United Tastes of America: American Cooking from Around the World (A Channel Four book) Book

United Tastes of America supports Dorinda Hafner's television series about eight ethnic groups in the U.S. and their food. She lives in Australia. The chapters in this book, each of which correspond to one episode of Hafner's show, provide much useful information: we learn about the history, culture, and food of Native Americans living in the northern United States; Cajuns living in Louisiana; and Italian, Chinese, and Jewish Americans, among others. Be aware that this portrait of the melting pot is peppered with oversimplifications and inaccuracies. "America's taste for sweet pastries, cakes and puddings" does not stem solely from German and Dutch influences, for example. Nor was Italian food "a huge success ... since the first Italian stepped onto American soil." In fact, it was mostly viewed with suspicion and disapproval until after World War II. To say that "Jewish food is not truly Jewish unless it is kosher" is also false. And "a sentimental attachment to home cooking, and to those dishes cooked by the immigrant mother" is hardly exclusive to Jewish people. However, recipes are representative of what each ethnic group cooks, although a few ingredients are atypical, such as basil in Potato Kugel, a savory pudding, or creamed corn in Chinese Corn Soup. Ingredients such as castor sugar and corn flour may stump U.S. cooks but are familiar to many others, as are the metric measures accompanying U.S. ingredient quantities.Read More