Skip to main content

Celebrating the Appalachian Appetite, A True American Cuisine

appalachian appetite cookbook review
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Feasting is our column dedicated to cooking, grilling, eating and discovering what’s on the menu across America and the world.

Recommended Videos

When people think of the true American cuisine, they turn to the South and its lowcountry dishes and traditions. And they’re not wrong. But to say American cuisine is simply rooted in the south is forgetting about an entire region of the country that contributed to the heritage of our cooking. The Appalachian Mountain region, which stretches from Northeastern Mississippi all the way up to the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine, has fostered just as many classic culinary traditions in America as what we would define as the true south. And no one honors this regional cuisine better than Susi Gott Séguret in Appalachian Appetite, a new cookbook that celebrates the people and culinary traditions of this rich mountainous stretch.

Generic-Meatloaf
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In 1961, Séguret’s parents set out in their Volkswagen Bug in search of the highest mountains and most genuine music. They settled in North Carolina’s Shelton Laurel Valley and were the first outsiders to move into the area since the start of the 1900s when it was settled by Presbyterian missionaries. Though they were both educated in New York, they were pioneers in the return to the wilderness and were looking to live like the old timers in the mountains by raising livestock, heating their home with a chimney and carrying their own water from the spring. Young hippie couples came from near and far to see how they lived, crashing in sleeping bags on their living room or hen house floor.

Generic-Blue-Ridge-Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Image used with permission by copyright holder

Forty-two percent of the Appalachian region is rural, compared with only 20 percent of the United States as a whole. It extends 1000 miles and is home to more than 25 million people. The biggest difference in Appalachian cuisine from southern food is terrain. The mountains made travel difficult and cumbersome, so food production took place very close to home. Pigs and chickens, along with wild game like squirrel, bear and venison, were settler’s main sources of protein. They would often grow corns, beans, pumpkins, cane for sorghum and forage wild greens, mushrooms and nuts to fill their tables.

Generic-Southern-Fried-Chicken
Pj Aun / Shutterstock

Appalachian Appetite is a celebration of the mountain and the culinary tradition it inspired. Inside you’ll find a blend of old ingredients with new techniques and a mixture of basic and elevated recipes from both chefs and home cooks. In the Savory Start section, you’ll find regional favorites like Pickled Ramps and Possum Paté. There’s a section dedicated to the henhouse with simple, hearty recipes like Baked Eggs and Cream. From the Garden is the most colorful chapter and features dishes like Rattlesnake Beans with Mushrooms & Thyme-Infused Honey and a comforting Chestnut Sweet Potato Salad. You’ll find plenty of dishes that feature the wild catch of the day from Venison Ramp Meatloaf to an Oat-Crusted Trout with Red Sauce Vinaigrette & Carolina Slaw. If you’re familiar with traditional southern cuisine, you’ll recognize Appalachia’s take on favorites like Sweet Tea-Brined Fried Chicken, Black-Eyed Pea, Collard & Sweet Potato Stew, and Stone-Ground Cheese Grits. Sections dedicated to breads, sauces and desserts make it a well-rounded cooking manual that will give you an education on this rich and delicious cuisine.

To experience the Appalachian Appetite for yourself, Buy Now and get to cooking.

Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
Why everything you think you know about IPAs might be wrong
Not all IPAs are bitter, pine-bombs
IPA

Take a moment to imagine an IPA. What do you see? What does the beer that you envision taste like? If you immediately think about a golden or yellow, reasonably clear beer with citrus, pine, and a potentially aggressive level of bitterness, you’re painting this complex beer style into a tiny corner.

The IPA you’re describing fits into the India Pale Ale box. But, in my career of writing about beer, I’ve learned that the style is much more than this simplified definition. That description is the iconic and popular West Coast IPA. And I can understand why they are many drinkers go to IPA styles. It’s what many non-IPA drinkers think of the beer style. But this isn’t the only IPA style. And the others vary greatly in appearance, aroma, and overall flavor.
Different types of IPAs

Read more
Tequila is the spirit of the summer—these cocktails prove it
Learn about the best tequila-based cocktails for the warmer months
Paloma cocktail

In the pantheon of warm-weather spirits, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of tequila. Sure, gin adds a floral flourish to mixed drinks on hot, humid days, and vodka is a nice, neutral backbone for sunny day cocktails, but nothing beats the agave sweetness of a well-made tequila when it’s mixed into a balanced, flavorful summer cocktail.

In my decades of writing about alcohol, I’ve imbibed my fair share of blanco, reposado, and añejo tequila. I’ve enjoyed it in shots with lime and salt, neat and on the rocks, and mixed into a variety of cocktails. Over the years, I’ve learned that no hot summer day is complete without a layered, complex tequila-based mixed drink.
The best tequila-based cocktails to drink this summer

Read more
Rediscover the bourbon smash, summer’s ultimate refreshing whiskey cocktail
It's time to learn all about the Bourbon Smash
Whiskey Smash

When it comes to summer cocktails, many drinkers tend to put down whiskey in favor of vodka, gin, tequila, and rum. That's a shame. There are countless whiskey-based cocktails ideally suited for warm weather, from the classic Whiskey Highball to the Mint Julep and the refreshing, flavorful Bourbon Smash.

Also known as the Whiskey Smash (if you choose to use a whiskey other than bourbon), this popular warm-weather whiskey drink has been around in some form or another since the mid-to-late 1800s.
Bourbon Smash

Read more