Perfection Salad: Women And Cooking At The Turn Of The Century( Series - California Studies In Food And Culture )

"Shapiro recounts the story of scientific cooking with a deft humor some might find unbecoming to a work of impeccable scholarship. Yet how else are we to think about a movement that upheld mayonnaise, cream sauce, and the extended boiling of vegetables as cures for every social ill, from drunkenness and degeneracy to feminism and labor unrest?.... My only disappointment with "Perfection Salad" is that it ends too soon." --Barbara Ehrenreich, "New York Times Book Review"

"A comprehensive, droll social history of a curious women's movement that's responsible for everything from nutritional education programs to TV dinners."--Maureen Corrigan, "Village Voice"

Toasted marshmallows stuffed with raisins? Green-and-white luncheons? Chemistry in the kitchen? This entertaining and erudite social history, now in its fourth paperback edition, tells the remarkable story of America's transformation from a nation of honest appetites into an obedient market for instant mashed potatoes. In "Perfection Salad, "Laura Shapiro investigates a band of passionate but ladylike reformers at the turn of the twentieth century--including Fannie Farmer of the Boston Cooking School--who were determined to modernize the American diet through a "scientific" approach to cooking. Shapiro's fascinating tale shows why we think the way we do about food today.