Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-251) and index.
1. Concept: on what we eat and what we don't : Americans and nutrition ; Some factors in food choices ; Body and soul food ; Some final thoughts -- 2. Content: a traditional American diet : The staple ingredients ; Seasonal diets ; The structure of American meals ; The evolution of American regional cuisines ; Final thoughts -- 3. Stocking the pantry: technology and the food supply : Urban growth and commercial food production ; Technology and the food supply ; Consolidation and concentration of the food industry ; The new pantry: last thoughts -- 4. Too busy to cook: the coming of prepared foods : The breakfast derby ; From soup to ... ; The evolution of a prepared-food conglomerate ; The institutional and restaurant food supply -- 5. Marketing to the masses : The retail system ; Advertising ; Distributors, grocers, and the American diet -- 6. Cooking by the book : Early American cookbooks ; Changes with the Industrial Revolution ; The modern cookbook ; Cookbooks and the changing American diet -- 7. Imported tastes: immigration and the American diet : A short immigration history ; The early Industrial Revolution: western and northern European emigration ; The late Industrial Revolution: eastern and southern European emigration ; Some final thoughts -- 8. Eating on the town: restaurants and the diet : Body food, soul food ; The historical evolution of the American restaurant -- 9. A contemporary American diet : The context ; The content ; A few final thoughts -- 10. Cuisine regions: concept and content : Concept: a regional model ; Content: contemporary diet regions ; A few final words -- 11. Continuity and transformation: last thoughts.
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"Explores the evolution and transformation of the American diet from colonial times to the present." Includes the introduction of exotic foods into an originally bland diet, the disappearance of early staples from the average modern diet, the influence of grocery stores and restaurants on modern diet, and more.