Jennifer Rachel Dutch
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496818751
- eISBN:
- 9781496818799
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496818751.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
While cooking at home is no longer an odious chore, many critics lament what they see as the demise of cooking from scratch. These critics promise that a return to the kitchen will make Americans ...
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While cooking at home is no longer an odious chore, many critics lament what they see as the demise of cooking from scratch. These critics promise that a return to the kitchen will make Americans healthier and happier. By claiming that home cooking is in a state of decline from an idealized past and proposing that the only solution to the stress of modern life is a return to those past kitchen practices, these critics adhere to a traditional rhetorical pattern known as a “Jeremiad.” However, the weakness of the American home cooking jeremiad is that it only serves to increase anxiety as Americans fail to capture a past golden age that never really existed.Less
While cooking at home is no longer an odious chore, many critics lament what they see as the demise of cooking from scratch. These critics promise that a return to the kitchen will make Americans healthier and happier. By claiming that home cooking is in a state of decline from an idealized past and proposing that the only solution to the stress of modern life is a return to those past kitchen practices, these critics adhere to a traditional rhetorical pattern known as a “Jeremiad.” However, the weakness of the American home cooking jeremiad is that it only serves to increase anxiety as Americans fail to capture a past golden age that never really existed.
Jennifer Rachel Dutch
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496818751
- eISBN:
- 9781496818799
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496818751.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
The rhetoric of commercial cookbooks mirrors the “death of home cooking narrative” by promising to provide the fulfilment that Americans are seeking. Creating an idealized picture of cooking at home, ...
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The rhetoric of commercial cookbooks mirrors the “death of home cooking narrative” by promising to provide the fulfilment that Americans are seeking. Creating an idealized picture of cooking at home, commercial cookbooks sell “comfort cooking” in which the kitchen becomes an oasis that allows the reader to shut out all of the stress of modern life and reconnect with family, community, and food. The first step in creating a healthy meal, comfortable home, and happy family is, of course, buy the cookbook.Less
The rhetoric of commercial cookbooks mirrors the “death of home cooking narrative” by promising to provide the fulfilment that Americans are seeking. Creating an idealized picture of cooking at home, commercial cookbooks sell “comfort cooking” in which the kitchen becomes an oasis that allows the reader to shut out all of the stress of modern life and reconnect with family, community, and food. The first step in creating a healthy meal, comfortable home, and happy family is, of course, buy the cookbook.
Ken Albala
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781469652894
- eISBN:
- 9781469652917
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469652894.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Americans have been known to idealize home cooked meals eaten with the family, but the general trend in our history has been to move away from these things. Ken Albala, one of America’s leading food ...
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Americans have been known to idealize home cooked meals eaten with the family, but the general trend in our history has been to move away from these things. Ken Albala, one of America’s leading food historians, makes an impassioned plea for the importance of cooking from scratch, using fresh ingredients, and sharing the food with others, as one of the most meaningful and humane acts we can do. He is cognizant of the fact that cooking is not always easy, nor has it always been voluntary, but in his mind that should not prejudice against the social importance of spending time preparing food, which is a creative, emotionally fulfilling, and loving act.Less
Americans have been known to idealize home cooked meals eaten with the family, but the general trend in our history has been to move away from these things. Ken Albala, one of America’s leading food historians, makes an impassioned plea for the importance of cooking from scratch, using fresh ingredients, and sharing the food with others, as one of the most meaningful and humane acts we can do. He is cognizant of the fact that cooking is not always easy, nor has it always been voluntary, but in his mind that should not prejudice against the social importance of spending time preparing food, which is a creative, emotionally fulfilling, and loving act.
