Double Cheeseburgers, Quiche, and Vegetarian Burritos: American Cooking from the 1920s through Today (review)

It's hard to resist food, as a subject or a substance, and Ichord makes it the focus of her social history. She divides her chronicle into three sections, the first 1920 through 1959, the second 1960 to 1989, and at last 1990 until today, in each case emphasizing particularly significant directions or effects, whether it be the rationing and victory gardens of World War II, the French cuisine popularized by Julia Child and other prominent chefs of the 1960s, or the contemporary concern with nutrition and overeating. The narrative is disjointed at times; quotes of questionable relevance appear in spots, and the recipes that conclude the chapters aren't always completely germane or authentic ("Wartime Cake," for instance, is unlikely to have actually involved cooking spray). National habits are often misleadingly treated as homogeneous in the earlier sections; there's also little reflection on matters such as healthfulness or flavor until the more contemporary discussions, which is an odd lacuna in light of the obvious changes in emphasis in these areas over the years. There are plenty of edible infobites here, though, and readers will enjoy learning about the introduction of food phenoms such as Rice Krispies, TV dinners, and fast-food hamburgers. They'll be intrigued to see the way the food landscape has changed, and they'll join the author in pondering future possibilities. Line-and-watercolor spot art decorates the pages; an appendix gives instructions for expanding recipes for classroom use, a note describes the author's research, and a bibliography and index round out the end matter.