To me this is thrilling – it is my passion. I am in the midst of - TopicsExpress

To me this is thrilling – it is my passion. I am in the midst of editing the manuscript for my book American Cakes. It will feature 100 classic cakes entailing their history and cultural and sociological significance. As a whole, the book tells the story of America and its demographic, technological and cultural changes from Jamestown till today. Since much of what people widely believe about food history is outright false (bubba meises) or otherwise misleading, part of my editing involves rechecking the accuracy and dating of the various cakes. I have from time to time found an earlier date or some valuable piece of new information, sometimes allowing me to view a cake in a different light. I know that even with all my work, mistakes will creep in now and then. But anything I can catch now makes my day. I was working on one of the classic layer cakes from the early 20th century –- one with German roots -- and not only discovered a source for it almost a decade earlier than my pervious oldest (and decades earlier than claimed by certain experts), but this recipe reflected an evolutionary stage. Thus I then checked the sources in 19th century German cookbooks, and rewrote the entire headnote. The cakes by that name in Germany were not the same as the American layer cake version – the latter was strictly an American cake. I also understood where the name actually came from. And I did all of this after undergoing the 3rd treatment for my current chemo this afternoon. I am one happy camper. My American Cakes and other baked goods on The History Kitchen toriavey/history-kitchen/baked-goods/