Look who's cooking : the rhetoric of American home cooking traditions in the twenty-first century /

This engaging first book by Dutch (English, York College) provides a social history of contemporary home cooking that is both personal and thoroughly researched. Dutch weaves her memories of cooking with her female relatives with her examination of the cultural elements that shaped their practices as well as her own. Her central argument--that warnings of the "death of home cooking" have been exaggerated--isn't groundbreaking, given that strong signs of life are so easily observable in contemporary American culture, where home cooking is increasingly celebrated as a pastime or hobby, even as a form of artistry. The book may best be characterized as a memoir, which nevertheless expands the reader's understanding of American home cooking traditions and how market forces and popular culture have defined them over time. Each chapter does not necessarily build on the previous chapter, so one can open to any point in the book and begin reading; this will likely appeal to casual readers, although the absence of a strong central argument may stymie those looking for substantial new scholarship on foodways. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates and general readers. --Hillary Corbett, Northeastern University