Delicious Geography: From Place to Plate

by Gary Fuller, T. M. Reddekopp

Overview

This entertaining book takes us on a fascinating exploration of the world of food. Take a journey with the dynamic father and daughter duo, geographer Gary Fuller and chef Tracy Reddekopp, as they travel around the globe to trace the enduring links of geography and food. Food and its preparation and enjoyment define the major cultural regions of the world and how these regions have changed over time. The authors believe that the peoples of the world have begun to reunite after millennia of dispersal. The sharing of foods and food traditions are prime examples of this global connection.

Enriching the trip with thirty-five recipes to extend the experience into our kitchen, homes, and families, the authors also make geography fun by asking trivia questions that turn out to be far from trivial. Among the questions asked and answered are:

• What landlocked country in South America developed a plant that revolutionized food production in Europe?
• What bird on the island of Mauritius gave us an expression about mortality?
• On what Native American reservation, and in what kind of business, do we find the Code Talkers Museum?
• Why could vanilla be grown only in Mexico until the mid-nineteenth century?
• What famous Italian-American was given a nickname derived from a Pan American airliner?

(Answers: Bolivia, the potato, “Dead as a dodo,” the Navajo reservation in a Burger King; the plant could only be pollinated naturally by a Mexican bee, Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442245327
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2017
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	310,147
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Gary Fuller earned his PhD in geography at Penn State and taught for thirty-five years at the University of Hawaii. He also taught introductory geography at Penn State and Ohio State. He was named a Teacher of the Year by the National Association for Geographic Education, captained a championship College Bowl team, and was a winning contestant on Jeopardy! For the past twenty-five years, he has lectured on geographic and population topics aboard cruise ships.

T. M. Reddekopp is the owner and chef of the Hawaiian Vanilla Company. She has been immersed in the art of food and hospitality for over twenty-five years, hosting and serving more than 15,000 visitors a year, deftly incorporating vanilla into just about everything she makes. Choosing a lifestyle well off the beaten path, Tracy has clientele from all over the world seeking out her culinary creations, with many returning year after year in a pilgrimage for her sweet bread pudding with vanilla browned-butter bourbon sauce.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Dr. G’s Preface Chef Tracy’s Preface 1 The Search for Spices Old World Meets New World Spiced Wine Malabar Pepper Gougères 2 Marco Polo Travels East Spinach and Vanilla Rice Casserole 3 A Plant Is Domesticated in Bolivia Pommes Frites with Garlic and Vanilla Aioli Colcannon 4 Sugar Vanilla Caramel Rustic Apple Tart 5 Cacao Grammy’s Cocoa Cake—The Next Generation with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting and Bittersweet Chocolate Drizzle 6 Plain Vanilla Vanilla Extract Frozen Vanilla Custard Vanilla Bean Flan 7 The French in America Beignets and Spiced-Chicory-Chocolate Dipping Sauce 8 The Russians Come to America Russian Borscht 9 Jews in America Challah 10 Immigrants, Part I Mom’s Sauerkraut and Apples 11 Immigrants, Part II Cannoli Bites with Dark Chocolate The Godfather Cocktail 12 North Atlantic Islands Beer-Battered Onion Rings 13 South Atlantic Islands Rogue Pirate Picnic Sandwich 14 World Hot Spots Sweet Pepper and Onion Jam Christmas Eve Wings with Cilantro-Lime Dipping Sauce 15 Religious Movements Dad’s Thanksgiving Stuffing Amish Chicken 16 South of the Border Crab Enchilada Bake with Red and White Sauces 17 The Land Down Under US Arroz con Pollo 18 Extinctions Tatonka Tourtiere Bacalao 19 Gold Rushes Rachel’s Cinnamon Twists 20 Rivers and Civilizations North African Pan-Fried Bread 21 Things Change Meatloaf, Mashies, and Pea Salad 22 Southern Latitudes Not-so-Trite Shrimp on the Barbie 23 Settlement of the Pacific: The Final Frontier Pineapple-Papaya Salsa 24 The Dairy Belt Vanilla Ricotta Cheese 25 What’s in a Name? Three Sisters’ Pudding 26 My Early Geographic Education and First Migration Stovetop “Baked” Beans Index

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2017
This delightful (though U.S.-centric) book about the close bonds between the world’s regions and their distinctive cuisines holds no surprises, but geographer Fuller and chef Reddekopp capture the reader’s attention with a series of intriguing facts, trivia, and recipes. The authors, a father-daughter team, explore “the sense of place, the role of familial traditions, and regional values.” They point out the significance to international appetites of essential foods such as spices, rice, sugar, vanilla, and cacao, as well as charting the arrival in the U.S. of key ingredients brought by immigrants from Europe, Africa, Russia, the Pacific, and South America. The recipes are uncomplicated, and the writing shows a wealth of knowledge about the history of foods and their cultural and political introduction to the U.S. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

This collection of recipes simmers alongside lessons in geography and history. From discussions on global impacts of specific ingredients, such as the introduction of the potato into Bolivia, to the social influences of ingredients like that of dairy, Fuller and Reddekopp put an interesting personal slant to each chapter. Recipes are bolstered with the history of the highlighted element of each featured recipe, along with learning questions at the beginning of each chapter as well as being put into a personal context. The authors both include intimate stories to bolster the well-researched histories and tried recipes with a unique slant.. .. This is an enjoyable read that features a number of intriguing recipes that have been crafted for the home cook.

Booklist

This engaging volume will entice readers to discover two vital kinds of knowledge that have sadly become scarce. The first is knowledge of the sources, healthfulness, and meaning of our food. The second is knowledge of the planet itself, lost on a post-geographic generation. Delicious Geography is indeed a delicious exploration of the world through food.

James Hayes-Bohanan

This innovative book beautifully combines geography, history, and cooking in a single volume. It invites you to learn about the spice trade and then make mulled wine, investigate the origins of the potato and then make pommes frites, and so much more! An insightful and scrumptious geography of food.

Dan Knudsen

This collection of recipes simmers alongside lessons in geography and history. From discussions on global impacts of specific ingredients, such as the introduction of the potato into Bolivia, to the social influences of ingredients like that of dairy, Fuller and Reddekopp put an interesting personal slant to each chapter. Recipes are bolstered with the history of the highlighted element of each featured recipe, along with learning questions at the beginning of each chapter as well as being put into a personal context. The authors both include intimate stories to bolster the well-researched histories and tried recipes with a unique slant. . . . This is an enjoyable read that features a number of intriguing recipes that have been crafted for the home cook.

Booklist