"Weaver seems to have had a ripping good time unmasking the fake Pennsylvania Dutch tourist culture, with its hex signs (bogus) and windmills (faux) and buffets designed to fill up busloads of tourists on a budget. . . . At the same time, Weaver has taken seriously his mission to rediscover the foods of his ancestors, interviewing hundreds of people over 30 years." (NPR's The Salt) "Weaver's book, written in a straightforward, journalistic style, is an important addition to the work surrounding food studies. He incorporates primary documents, including a compilation of important recipes; literature; personal interviews; and historical cookbooks, to report the history and development of the cuisine. This pioneering research lays the groundwork both for further exploration of Pennsylvania Dutch cookery as well as the identification and study of other regional diets that, as a whole, form an American cuisine." (Journal of American Culture)
