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"This is a general interest work edited and compiled by three folklorists that looks at multiple cultural dimensions of foodways in Utah. The contributors to the collection are also predominantly, though not exclusively folklorists. Their subjects, then, particularly concern food and its production and consumption practices as everyday traditions, by which they mean forms of creative cultural sharing and communication, not some measure of age. They intend this book for a broad readership, and they also delve into mass-mediated and commercialized popular culture, whose boundary with folk, or vernacular, culture, especially when it comes to food, is often porous. In fact, they have already generated a substantial amount of popular media interest, particularly with regard to certain foods (such as fry sauce, Jell-O salads, or funeral potatoes) that are widely considered iconic Utah foods. While they deal with such foods, they seek to complicate the Utah menu with a much wider, multicultural range of topics and a broader, deeper folkloristic discussion"--
About the author
Carol A. Edison retired as director of the Folk Arts Program of the Utah Arts Council in 2011. In 1986 she established the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts, the nation's only museum dedicated to a state collection of contemporary folk art. Edison is a recipient of the American Folklore Society's Benjamin A. Botkin Prize for lifetime achievement in public folklore.
Eric A. Eliason is professor of English at Brigham Young University and specializes in folklore. His books include:
The J. Golden Kimball Stories; Wild Games: Hunting and Fishing Traditions in North America (with Dennis Cutchins);
Latter-day Lore: Mormon Folklore Studies (with Tom Mould); and
The Island of Lace: Drawn Threadwork on Saba in The Dutch Caribbean (with Scott Squire).
Lynne S. McNeill is assistant professor of folklore in the English Department at Utah State University. She is author of the popular textbook
Folklore Rules, co-editor of
Slender Man is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet, and reviews editor for the journal
Contemporary Legend. She has made several appearances on national television and radio programs.
Summary
The first book-length treatment of Utah's distinctive food heritage, this volume contains work by more than sixty subject-matter experts, including scholars, community members, event organisers, journalists, bloggers, photographers, and food producers. It features recipes and photographs of food and beverages.
