American Home Cooking

Tim Miller is an associate professor of history at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas. He previously published his dissertation on changes in the foods eaten in American suburbs after World War II, which explored some of the themes he looks at in this book, including the rise of the processed food industry and changing expectations for women in the household. He writes about all aspects of American food history on his blog Grog to Grits. He is also the author of Barbecue: A History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

• Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: Cooking in 1800Chapter 2: The Early to Late 1800sChapter 3: The Late 1800s Through 1945Chapter 4: 1945 to the early 1970sChapter 5: The Early 1970s Through TodayChapter 6: The Future of Home CookingBibliography

As Miller notes, cooking in the American household has radically changed from the country’s colonial past. In earliest days, cooks had to collect wood, light fires, haul water in from the well, and more before they could actually touch food. It took a couple centuries until home cooking was reduced to opening a can or a box. Early American home cooks had only a fireplace, and in many a settler’s abode, it dominated the household, serving as stove, oven, and drafty cabin’s furnace. The advent of food-preservation techniques such as canning and then refrigeration radically changed everything about cooking. By the late nineteenth century, scientists contributed their growing command of microbiology to both detect and prevent spoilage and food-borne illness. This ever more efficient and ubiquitous technology had even greater effect, revolutionizing gender roles in the home and unleashing social forces that continue to resonate. Miller’s microhistory goes from colonial days through the 1960s and will be appreciated by readers interested in American history and in cooking in general.