Matzoh Ball Gumbo

Culinary Tales of the Jewish South

Marcie Cohen Ferris

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780807871232, 9780807829783
• eBook ISBN: 9798890879196
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

From the colonial era to the present, Marcie Cohen Ferris examines the expressive power of food throughout southern Jewish history. She demonstrates with delight and detail how southern Jews reinvented culinary traditions as they adapted to the customs, landscape, and racial codes of the American South. Richly illustrated, this culinary tour of the historic Jewish South is an evocative mixture of history and foodways, including more than thirty recipes to try at home.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• 1. There’s No Place Like Home
• 2. Colonial Roots of Southern Jewish Cuisine: Savannah and Charleston
• 3. Matzoh Ball Ya Ya: The Creole and Jewish Worlds of New Orleans and Natchez
• 4. ‘‘Too Jewish’’ in Atlanta: Negotiating Food and Fear in the New South
• 5. Feeding the Jewish Soul in the Delta Diaspora
• 6. What’s a Nice Jewish Boy Doing in the Barbecue Business?: Exploring Jewish Food Traditions in Memphis
• Epilogue: How Can a Potato Kugel Be Southern?
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index