and the roles played by government agencies, popular advertising, and lawmakers in shaping our food expectations for generations. I have added this title to my mental list of required reading to understand the Great Depression years, a list that includes Tobacco Road, The Worst Hard Time, The Cotton Tenants, and Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.

There is a lot of jumping around here, and Ziegelman has little info about some of the families she's building the book around, but I liked the way she drew on all sorts of documents (novels, restaurant menus, Ellis Island menus,newspaper articles, family budgets, comic strips--remember Maggie and Jiggs?--photos...). Loved reading about Ellis Island.

One thing. Maps, please. I don't understand why people don't put maps in books! There's so much about neighborhoods in here, I'd love to be able to consult a map.

Do you want to be infuriated at government ineptitude? Probably not, but if you pick up this book and read about the horrible decisions made in administering (or in many cases, not administering) food aid during the Great Depression, you will certainly see parallels to today's economic crises. The poor and unemployed, the rural, the women and children all suffer when government officials are far removed and distant from the devastation on the ground.

I picked this up thinking it would be an interesting read about victory gardens and the birth of the modern kitchen -- and there's certainly some of that -- but this is much more a sociological and political history than it is a culinary history.

This the history of five immigrant cultures, food and living conditions in NYC are explored. "97 Orchard" is the address of the Tenement Museum in NYC. Very interesting. Fact filled, dense reading.½

Jane Ziegelman does an excellent job of taking the modern reader back to the immigrant tenements of the Lower East Side of New York City, during the late 19th Century. She has done a lot of research not only on the food that immigrants ate and modified to the availability of food stuffs in their new environment, but on their culture and eating habits from their native homeland as well. There are lots of little tidbits that she shares, (i.e. did you know Heinz started as a sauerkraut processing factory?) that keeps the reader interested and entertained. While some readers took issue with the fact that the book’s title implies that it should have been more about the families, I was quite happy with the information she provided about them, and read the book more for the cultural food aspect of the immigrant experience rather than an in-depth look at each of the immigrant families. If you look food history I would definitely recommend putting this on your “to read” list.

The subtitle of this book is a little misleading. Ziegelman and Coe reach all the way back to the World War I era to lead into a culinary history of the Great Depression. With the U.S. entry into World War I came a rapid industrialization of the nation's food supply and the rise of expert professions such as nutritionists, dietitians, and home economists. The authors explore the effects of the Depression and food relief programs in different states and regions, from New York to California. The audio version is a more challenging listening experience than the average nonfiction audiobook because of the number of menus and recipes included in the text. Fortunately, the narrator was up for the challenge. Her expression and clear enunciation made it a pleasure to listen.

This review is based on a complimentary audio CD provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.½

The subject matter of this book is intriguing--the culinary history of the Great Depression--though in the end, it wasn't quite what I hoped it would be. The book starts out strong, detailing how World War I changed American's outlooks on food, and how that continued to evolve through the 1920s with major shifts to delis and cafeterias and corporation-driven food trends. Unfortunately, I found that where the food faltered was on the Depression itself. It became much more of a social history, emphasizing the growth of public school lunches to keep children alive and focused, and how Hoover and Roosevelt handled (and didn't handle) the crisis. I wanted to see more examples of foods and recipes of the period, and how different regions adapted in specific ways. Major emphases is on the starvation and malnutrition of people who were without work, but I wanted to see more of how employed people adapted to these tough times. This feels like a time and subject that still has a wealth of material to be explored.

At first I wanted to call the audio stilted but then I realized Susan Ericksen was aptly portraying the audio tone (or monotone, if you will) of the era.

Through the sieve of American history, I was able to get a proper view of the culture and the culinary outlook of the era.

Library Thing Early Readers Audio Copy
(Thank You)

A lively story of the Great Depression, a time with which I am largely unfamiliar. Forays into some kind of nutrition science occurred in and around this time, and are discussed, along with their relationship to relief efforts during the depression. Like the potato famine in Ireland, there was no scarcity of food, just a scarcity of money to buy the available food. This was a tricky problem politically, as presumably it was in Ireland. The authors do not inject an overt viewpoint into their narrative. They quote from a number of original sources. The persons who administered the various relief programs were concerned and stated so very clearly, that too much relief over too long a period would make a person permanently dependent. A very reasonable fear, but it would probably be political suicide to state this so clearly now.

It's hard not to think that Hoover was right, and that Roosevelt was just lucky to get a war.½

We listened to this during a long road trip and my entire family enjoyed it. It's focused on changes in American eating habits during the Great Depression, with side trips into the burgeoning field of home economics and food assistance programs. There were some fascinating stories, some told with a bit of humor or irony. Overall, a very engaging book.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook (conveniently compressed, via MP3 technology, onto a single compact disc) while driving cross-country. I own (but have not yet read) co-author Jane Ziegelman's 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenament; and I've skimmed (but do not own) Andrew Coe's (the other co-author) Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States. The authors paint vivid pictures of the times and the diets--and several important fascinating figures, including Harry Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martha Van Rensselaer, Flora Rose, Charles Post, and scores of others. Although the narrative may be a bit repetitive in places (perhaps only seemingly so, given the patchwork-quilt feel of the chapters as smaller pieces of a larger whole), I'm still getting used to audiobooks while driving: if you're forced to concentrate on the road for a moment, you might miss an important date or name or the like, leading me to feel--still--that audio transcriptions of books that are written to be read, not listened to, aren't exactly generous to the listeners. But why would authors who want to sell books (versus audiobooks) choose to write in a style that's more understandable when read aloud, since such writing is, well, almost a different genre? I will continue to ruminate on this challenge as I train myself to appreciate audiobooks--while remaining an attentive driver.

This book provided an interesting historical look at how food preparation and sources changed during the early part of the 20th century, with a specific focus on the 1930s. The descriptions of the food-relief programs and how they came about were particularly fascinating as were the hints of what some of those programs have morphed into in today's society. I would agree with previous reviewers that the book, while interesting and engaging, was more a history of food relief programs rather than a culinary history.

It felt like most of this book was about food relief during the Great Depression. I noticed that the arguments for and against food relief haven't really changed much over the years.

"People are starving, we should help them."
"If you give food to the hungry, they'll just become lazy moochers."
"People can't afford nutritious food. Malnutrition is becoming a problem."
"Hungry people are hungry because they're lazy. They don't deserve food relief."
"All these new Army recruits are unfit for service! We need to feed the next generations of soldiers so they'll be fit for service."

I was really struck by the descriptions of the hardships faced by families across the country who couldn't feed themselves and the constant reluctance of the government to help out in an effective way. I was appalled by the needless suffering that was allowed to go on. How many babies died? How many children suffered lasting harm?

There didn't seem to be a whole lot about how the "movement toward a homogenized national cuisine sparked a revival of American regional cooking." It seemed like the book had just turned toward this topic, when suddenly, it was over.

Not a bad book, but it is more about hunger and food relief during the Depression than a culinary history. The book also did not follow a linear timeline, so those annoyed by jumping around to different times will be annoyed.

Oh, and I loved that this audio book came on a single mp3 cd. Thankfully it worked perfectly in my car and eliminated need to change disks every hour or so. Much less dangerous.½

I got this audio book as part of Library Thing's Early Reviewer program. I had heard about this book on "Fresh Air" on NPR and was led to believe, by the interview that this was going to be an account of what I like to call "unfortunate food." - food that was nutritious, cheap and, ultimately unappetizing. It was that, but it was also much more.

What this book really is is a history of American cuisine from World War I through the Great Depression, as well as a look at the attitudes of America towards its poor citizens and its remedies to alleviate hunger during the country's hardest times.

At the end of World War I, America was still a largely rural nation, centered on farming and fueled by a meat and potatoes diet that was high in calories. It was surprising to learn that the average American consumed close to 5000 calories per day! This, of course was mitigated by the strenuous life on a farm where there was little mechanization or electricity well into the 1930's.

The 1920's brought a great migration to the industrialized cities of the north. People moved from ample farm houses to small apartments and rising incomes led to the adoption of modern appliances like electric refrigerators. Convenience foods and meals eaten in restaurants like Child's and the Automat also changed the way Americans ate.

The Depression, of course, sent the country into a turmoil. City dwellers lost their jobs and had few resources to fall back on. Farmers, while being hit with a drastic decline in commodity prices, could feed themselves - at least in the beginning. The government's attitude that it was morally wrong to help people survive in the face of economic disaster seems especially cruel, until one realizes that the attitude of the population at large was that being poor was somehow a moral failing and that if relief was to be offered, it should be at a minimal level. People felt that if the poor got "too comfortable" they would never want to work.

the election of FDR changed things as his administration offered direct relief and then works projects like the CCC and WPA, but the economy never really recovered until World War II gobbled up several million men for the armed forces and shifted the country into a war production mode.

This book is not only an interesting social history, but also a cautionary lesson for how we treat our poorer citizens here in the 21st century.

A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression in Audio Book format.

Susan Erickson, the audio narrator, does a phenomenal job, especially considering this is a non-fiction work; her cadence and poignancy when telling personal stories of hardship during the depression really comes across.

The content itself is more than just a mere list of food ingredients; the book delves into the science, the politics, and the socio-economic and cultural influences that influenced the foods we eat, and the manner in which we eat them.

It starts with World War I and continues through the Depression of the 1930s.

Various aspects of American society are considered - especially in their opposing considerations: Rural versus City; the new Science of Food and Home Economics versus Tradition and Culture, Federal versus Local Politics, and also includes the harsh reality and effect of racism and discrimination - especially in the South were Jim Crow was still in force.

Being a culinary book various recipes are given, but the overall focus is far broader, and more interesting, than just recipes.

Cultural artifacts are also included which range from popular music of the day to various radio shows, and company and government slogans.

This book meets a variety of interests from Food, History, Sociology, and just general interest. Highly recommended in both print and audio.

A study of the last 100 years of American idea of food. Starting with the myth of American abundance during the pre-wwi era and moving forward into the scientific era. Recent discoveries of vitamins and nutritional requirements has totally changed the American food landscape.

Also addressed are issues of government assistance. Just how much responsibility should the U.S. government take in insuring its citizens are well fed? What are the guidelines for a healthy diet and who's going to administrate them? These thorny questions are only more relevant today.

A fascinating journey through the evolution of food culture that puts the modern day into perspective.

Npt quite what I thought this would be but interesting all the same. I liked the chapters on the two Jewish families that lived on Orchard Street the best - offered great insight into what I grew up eating.

“A place to cook and to eat, the kitchen was also used as a family workspace, a sweatshop, a laundry room, a place to wash one’s body, a nursery for the babies, and a bedroom for boarders. In this cramped and primitive setting, immigrant cooks brought their formidable ingenuity to the daily challenge of feeding their families.”

97 Orchard.

A building. A residence. A New York tenement, home to immigrants from Europe.

And in this case, five families who lived there between 1863 and 1935.

In the kitchens of the German Glockners (who owned the building), the Irish Moores, the Gumpertz family (German Jews), the Rogarshevsksy family (Russian-Lithuanian Jews), and the Italian Baldizzi family, we learn how immigrant cooks fed their families, made their living, and introduced many familiar foods to this country, such as:

“German wursts and pretzels, doughtnut-shaped rolls from Eastern Europe known as ‘beygals’, potato pastries referred to as ‘knishes’, and the elongated Italian noodles for which Americans had no name but came to know as spaghetti.”

It was fun to read the various recipes that accompany the stories, such as fish hash and vegetarian chopped liver. And culinary traditions always fascinate, especially ones which seem so odd to us today, such as the apparently common commodity of broken eggs, as well as the fact that goose liver (i.e. foie gras) used to be fed to children as a nutritional supplement. And the occupation of ‘cabbage-shaver’ for sauerkraut.

“With a tool designed specifically for the task – it worked like a French mandolin, the blades set into a wooden board – the krauthobler went door to door, literally shaving cabbages into thread-like strands. The cost was a penny a head.”

The only quibble I have with this book is its somewhat misleading subtitle. The ‘history’ of these five specific families is hardly that. We get little more than a glimpse of these family’s histories, instead they are used as a starting point to kick off each chapter, and to illustrate how the “culinary revolution” transcended this one neighbourhood, and which continues today “among immigrants from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, who have brought their food traditions to this country and continue to transform the way America eats”

This review was first posted on my blog Olduvai Reads

the premise of this book is great, but it didn't deliver for me. while i found the sections dedicated to the food and the people interesting, the flow of the book was not great - i found it choppy and abrupt. i also found that ziegelman spoke more generally about groups of people (jewish, irish, italina immigrants), than individuals or families. i enjoyed that she included some newspaper excerpts from the times she had researched. i found, particularly in the later sections, a focus on negative stereotypes that really took away from the read for me. i am not naïve to these beliefs having existed at the time (and still existing in places), but i felt the inclusion of these types of commentary to not serve much of a purpose because ziegelman did not spend much time building upon the many challenges and struggles faced by new immigrants to america. (i'm not sure if i am making sense here?) perhaps she tried to do too much with this book? while this is not a recipe book, there are a few recipes included, and many times you may find yourself getting drooly reading about the food. so while there were good moments in the book, the not-so-good moments outweighed them.

Loved this book! So much!

Loved this book! So much!

Loved this book! So much!