This Is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions - Paperback

by Carol Edison (Author), Eric A. Eliason (Author), Lynne S. McNeill (Author)

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 organizers, journalists, bloggers, photographers, and food producers. It features recipes and photographs of food and beverages. Utah's food history is traced from precontact Native American times through the arrival of multinational Mormon pioneers, miners, farmers, and other immigrants to today's moment of "foodie" creativity, craft beers, and "fast-casual" restaurant-chain development. Contributors also explore the historical and cultural background for scores of food-related tools, techniques, dishes, traditions, festivals, and distinctive ingredients from the state's religious, regional, and ethnic communities as well as Utah-based companies. In a state much influenced by Latter-day Saint history and culture, iconic items like Jell-O salads, funeral potatoes, fry sauce, and the distinctive "Utah scone" have emerged as self-conscious signals of an ecumenical Utah identity. Scholarly but lively and accessible, this book will appeal to both the general reader and the academic folklorist.

Author Biography

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.