Discovering Singaporean identity through cooking and cuisine

While eating is a universal experience, for Singaporeans it carries strong national connotations. The popular Singaporean-English phrase "Die die must try" is not so much hyperbole as it is a reflection of the lengths that Singaporeans will go to find great dishes.

In Eating Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of Food in Singapore, Nicole Tarulevicz argues that in a society that has undergone substantial change in a relatively short amount of time, food serves Singaporeans as a poignant connection to the past. Eating has provided a unifying practice for a diverse society, a metaphor for multiracialism and recognizable national symbols for a fledgling state. Covering the period from British settlement in 1819 to the present and focusing on the post–1965 postcolonial era, Tarulevicz tells the story of Singapore through the production and consumption of food.

Analyzing a variety of sources that range from cookbooks to architectural and city plans, Tarulevicz offer a thematic history of this unusual country, which was colonized by the British and operated as a port within Malaya. Connecting food culture to the larger history of Singapore, she discusses various topics including domesticity and home economics, housing and architecture, advertising, and the regulation of food-related manners and public behavior such as hawking, littering, and chewing gum. Moving away from the predominantly political and economic focus of other histories of Singapore, Eating Her Curries and Kway provides an important alternative reading of Singaporean society.

A journey back in time through 50 retro recipes along with engaging essays about quirky food traditions.

A blend of cookbook and bite-size history, Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! offers a unique glimpse into the culinary landscape of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fifty recipes selected from Wisconsin newspapers are served alongside brief essays that dig into the stories behind the food trends of the time.

In lively prose, Jane Conway and Randi Julia Ramsden reveal how coconuts and oysters made their way to 1800s Wisconsin, how bakers gauged the temperatures of their wood-burning stoves, and how our predecessors really did slip on banana peels, among other flavorful facts. In addition to capturing quirky food fashions, like breakfast parties and paper-bag cooking, the recipes provide insights into regional cooking traditions.

Each original recipe appears alongside the authors’ easy-to-follow updated version. Mouthwatering modern photographs showcase the revived dishes for the first time in their long history, and newspaper clippings, ads, and illustrations give the book a charming vintage feel. Featuring a variety of recipes, ranging from trendy (Barbecued Ham with Bananas) and tempting (Pickled Walnuts) to traditional (Pumpernickel) and tantalizing (Apple de Luxe), Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! will satisfy the appetites of history lovers and home chefs alike.