Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes (2024)

Technically this is not really a cookbook as it is the author's experience of Appalachia. She tells her stories and memories beautifully throughout. The whole Appalachian stereotypes are touched on..like how we are all either Honey Boo Boo's or straight out of Deliverance. (Some of us are but that's a whole different story.)
She also has stories throughout the book that tell the roots of Appalachia that entwines our heritage with Irish, German and other ancestries. It reads beautifully. One passage in particular stood out when the author tells a bit about wishing that she listened to her Grandmother about the uses of herbs and roots. I kick my butt pretty often for the same thing, my Gran knew so much about their uses (and they do differ from ANY book I have ever seen) and young me thought the whole southern heritage thing was a bunch of bull and I ignored it. I'm a total idiot.

Anyways, I tend to ramble but this book....If you are interested in the old Appalachia this is a great starting place, the photos throughout are amazing. Recipes are thrown in at just the right time and completely made me drool over some of them.

(You might think hotdogs are an odd addition to the book but fear not. We eat those suckers a whole lot.)

I'm making up for lost time with my southern heritage and you totally know if I'm comfortable with talking with you when my language goes completely southern. I have the south in my mouth. See this book and you'll see some of the reasons why that I'm not ashamed of that. Plus just look at this image taken from my porch. The south rules.

Booksource: Bloggingforbooks in exchange for review

Although this is technically a cookbook, I read it cover to cover. I have recently become interested in my father's family history and the area of the country he comes from, Jackson County, Kentucky and also in finding cookbooks with "heirloom" recipes. This book was perfect. Ronni Lundy writes very well and describes the food traditions and the culture that created and follows those traditions beautifully. I learned so much about ongoing farms and efforts to regain the food culture that has been changed so drastically by mining and the loss of farms. Oh, and the recipes are fantastic! The ones I have tried have been delicious. Some of them just like my grandmother made and others with a new twist.

Just. Terrific.
It made me nostalgic, both for the mountains and for my grandmother's cooking. Not much can do that anymore.

I'm cataloguing this under "cookbooks" because there are a lot of recipes in it; however, this it's not so much a cookbook as a book about central Appalachian history, culture, and cooking.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I've seen a lot of hipster transplants and high-tech refugees try to lay claim to things "southern" that they then bastardize beyond recognition. This Kentucky author acknowledges that there are differences throughout the region and that food, like everything else, changes, but keeps her eye on the traditions that make the region unique. It's like a memoir, travelogue, and kitchen table conversation all rolled up into one lovely read. And, yes, she puts an egg in her cornbread and talks to chefs who charge more for a plate of food than some families in the region make in a week. And, yes, she keeps going on about Asheville as if it represents Appalachia in earnest rather than just being an unnatural growth in the area, a contrived, Disney-esque artificial bubble created by the Vanderbilt heirs and further removed from the real world by marketers and seasonal residents. Asheville hasn't been authentically anything in nearly 100 years. It's about as representative of the region as Figure Eight Island is to the Outer Banks or Hobbiton is to New Zealand. Nonetheless, the bulk of the book based on traditional foodways as one would expect from a founder of the Southern Foodways Alliance. There is more Foxfire series here than Lee Brothers or FoodTV.

I really wish this author's other books were available as ebooks. This appears to be the only one released in electronic format.

This was an unexpected present and I am delighted! I started cooking these recipes this weekend. Buttermilk cabbage soup with walnut pesto. So original. From a poor region so people have to use what they have and be really creative.

Victuals by Ronni Lundy is less of a cookbook and more of a beautifully photographed history of Appalachian food culture. Although the book contains eighty recipes, I loved reading the introspective essays.

The book is sectioned into "Roots and Seeds," "Salt of the Earth," "Corn, Beans," "Apple-achia," "Preserving", "Husbandry" and "Appalachian Spring." Although each section give interesting background and history, my favorite section had to be "Preserving." How could I not love this section with the inclusion of Kentucky Kimchi (page 224) and Pickled Baloney with Peppers (page 228).

Along with heritage and heirloom recipes are cutting edge techniques from chefs like Karl Worley (owner of Nashville's Biscuit Love), Ian Boden (from The Shack), Chef Shelly Cooper, William Dissen (of The Market Place in Asheville), Chef Travis Milton, et al.

Today I am reviewing Victuals by Ronni Lundy. There are 80 recipes in here each focused around 1 southern food item. I just love the pictures in this book and think that the book is suitable to be left on the coffee table for everyone to thumb through and enjoy instead of being stuffed away in a kitchen cabinet with the other cookbooks. From what I gather, southern cuisine is becoming something of a hot new trend lately, but for me this book reminds me of recipes from my grandparents and their generation. It calls back a simpler time of front porch sitting and shelling beans with my grandmother. Even if I never cook 1 recipe in this book, this will be one of my favorite cookbooks for years to come.

This was sent to me by Blogging for books in exchange for a review.

This wasn't exactly the cookbook I was expecting. There was a lot of text. I mean, A LOT of text. A few recipes. A few pictures. But the few recipes the book did have, felt just like home to me. There's a nice recipe for succotash, lots of recipes calling for bacon grease, salt pork, greens, molasses, and buttermilk. It's like my mom wrote this cookbook! Some of the recipes that stood out for me are the English Pea Salad with Cream Dressing; Smoked Oyster Stew for Two; Fried Apples; and the Spring Ham, Peas & New Potatoes complete with pearl onions.

Oh man. So much home in this book. Beautiful photography. Some of the recipes seem more elevated than traditional Appalachian food, but the history and stories weaving this book together make this more than a cookbook. I bought a copy for my home and my mom. I loved it that much!

If you grew up in Appalachia, these are your recipes. This is what your grandma fed you, what the little ladies at church brought to the house when someone died. This is comfort and home. And beans - lots and lots of beans. And biscuits. And cornbread.

This is one of the most lush, compelling, and informative books I’ve had the privilege to read. Part cookbook, and part travelogue, it shines a light on the history and culture of a region of our country that is poorly understood, and often thoughtlessly maligned.

Appalachia, as it turns out, is a thriving food table with rich traditions, and a great deal to contribute, populated by men and women who are anything but backward.

I highly recommend this book.

The title of this book should be pronounced "vittles," and this book is a very fascinating effort at someone to attempt to signal that the writer belongs to a given community while also seeking to subvert that community's food traditions by making a book that is designed to appeal to contemporary hipster tastes in food. This can be seen, for example, in the way that the author substitutes kale for the turnip greens of Appalachian cooking. That is not to say that this is a bad book, although there are not very many recipes that I would be able to eat because of the massive amount of pork that is to be found in Appalachian cooking, whether we are talking about lard, bacon, or things. While a great deal of insight can be gained into this sort of cuisine by making substitutions for turkey bacon or vegetable shortening to provide the same sort of flavor in a way that is acceptable to eat, this book is most fascinating as a look into someone who might fairly be considered a trojan horse, someone who really wants to subvert the old-fashioned ways of Appalachian cooking while paying lip service to the worth of maintaining its traditional foodways.

This book of about 300 pages is divided into several sections, all lovingly illustrated with bright and beautiful photographs and frequent discussions of various aspects of the author's Appalachian experience that are told at the beginning of each section of hipster recipes in a (vain) attempt to gain credibility as a native Appalachian whose interpretation of the local foodways can be seen as trustworthy and authoritative even if the results are something that would be better suited to New York and San Francisco than to Asheville or Bristol. The book begins with an introduction and then a discussion of foods made out of roots and seeds. After this comes a look at foods which owe their taste to the use of salt in the recipes. There is then a section of recipes using corn, and then one that is based on apple recipes (some of these look wonderful too). After that there is an entire section of recipes involving various pickled dishes used as preserves, and then a chapter that is based on food from animal husbandry, most of them pork-related. The author then closes with some recipes that are related to the joys of the Appalachian spring, after which there are acknowledgements and an index.

This particular book is certainly an interesting one. The photos in the book are fascinating and the author's tales are highly revealing in the way that they reveal someone who wants to make their own spin and their own interpretation on the region's cooking while making enough genuflections to tradition and history and culture for the author's hipster-leaning dishes to be viewed as suitably authentic. As a reader I saw through these transparent attempts at seeking to pass muster with Appalachian regional gatekeepers, but not all readers may find this element of the book to be as interesting as I do. Even so, while most of these dishes are unclean due to the pork that shows up continually in them, most of the dishes can be made with a bit of cleverness and some suitable substitutions into something that is tasty as well as biblically acceptable to eat. Pass the fried chicken and chicken and dumplings and beans and potatoes, please, along with some of that apple stack cake, please. Some of the dishes in this book are certainly tasty looking and worth trying, and that is enough to make a book like this a success.

This is the most wonderful book, filled with stories, great information about heirloom varieties (the several varieties of beans are really fascinating), and the most stunning photos (particularly: the sunlit winter trees lining a road on page 108, and the bees and apple blossoms on page 242).

Victuals. Say it the way my people have for centuries: vidles. [Introduction, p16]

Bookmarked:
Fiona Sloe's Gingerbread, p52
Lettuces for Killing, p54
Sallet, p.57
Colcannon, p63
Kale Potato Cakes, p64
Skillet Corn, p117
Real Cornbread, p120-122
Old School Tomato Gravy, p.218
Succotash, p155
Ginger Bean ChowChow, p160
Cracklin' Waffles with Squash, p170
Fried Apples, p189 (we made these; they're fabulous! - please see blog from OUR kitchen | fried apples revisited)
Sorghum Butter, p232
Sorghum Sea Foam, p236
Black is the New Jam Cake, p235
Buttermilk Biscuits, p269
Sumac Oil Flatbread, p305
Busy Day Cobbler, p309

My mother called this "fried corn," as did some of my kin, while others might call for "creamed corn, and mean this simple incredibly delicious dish. Unfortunately, "creamed corn" is also the term for a canned, sweetened, gelatinous mess, and "fried corn" shows up on contemporary menus to indicate corn kernels that have been deep-fried or browned in grease for no good purpose that I can comprehend. So I'm just going with "skillet corn" because the best way to make this is in a big old cast-iron skillet that will rasp and sing as you stir until it's done. [Skillet Corn, p117]

What could be better than food and stories? "Victuals" is exactly that, and the book lives up to the name. It is down to earth with beautiful photography, simple cooking, and stories from the past and present of Appalachia. I like that there are many vegetable only recipes, but they are not too awfully healthy. The ingredients are so simple and affordable, these are almost forgotten dishes. The stories are about people of different backgrounds, who lived in the area, about their lives. Even in as little as 50 more years this book will be a go to source to learn more about history and food of the time. It is enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone.

This is an absolutely beautiful book. The pictures and stories draw you in and show you the stories about the people of the Appalachian Mountains. It gives you a feel about a group of people who work the land and their connection between earth to the table to the people sharing a meal around that table. The author drove around and learned the stories of numerous people to see what they ate and how they live. This book not only has amazing recipes and beautiful pictures, but you get to join the author on their journey to these different places and experience the culture along with them.
I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for an honest review.

I appreciate the efforts to make the food of my people into the new Tuscan peasant food, but I just can't with this lady who insists that Nabs are called 'cheese Nabs' and who puts an egg in her cornbread. In FUBU terms, this book is neither For Us or By Us.

As someone, generally unfamiliar with the food from this region, I started the book with no particular expectations.

I LOVE the way the author, Ronni Lundy, relates her story, her memories of her mother's cooking and ties that with different cultures from the Appalachian region. The powerful way that food evokes memory and the way Lundy both provides actual recipes and recreations of food she ate as a child makes me feel a connection to the food I would not otherwise feel. She ties the way the food is made to the needs of the people making it all colored with the feelings she has herself when eating the food.

This sounds sentimental but the prose is clear and mostly free of over-idealization. The hardness of the life and the countryside are conveyed as well as the attitudes towards the way "outsiders" can mess food up.

Still, there are bits from regional chefs who have brought outside ingredients into the mix. The Banana Pudding recipe from the restaurant chef Ian Boden's "The Shack" is a much discussed example. Blending a definite "inauthentic" element, miso laced buckwheat banana bread, in among the more traditional ingredients, Bodun comes up with something new that feels like its roots are growing out of a tradition. It's definitely an eye opening recipe and it stands out both in its inclusion of ingredients outside the area and for its complicated multi step process (pudding, bread and time to set takes more than a day). Most of the recipes are much simpler and more direct.

The book not only has many enjoyable recipes with many to try that are new to me, it also makes me think about my own relationship to the food I grew up with and think about the connections to the lives my family members have lived. Reading this book is a wonderful experience and it is a book I will go back to again and again.

General Gist: I love this cook book, it covers a lot of ground, tells a fantastic story of home, and made my heart leap a million times.

Random Side Bar: Lundy is a family name (my Mammaw's maiden name) and I grew up where Lundy's family is from - cannot help but think that we are related.

Long Story: I was introduced to this book through one of my favorite podcasts - Inside Appalachia - the episode covered the history of apples in the region and they interviewed one a beloved baker known for her pies, her recipe for crust can be found in this book. It is very similar to my old family recipe only a tad simpler. It's my new go to crust recipe. I love the way Lundy found people from the region who love to cook and complied the essential recipes for home. I grew up in what I refer to as the heart of Appalachia but Currently live on the outskirts of what the ARC would call Appalachia, it's a growing city full of transplants - Although I live closeish, I often miss home and the way my family cooks. This book has helped me discover old recipes in a new way, share some of my heritage with my friends from all over the world, and remember where I am from even when I feel as though I am far away. Beyond my plate, this book warmed my heart with beautiful antidotes and stories of her family, their history, and the history of Appalachia. I will always have this recipe book with me where ever I go.

Wow. This book is terrific! I really wish that people interested in knowing more about Appalachian culture and history would read Victuals instead of Hillbilly Elegy. Or at least read both. Lundy's warmth and humor--a hallmark of her personality--shine through in this book, as does her love and respect for the foodways of her native Appalachia. Readers benefit greatly from her curiosity and her research. At the heart of the book's success, however, is her friendly approachability, which allows her to interview a large number of people associated with Appalachian food--millers, seed savers, chefs, farmers, salt makers. Lundy renders those conversations into prose that reflects the true nature of each interview. Trustworthy and respectful of her sources, Lundy is the medium through which people across the region "have their say." Johnny Autry's photographs are beautiful, and Lundy's recipes are clearly written, easy to follow, and DELICIOUS! I am thrilled that this book received the James Beard Foundation's Book of the Year award for 2017.

I've picked up several volumes on Appalachian culture, history and geography while working on my current WIP, as a supplement to the years I spent living in eastern Tennessee myself. This book was surprisingly helpful, not only in digging deeper into the culinary traditions of the mountain South but in introducing a lot of humanity and lived experience into conversations about land reclamation, heritage seeds and crops, and the way different culture groups have contributed to the shared culinary tradition of the region. There are recipes and discussions of all sorts of ingredients and the way they are farmed, harvested, preserved, and prepared: corn, sorghum, squashes, tomatoes, apples, pork, buttermilk, beans, ramps, sumac...it's a treasure trove, not just of information, but of wisdom.

I will definitely be tracking down other books by the author to add to my collection. I am particularly interested in her book on sorghum. :)

While I usually review my cookbooks somewhere else, I am also going to begin posting their reviews in my usual locations as well.

I received a copy of this title and was happy to review it. The opinion herein is strictly my own and I was not compensated in any way.

I loved the way this book was put together, not only the recipes but also the Appalachian wisdom and stories.

The family's favorite recipes prepared from the book were: Palisades Hominy Salad and Pork and Kraut in Cider Gravy with noodles. We also made homemade apple butter as well.

This book is a great addition to the collection of any foodie out there.

I learned so much about Appalachian cooking, both historic and contemporary. There are so many people working to continue the food traditions and add a modern twist.

There are probably about 10-15 recipes I'd try. I didn't realize how much pork figures into Appalachian cuisine; I try to avoid cooking pork, so this cut down on a large number of recipes.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to find out more about the Appalachian farming and food scenes and how it's changed yet stayed the same over the last century.

I grew up in southern Virginia, and after hearing about this book on the podcast "Bite" I decided to order a copy for myself. It's a combination cookbook, coffee-table book, abbreviated history, and ingredient/food diary, and I found it to be wonderful. I enjoyed reading each chapter one at a time, noting some recipes that I could use (or modify) for my own needs, and appreciating the familiarity of the photographs and the stories. I plan to send a copy to my mom, and hope she'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Absolutely beautifully written. I agree with those that say this isn’t really a cookbook, but a history of Appalachian cuisine complete with recipes. While I am looking forward to making some of the recipes, the book in itself did one thing: made me miss home and the food of my childhood. I’m not from Appalachia, but the stories Lundy writes about just invoke such intense memories make me want to go make the food I remember my Great Grandma making. I highly recommend this book whether you plan to cook the recipes or not.

I read this book for a Geography of Foods course and WOW. We studied regional food from the American Southwest and this was such an excellent course text. Not only does this book offer recipes that are so full of heart and soul, but offers stories that are so rich and delicious. From generations of knowledge passed down, the peak then devastation of the coal mines, to the deep-rooted connectedness that food brings. This book again is such an incredible read not only from a foodies perspective, but also from a geographers. Ps. Travis Milton's cornbread recipes are literally to die for.

A cookbook, yes, but so much more than a cookbook. Ronni Lundy weaves around her recipes stories of Appalachia past and present, shedding light on one of the most misunderstood parts of the U.S.

It didn't hurt at all that this book, to me, was like going home to my childhood, and the recipes are for things I grew up on. For me, the nostalgia factor of "Victuals" is high, high, high.

But beyond all that, it's a dandy cookbook, and I can attest that the "Busy Day Cobbler" near the end is indeed fast and oh, boy, is indeed delicious!

Part food history, part travelogue, part cookbook, food writer Ronni Lundy's Victuals reflects her roadtrip through Kentucky, West Virginia, southern Ohio, northern Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina to present the history and ongoing foodways, life, and culture of this part of southern Appalachia. It's a beautiful book and would make a lovely gift. While I was most interested in it for the history, culture, and music parts, I am definitely going to make the Ginger Bean Chow Chow to serve with hand pies and share as holiday gifts.

Beyond the amazing collection of recipes and the beautiful photography of food, people, and landscapes—this prose continuously connected me back to my home in Eastern Kentucky. It sparked many good memories of cooking as a youngster with my mother and grandmothers and taught me a great deal about where many of the recipes and food traditions of my family were cultivated over the previous decades and centuries. This book will take you home and show you your roots.

a good mix of passable recipes for things you sort of already know how to make by instinct, and tastes that you only remember on maybe a genetic level (I'm thinking in particular about a salad of green peas, radishes, and cream shaken in a jar that basically haunted my mouth with a reflection of the distant past?? and continues to haunt me??) but the real keeper with this one is the PICTURES. wish I had a coffee table for this to live on permanently.

So much more than recipes. A document in culture, food history and its contemporary practice in Appalachia. Beautiful writing combined with beautiful photographs combined with tasty recipes. Plus, Ronni Lundy has another book about the glory of tomatoes, so (1) kindred souls bias disclaimer applies and (2) there's no better writ of legitimacy than a love of homegrown tomatoes.

The author brings a (good) journalist's eye to document an elite food scene of the mountain south. She elegantly weaves personal memories, history, and geography to tell the stories of farmers, butchers, chefs, and others who are recreating a romanticized version of Appalachian foodways. It is an excellent "reading cookbook," not meant to be skimmed.