Berry Thankful
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
The American Folklife Center shares recipes, songs, and photographs that celebrate the fruit of the season: cranberries.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Foodways, Thanksgiving
Category: Foodways
To Brie or Not to Brie: National Cheese Curd Day
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
AFC Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas wheels out some gouda pictures and cheesy stories from the American Folklife Center’s collections to celebrate National Cheese Curd Day.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Foodways, Occupational Folklife Project
Coffee: “America’s Necessary Drink”
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
On the day after National Coffee Day, AFC Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas chases down references to the popular caffeinated drink in the Center’s archival collections.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Foodways
All the World Loves a Lobster
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
The American Folklife Center marks National Lobster Day by sharing collections of lobstermen oral histories, photographs of the Aquidneck Lobster Company, and lobster recipes found in its archive.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Foodways
Now Available: The Sixth Season of the America Works Podcast — featuring food!
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
The American Folklife Center (AFC) has launched the sixth season of the America Works podcast. This season focuses on food and the individuals who grow, harvest, prepare food, as well as those who feed other Americans. Each episode is an excerpt from a longer interview, conducted as part of the AFC's Occupational Folklife Project. In this post, Dr. Nancy Groce details the new season and it's eight episodes.
Posted in: America Works, Asian Americans, Foodways, German Americans, New York, Occupational Folklife Project, Ohio, Oregon
End of a (COVID) Era: Dining Sheds Disappear from New York City Streets
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
During the COVID-19 pandemic, dining sheds--outdoor seating areas at dining establishments, theorized as “pandemic folk architecture”--were a mainstay of New York City's restaurants. In this post, Senior Folklife Specialist Nancy Groce reflects on the ephemeral nature of this foodways tradition, as dining sheds are now disappearing from the city's restaurants.
Posted in: COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Fieldwork, Foodways, Material Culture, New York
New Occupational Folklife Project Documents “Tillamook: Cheesemakers in Coastal Oregon”
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
The American Folklife Center recently posted a new collection of interviews with workers at the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), a farmer-owned dairy cooperative in coastal Oregon, to its Occupational Folklife Project website. This post is an interview with Dr. Jared Schmidt, a public folklorist based in Oregon, who conducted the interviews with TCCA workers. In 2021, Schmidt received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to undertake this research.
Posted in: Fieldwork, Foodways, Occupational Folklife Project, Oral History, Oregon, Uncategorized, Wisconsin
What’s That Smell? Highlighting Cabbage in the Archives
Posted by: John Fenn
This guest post is from Meg Nicholas, as Folklife Specialist on the staff of the American Folklife Center. National Cabbage Day is this Saturday, February 17th. The oft-maligned and overlooked cabbage is loaded in important nutrients, comes in a variety of shapes and colors (did you know there is a purple Napa cabbage?) and aids …
Posted in: Foodways
Caught My Eye: Buckaroos and Barbecues
Posted by: Allina Migoni
This is a guest blog post by Drew Holley, a master's student in the Folklore Studies program at Utah State University with a particular interest in food and film. Drew completed his internship at the American Folklife Center earlier this year. Today’s blog will showcase foodways collections (traditions and practices surrounding food) found at the American Folklife Center.
Posted in: Animals, Foodways, Internship program