Southern Appalachian Farm Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Family

253 Pages·2016·2.863 MB·English

by  Robert G. Netherland

Southern Appalachian Farm Cooking

Southern Appalachian
Farm Cooking
A MEMOIR OF FOOD AND FAMILY
Robert G. Netherland
The University of Tennessee Press
Knoxville
Copyright © 2016 by The University of Tennessee Press / Knoxville.
All Rights Reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America.
First Edition.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Netherland, Robert G., author.
Southern Appalachian farm cooking : a memoir of food and family /
Robert G. Netherland. — First edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-62190-224-9
1. Cooking, American—Southern style.
2. Cooking—Appalachian Region, Southern.
3. Appalachian Region, Southern—Social life and customs.
I. Title.
TX715.2.S68N475 2016
641.5975—dc23
2015031894
T
o the memory of my grandmother, Tamar Goldilocks McPheron,
and my mother, Norma McPheron Netherland, the two women
who first taught me to cook in their country kitchens; they inspired me,
over the years, to cook well, to nourish others, and to remember my heritage.
Tamar McPheron at her stove with a canner.
Nveogremtaab Nlees,t haenrdla bnldu ew riitbhb coannsn tehda tf rsuhiet s,
won at regional fairs.

CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
introduction: Life on a Southern Appalachian Farm 1
chapter 1. Biscuits, Biscuits, Biscuits 11
Threshing Wheat 11
Churning Butter 21
chapter 2. Cornbread, Hoecakes, and Spoon Bread 29
Iron Skillet Cooking 29
• farm life: sharecropping tobacco 41
chapter 3. Light Breads 45
chapter 4. Sides, Soups, and Salads 53
Dinner on the Ground 53
• farm life: school days 65
chapter 5. Beans 71
From Tepees to Leather Britches 71
• farm life: prince and doc 87
chapter 6. Corn 89
• farm life: Doc Lyons and the Croup 95
chapter 7. Summer and Fall Vegetables 97
• farm life: Learning to Drive 109
chapter 8. Potatoes 111
The Luck of the Irish 111
chapter 9. Pork 125
Hog Killing Time 125
chapter 10. Poultry 139
Acey Banana 139
• farm life: Squirrel Hunting, Moonshine,
and Muscadine Wine 151
chapter 11. Beef, Game, and Fish 155
chapter 12. Cakes 163
Country Celebrations 163
Harry Ledbetter and Did ’e Bite 169
• farm life: The 4-H Club and Cherry Pie 175
chapter 13. Pies and Cobblers 179
Eating Pie at the Opry 186
chapter 14. Gingerbread, Cookies, and Other Sweets 195
Cooking Sorghum 195
• farm life: pickin’ raspberries 209
chapter 15. Preserves 211
Epilogue: A Funeral 223
Suggested Meals 227
Index of Recipes 231
ILLUSTRATIONS
Norma Netherland with Canned Fruits and Vegetables v
Tamar McPheron at Her Stove with Canner v
View of the Farm from the Hillside 2
Cows in Our Hillside Pasture 3
Log Farmhouse in 2008 5
Log Farmhouse in Autumn 5
Smoke House 7
Horse Team Pulling a Disk Harrow on an East Tennessee Farm 12
Rusting Hay Rake 15
Cutting Tobacco 42
Old Tobacco and Hay Wagon 44
Granny Dykes at Ninety-Five Years Old 55
Dinner on the Ground 56
Grandmother’s Garden with Bean Stake Tepees 72
Tamar and Frank McPheron on the Porch of Their Log House 112
Tamar and Frank McPheron with Their Children
at Their Fiftieth Anniversary 113
The Author and His Sisters with Grandmother McPheron
on a John Deere Tractor 140
My Family Finishing Off Apple Butter in a Copper Kettle 212
Norma Netherland Bottle Feeding a Calf 224