Introduction
Jane Ziegelman grew up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She currently lives with her husband and two kids at Brooklyn Heights. She studied History in college and worked in publishing before she enrolled in NYU for Urban Anthropology’s graduate program. She founded and directed Kids Cook! which is a cooking program for kids. She is also the director of Tenement Museum's culinary center and the co-author of Foie Gras: A Passion.
97 Orchard was published on October 2, 2001. Ziegelman’s inspiration for the book was the tenements itself . When she was still studying at NYU, she worked as a volunteer who collected oral histories from people who used to live in the tenements. As she was collecting information and interviewing people, she immediately felt the sense of history . Perhaps this drove Ziegelman to write 97 Orchard.
The book represents ethnic diversity. Ziegelman targets readers who want to learn more about what life in the tenements was like. She shows how immigrants try to preserve their traditions but at the same time improvise when necessary.
Summary
Ziegelman writes the book illustrating the life of five immigrant families. The first was a German family who likes to eat and drink. There were several intriguing recipes especially of a hamburger steak. There were also several other kinds of foods like heavy breads that have a dark color, beers and sausages called Frankfurters.
The next family in the book are called Moores who were refugees from Ireland. From a potato farm, with them they brought their cooking traditions. Boiling food and whiskey were some of the things that highlighted this family in the book.
After the Moores were two Jewish families: the Gumpertzes and the Rogarshevsky family. The Gumpertzes came from Russia and moved in the tenements in 1873. The Rogarshevsky family, on the other hand, came from Lithuania. Ziegelman notes that these two families live together and eats a variety of the same thing every day. Usually, Jews form some sort of bond to each other and usually open their own cafes and establishments. With them, they brought their traditional dishes like lox and stuffed fish. Some Jews, Ziegelman remarks, learned to eat contemporary food.
The last family in Ziegelman’s book were the Baldizzis who arrived during the 1920s. During that time, 97 Orchard was already run down where many buildings are shabby and has deteriorated. Like all Italians, they brought with them several traditional Italian traditions like their pasta meals and meatballs. Ziegelman notes that Americans looked down on Italians until they have discovered spaghetti, calamari and minestrone, among others .
I really enjoyed the book. Ziegelman illustrates how immigration has changed New York’s culinary history. She mostly focuses on a certain immigrant food and how it changed the culinary life in New York. I hoped Ziegelman mentioned more details about the families. I found that the families became a small part of the book once the author already segued in on the dishes and immigrant recipes. It was interesting to know that immigrants were open to incorporating several things in their diets and everyday food with the exception of their native ones.
Recommendation
This book recommended to people who love food and food history. Ziegelman provides details and particulars on the staples of every immigrant family’s cuisine. She also segues in how the food was accepted in the United States. It is a fun read even for the most casual of food lovers. It has a unique take on immigration, culture and food history.
Works Cited
"'97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement' by Jane Ziegelman." The Lit Review. 29 March 2012 <http://www.thelitreview.com/97-orchard-by-jane-ziegelman.html>.
Alter, Judy. "Book review: '97 Orchard' by Jane Ziegelman." 4 July 2010. Dallas News. 31 March 2012 <http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/headlines/20100704-Book-review-97-Orchard-5469.ece>.
Garner, Dwight. "In a Tenement’s Meager Kitchens, a Historian Looks for Insight." 27 July 2010. New York Times. 29 March 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/books/28book.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all>.
"Jane Ziegelman." Harper Collins Publishers. 29 March 2012 <http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/32459/Jane_Ziegelman/index.aspx>.
"Jane Ziegelman." Amazon. 29 March 2012 <http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Ziegelman/e/B0030BC3H4>.
Levin, Sala. "Jane Ziegelman on Food and the American Story." 23 September 2011. Moment Magazine. 29 March 2012 <http://momentmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/jane-ziegelman-on-food-and-the-american-story/>.
