Research: Culture and Cuisine of New England: About the Culture and Cuisine of New England

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This guide provides selective resources on the Culture and Cuisine of New England.

The Truth About Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England (Boston Public Library) The Truth about Baked Beans explores New England’s culinary myths and reality through some of the region’s most famous foods: baked beans, brown bread, clams, cod and lobster, maple syrup, pies, and Yankee pot roast. From 1870 to 1920, the idea of New England food was carefully constructed in magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks, often through fictitious and sometimes bizarre origin stories touted as time-honored American legends.

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Cacao & Colonial Chocolate Recently, Old North uncovered more information about its complex connection to the chocolate industry in Boston. Several congregants were chocolatiers, turning cacao into chocolate blocks and drink. Among these congregants was Newark Jackson, for whom Old North’s historic chocolate shop was formerly named. However, recent research into previously inaccessible sources revealed that this involvement in the colonial chocolate industry also meant that these congregants, including Jackson, were participating in smuggling, human trafficking, and enslavement. In fact, historian Dr. Jared Ross Hardesty believes that no chocolate sold in colonial Boston was free of connection to enslaved labor.

Let's Talk About Food podcast Hi, I’m Louisa Kasdon, founder of Let’s Talk About Food, and your host as we introduce our first set of Let’s Talk About Food podcasts, a podcast series devoted to first-person storytelling where food plays a pivotal—if not a starring role.

Beyond Lobster: Exploring "Real Maine Food" (Heritage Radio Network) Although Luke Holden and Ben Conniff started a mini lobster roll empire with the popular Luke’s Lobster, their new cookbook “Real Maine Food” is an ode to their state as a whole. They recall their journey to explore the Maine’s rich food culture beyond the coastal delicacies we all know.

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This guide was originally authored by Chris Smith, April, 2023.