Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father's Culinary Adventures

by Rae Katherine Eighmey Narrated by Pam Ward

Overview

In this remarkable culinary biography, Rae Katherine Eighmey presents Benjamin Franklin's experimentation with food throughout his life. At age sixteen, he began dabbling in vegetarianism. In his early twenties, citing the health benefits of water over alcohol, he convinced his printing press colleagues to abandon their traditional breakfast of beer and bread for "water gruel," a kind of porridge he enjoyed. Franklin is known for his scientific discoveries, including electricity and the lightning rod, and his curiosity and logical mind extended to the kitchen: he even conducted an electrical experiment to try to cook a turkey.

Later in life, on his diplomatic missions-he lived fifteen years in England and nine in France-Franklin ate like a local. Eighmey discovers the meals served at his London home-away-from-home and analyzes his account books from Passy, France, for tips to his diet there. Yet he also longed for American foods; his wife Deborah sent over some favorites including cranberries, which amazed the London kitchen staff. He saw food as key to the developing culture of the United States, penning two essays presenting maize as the defining grain of America. Eighmey revives and re-creates recipes from each chapter in his life. Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin conveys all of Franklin's culinary adventures, demonstrating how Franklin's love of food shaped not only his life, but also the character of the young nation he helped build.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A new book about Benjamin Franklin covers his 84 years and the food that accompanied them, all based on prodigious research by Rae Katherine Eighmey, a food historian. The account is dense with detail, conveying Mr. Franklin’s tastes, curiosity and inventiveness."
—New York Times

"From his invention of an increased heat stove to a penned essay on maize as the defining grain of America, Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin is an exciting, and rare approach to examining how food fed into the U.S. identity."
—Food & Wine

"Most intriguing are the many recipes that end each chapter. Well documented, thoroughly tested, and kindly adapted to the modern kitchen, they offer readers the opportunity to imagine their way back into the eighteenth century."
—Booklist

"So along with a history lesson on Franklin’s life, you’ll get a true taste for what he would have enjoyed, cooked or was served over the course of his lifetime. Unlike anything we eat today, 'They are delicious, evocative, and well worth the small efforts to prepare.'"
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"The new book ... delves deep into Franklin’s love of food and drink"
—New York Post

“We’ve all been taught to believe that only one of the Founding Fathers was a true gourmand. Well, roll over, Thomas Jefferson, because it turns out Benjamin Franklin may be the true founding foodie father of this country.”
—Alton Brown, Author and TV Host

“First I enjoyed Eighmey’s Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin as a reader, and I found myself engrossed. Then, as a chef, I immediately put it to the test in the kitchen and was truly impressed. This book offers a new viewpoint on one of our most familiar founding fathers.”
—Walter Staib, A Taste of History host, creator, and executive producer; City Tavern chef and proprietor

“Rae Eighmey’s portrait of Ben Franklin is like a five-star meal prepared by an Iron Chef—it’s irresistible. She reveals a facet of the most lovable of the Founders that other biographers have missed: Benjamin Franklin, Founding Food Hound. And with sixty-two period recipes updated for contemporary cooks, Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin teaches home chefs how to recreate the flavorful specialties of Marie Antoinette’s Paris, George III’s London, and Franklin’s Philadelphia.”
—Thomas J. Craughwell, author of Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée
 
“An inviting recipe for a Franklin biography and one that is entertainingly presented. It is both well sourced and well sauced. Enjoy!”
—George Goodwin, author of Benjamin Franklin in London

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169666724
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	01/16/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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