During my time in class this semester I have learned about the power of internet podcasts. One, in particular, has really caught my attention called, Stuff You Missed in History Class. Listening to this podcast in my room as I am folding clothes I stumble upon an interesting interview. A woman by the name of Anne Byrn’s has written a book by the name of American Cookie. I don’t know if I was just hungry at the time or just the idea that a history podcast will be talking about cookie but something caught my attention.
The book is a mixture of a cookbook and a historical narrative. From the interview, anyone can see how much heart she has put not only in the research but in the recipes also. She speaks of having to decipher many of these recipes through trial and error due to many of them being lost in translation. It is easy to ignore or not even realize the importance of food culture is to the present and the past.
A great example she points out in her interview is women from New Orleans in the past century who could not make ends meet used food to survive. Lower class women would pass on recipes for candies, cookies, and brittles to their children. This is an important exchange because of the many upper-class women did not know how to make these goodies or were too nervous to even try. Working with candy was extremely difficult and dangerous even to this day. These lower-class women will sell these candies after church to the community in order to make the money needed to survive.
Ms. Byrn’s talks about the ingredients that go into every cookie and how they differ from region and state. For just being a cookie many would not think that there could be so many combinations. All the way down to different types of fats are used and how they can change through the generations that are being passed down by.
These are just some of the great aspects of this podcast and book. Bringing to light the interesting precedent food has on our past. Making me think of my own cultural sweets and how they may represent me and my past.
https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/interview-anne-byrns-american-cookie.htm
