Ichord Loretta Frances. Double Cheeseburgers, Quiche, and Vegetarian Burritos: American Cooking from the 1920s Through Today

Millbrook Press, 2007. — 64 p. — (Cooking Through Time) — ISBN10: 0822559692, ISBN13: 978-0822559696.Age Range: 8 - 11 years
Grade Level: 3 - 6Presents an illustrated look at what has been cooking in America during the past 100 years, along with information on how the kitchen has evolved, how the advent of the TV dinner and fast food cut down on labor, and the culinary arts becoming a big-time source of entertainment. Includes recipes spanning the changing tastes in America.From School Library Journal
This book delves into trends, tastes, and tidbits. From the origin of expressions such as a square meal to the influence of immigrants on the national cuisine, readers will discover that there's a history behind foods that they take for granted. They will also discover how technology has influenced our eating habits. Each chapter concludes with a recipe, and whether it is wartime cake made with rationed ingredients or peach cobbler made with organic peaches from the farmers' market, readers can sample and serve the featured dishes with a greater understanding of their place in our culture. Lively cartoon illustrations add a touch of humor. An appendix offers adaptations for preparing each recipe at school for a class of 32, detailed source notes, an extensive bibliography, and an index. This would be a useful resource for a report on a particular decade of the 20th century, or could simply be read as an entertaining and informative history.From Booklist
In its introduction, this title in the Cooking through Time series claims to "cover the eating habits in the United States from 1920 up to the present time." Surprisingly, it reaches its goal. Each chapter, illustrated with lighthearted drawings, presents a quick, cogent overview of an American eating trend--from the first processed foods through TV dinners, fast food, the mainstreaming of organic foods, and more--ending with the influential fad diets of the 1990s. The examples are clear and lively, and relevant recipes close each chapter (an appendix instructs how to multiply ingredients to feed a class of 32). Kids may have questions about the history, such as a reference to Japanese internment camps, and a glossary would have been welcome. Still, this interesting, accessible title--for an older audience than others in the series--will find a readership among both report writers and browsers, and it will help satisfy the growing need for titles that encourage kids to learn about the origins of their food.