Contextualizing your document
What questions do you have about your document? You might, for example, have questions about the economics of cooking: How does the cost of making a chocolate cake in 1909 compare with the cost of making a similar cake today? Or perhaps you are interested in the social habits that governed when particular types of food were served: Were certain dishese considered formal rather than something eaten everyday? Or what about nutrition: What is the nutirional composition of a quarter block of chocolate?
The resources in the 'Resources on cooking, eating and food' box below are organized around perspectives that can help you develop questions about and investigate the context surrounding your particular document(s). Under each tab you'll find a list of Library of Congress Subject Heading searches from the Libraries catalog, a list of searchable databases and other pertinent materials.
Don't have a question yet? That's ok. Pick a couple of resources listed under the tabs below and browse around to help jump start your inquiry.
Wait, what is headcheese? Find a term you're unsure of? Check out Linda's Culinary Dictionary, a culinary glossary on the What's Cooking in America website.
Resources on cooking, eating and food
Library of Congress Subject Heading search
- Food habits
- Food -- Symbolic aspects
- Food -- Social aspects
- Food -- Religious aspects
- Cooking, American
- Cooking, American -- 19th century
- Food -- History
Reference materials
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food & Drink in America (2 ed.) (Online)
The Oxford Companion to Food (3 ed.) (Online)
The Diner's Dictionary (2 ed.) (Online)
Library of Congress American Memory Project
Online resources
Key Ingredients: America by Food
Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
Databases
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowRECOMMEND USING CHROME; As a compilation of the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Anthropological Index and Harvard University's Anthropological Literature databases, Anthropology Plus is the world’s most comprehensive index covering the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and related interdisciplinary research. This database offers worldwide indexing of journals from the early 19th century to today, providing extensive indexing of journal articles, reports, and commentaries.
- Defining Gender, 1450-1910 This link opens in a new windowExplore gender through a vast body of British source material from the fifteenth to early twentieth century. Through correspondence, advice literature, periodicals, ephemera and government documents, traditional models of gender and contemporary perceptions of these can be explored. This is an interdisciplinary resource that will enrich the teaching and research of gender, history, sociology, education and literature.
- Everyday Life & Women in America This link opens in a new windowThis digital collection provides access to rare primary source material on American social, cultural, and popular history from the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History, Duke University and The New York Public Library. It comprises thousands of fully searchable images (alongside transcriptions) of monographs, pamphlets, periodicals and broadsides addressing 19th and early 20th century political, social and gender issues, religion, race, education, employment, marriage, sexuality, home and family life, health, and pastimes, emphasizing conduct of life and domestic management literature, the daily lives of women and men, and contrasts in regional, urban and rural cultures.
- JSTOR (Journal Storage) This link opens in a new windowProvides image and full-text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals in history, economics, political science, philosophy, mathematics and other fields of the humanities and social sciences. Consult the online tables of contents for holdings, as coverage varies for each titles. Journals may be searched across multiple titles as well as by the individual titles below
Note that this database comprises mostly back issues: for most titles the JSTOR database does NOT include full text of the most recent 3 to 5 years.
Library of Congress Subject Heading search
Databases
- ABI/INFORM Global This link opens in a new windowLooking for information about food and beverage markets mentioned in your document? Use advanced search options to limit results to early publications, some dating back to late 19th and early 20th century.
- MarketResearch.com Academic This link opens in a new windowNotice any product or brand names in your documents? Looking for contemporary information about food and beverage products mentioned in your document? Use the advanced search options to limit results to specific time periods, including some late 19th century and early 20th century documents.
Library of Congress Subject Heading Search
Reference materials
A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition (4 ed.) (Online)
Online resources
Databases
- ScienceDirect This link opens in a new windowFull text collection of over 1,000,000 articles from 1995 to present covers a variety of subject areas and disciplines, including biochemistry, biological sciences, business, chemistry, earth sciences, economics, engineering, mathematics and computer science, neurosciences, physics and social sciences.
As of 1 January 2016, ScienceDirect no longer supports the IE8 browser.
Library of Congress Subject Heading search
Additional Subject Guides
Check out the information provided on the United States Government Information Subject Guide. You might start by browsing resources organized by Topic (click on 'Info by Topic' tab at the top of the page. Resources provided related to the following topics may be of interest:
Trouble getting started?
Try reading some background information about the collection written by Chef Louis Szathmary himself. Or, check out the collection guide for more information on the manuscript or cookbook where your document is located.
Or, browse the following list of general titles on food, cooking and eating to help you get started. These books are available at Main Library Course Reserve (next to the Service Desk on the 1st floor).
The Rhetoric of FoodCall Number: GN407.R48 2012ISBN: 9780415500715
Consuming GeographiesCall Number: GT2850.B45 1997ISBN: 0415137683
Everyone EatsCall Number: GT2850.A6644 2005ISBN: 0814704956
Taste Culture ReaderCall Number: TX651.T28 2005ISBN: 1845200608
Still having trouble?
Check out the PBS cooking series A Taste of History. The chefs on this show recreate American recipes from the 18th century and provide historical context to ingredients and food items popular during this time. Watching an episode or two from this series can give you an idea of the questions you might ask about your document and provide historical context on food, cooking, and eating more generally.
Seasons 1-6 are available at the Main Library Service Desk (1st floor). Bring one of the following call numbers to retrieve a DVD. See the Taste of History site for information about season contents.
Season 1 - Main Media Collection Video Record 40066 DVD
Season 2 - Main Media Collection Video Record 40067 DVD
Season 3 - Main Media Collection Video Record 40068 DVD
Season 4 - Main Media Collection Video Record 40069 DVD
Season 5 - Main Media Collection Video Record 40070 DVD
Season 6 - Main Media Collection Video Record 40071 DVD