This is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions

Abstract

The playful title of this book, This is the Plate, is an allusion to the famous Brigham Young remark identifying the Salt Lake Valley as the place Latter-day Saints would end their westward migration and settle. The title provides an effective tonal introduction to the writing presented on its large, glossy pages and amongst its colorful photographs—an accessible and lively exploration of Utah foodways contributed by people who live in the state. The topics and treatments are wide-ranging, honoring the diverse peoples who have lived and grown food in this land, from camas lily cultivation techniques to the practices of Italian immigrants who so cared about their fig trees that they were willing to dig them up and overwinter them in their cellars.Three of the seventy-four chapters focus on Indigenous food habits. Danille Elisa Christensen's chapter provides a strong overview of Great Basin foodways, especially before intensive settlement by Anglo migrants. Already in the first paragraph, Christensen complicates traditional understandings of hunter-gatherers by pointing out that they did more than find and harvest food. She describes “a variety of agricultural techniques suited to the wide range of climates and soils within the present state boundaries, including irrigation, terracing, crop rotation, installment of windbreaks, and stewardship of so-called wild plants” (98). The second Indigenous foodways chapter, written by Northwestern Band of Shoshone historian Mae Timbimboo Parry before her death in 2007, details the flora and fauna hunter-gatherers traditionally consumed, including techniques for harvesting and preserving. She observes that at the time of writing, Native Americans experienced sickness from their non-Native food sources while “the clothing and tools needed for traditional harvesting, hunting, and cooking are also endangered” (107). While Christensen relies predominantly on sources such as tribal and government websites, journal articles, and reminiscences, Parry's assertions come from lived experience and information passed generationally through oral transmission according to carefully dictated standards to retain accuracy. The different approaches complement each other well.Essays that include formative food memories are particularly evocative, including one from Elizabeth Archuleta, whose chapter shows how “food keeps us connected to our roots, helps us maintain ties to one another, and, in doing so, helps nourish who we are” (184). Her description of tortillas from the grill makes it difficult to keep reading instead of running to the kitchen to follow her recipe. Additional chapters highlight several of the immigrant cuisines that enrich the table experiences of Utahns, including specific countries such as Greece and Italy or larger geographical areas, including Polynesia and Asia. Other episodes highlight homegrown traditions, such as Pie and Beer Day, a parodic celebration that provides connection for those who feel alienated by the state's official but religion-specific July 24 Pioneer Day.Allusions to Latter-day Saint foodways flow throughout the book, and some chapters study them explicitly. In “Compassionate Service Casserole,” Ronda Walker Weaver explores the connections between food and service for female church members, asserting, “It is not about the food, but about the love that delivers it” (245). Love is also a theme in Randy Williams's chapter, subtitled, “A Performance of Worldview,” which explores food storage practices and narratives. Williams discusses tales of sacrifice on behalf of food storage (including selling an engagement ring!), happy childhood memories of canning food together, and millennialist questions about how to best prepare for the needs and appetites of future neighbors. Williams conveys a multifaceted picture of this prominent practice for Latter-day Saints in the United States, a picture of self-sufficiency, sharing, and faith.Historians will be particularly interested in fascinating source materials and rich anecdotes worthy of further inquiry. Occasional small inaccuracies may disappoint them. For instance, George D. Watt invented the Deseret alphabet, not Brigham Young. This utopian effort at spelling reform was intended to help children and immigrants to more easily read and write and not, as claimed, “a coded, secret way of communicating” (36).1 Nonetheless, there are few secondary treatments of Utah foodways, and this book makes progress toward filling a large gap.Historians, journalists, and, predominantly, folklorists contributed to this volume. Some chapters have a more historic tone, with extensive and rigorous source materials, while others read more as inviting encyclopedia entries. This Is the Plate will particularly appeal to readers wanting to think about the stories and lives behind the food and drink in Utah. An engaging read, it will interest specialists and nonspecialists alike.