Sensory Perspectives on Maize and Identity Formation in Colonial New England
Author(s): Karen B. Metheny
Year: 2018
Summary
Food is not just a source of nutrition or the result of chemistry, but a complex sensory experience that can be linked to the creation, transformation, and maintenance of identity. My examination of the role of maize in the lives of colonial New Englanders is grounded in an understanding of 17th-century English culinary practice, close reading of printed and handwritten cookbooks and recipes, and recreation of maize-based foods using period recipes and cooking technology. A study of the sensory aspects of maize processing and consumption—flavor, texture, and color, for example—provides insight into the qualities that contributed to its desirability or its proscription in colonial society. From here, we can link consumption of maize to the transformation of ideas about what was good to eat.
Cite this Record
Sensory Perspectives on Maize and Identity Formation in Colonial New England. Karen B. Metheny. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441815)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
food preferences
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Identity
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sensory engagement
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
17th Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 424