"West Coast Cook Book" 1952 BROWN, Helen
$225
BROWN, Helen
[419] pp.
Bonanza Books
1952
8 1/4" x 5 3/4"
Jacket design by Barbara Corrigan
VG/ VG
In the early 1950s, Helen Brown set out to write a cookbook that focused solely on the food culture of three dynamic states in the U.S. California, Oregon and Washington were the subjects - prized west coast states known for their variety of topography from mountains to oceans, prairies to woodlands, hills to valleys, big cities to wide open country landscapes that encouraged a diverse variety of local flora and fauna.
Helen tackled this cookbook from three different angles - the history of the states and their occupants (how they got there, what recipes they brought with them, and the creative ways they adapted them into the local landscape); the abundant availability of fresh ingredients including seafood, produce and meat; and the ingenuity of each state's residents in the way in which they prepared the common foods of their local land.
These three factors pull together a fascinating look at regional cooking from a historical perspective, a culinary perspective and a sociological perspective. Fun details include a comprehensive wine chart in the back, stories about most recipes and a chapter on foreign cookery which highlights the influence of Chinese, Mexican and Scandinavian immigrants and the impact they had particularly on the local food scene.
Now considered a classic regional American cookbook, Helen Evans Brown (1904-1964) and her West Coast Cook Book were praised for the scholarly attention to detail, the precise recipes and the historical content that this bestselling cookbook offered. A well-known and beloved chef and food writer, Helen was friends with all the midcentury greats - Julia Child, James Beard, Craig Claiborne, M.F.K. Fisher and spent her life working in and around the food industry as a caterer, columnist, editor, writer and chef.