Appalachian Cooking

22 Jan 2011 - For the first time ever I met a TV cook. For 10 years Mark Sohn had a half hour cooking show on one of the USA network. He specializes in Appalachian cooking. From his website I learned that the foods of Appalachia are the medium for the history of a creative culture and a proud people. This is the story of pigs and chickens, corn and beans, and apples and peaches as they reflect the culture that has grown from the region's topography, climate, and soil. Mark Sohn has also written a cooking book about Appalachian cooking which unfolds the ways of a table that blends Native American, Eastern European, Scotch-Irish, black, and Hispanic influences to become something new and uniquely American. He shows how food traditions in Appalachia have developed over two centuries from dinner on the grounds, church picnics, school lunches, and family reunions as he celebrates regional signatures such as dumplings, moonshine, and country ham. Food and folkways go hand in hand as he examines wild plants, cast-iron cookware, and the nature of the Appalachian homeplace.