I was the co-curator, with Donna R. Barnes, of this exhibit,
which took place from September 20 through December 8, 2002,
at the Albany Institute of History & Art.
Book NOW available, (see Books page)
Schenectady County Historical Society, Schenectady, NY
"The Dutch Influence on the American Kitchen" (with a special emphasis on bread as staff of Dutch life)
Sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities
Senior Recreation Department, Village of Croton-on-Hudson, NY
"The Dutch Influence on the American Kitchen" (with a special emphasis on the Dutch cacao trade)
Sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities
For information call: 914 271 5804
Hurley Heritage Society, Hurley, NY
"The Forgotten Holidays"
Sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities
For information call: 845 339 6311
Neversink Valley Area Museum, at the D&H Canal Park Visitors Center
"The Dutch Influence on the American Kitchen"
Sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities
For information call: 845 754 8870
Historic Foodways Group, Philadelphia, PA
Further information to be announced.
Through my research on the exhibit and book Matters of Taste, I have created the following talk, which is now sponsored by the NY Council for the Humanities,
For information on how to apply, please call: 212 233 1131.
ART IN FOOD AND FOOD IN ART
A lusciously illustrated slide-talk on food and drink seen in the seventeenth century Dutch Masters and their relevance to the American kitchen today. It explores the foodways brought to America by the Dutch more than three centuries ago and how these foods were changed and adapted under the new circumstances. Using slides of some 40 paintings by Adriaen Coorte, Jan Steen, Adriaen van Ostade, Jan Davidsz. De Heem, Pieter Claesz, Harmen van Steenwijck and many others, food historian Peter G. Rose will demonstrate how these art works give an insight in 17th-century food practices and shed new light on the colonial diet. Seventeenth-century Dutch settlers of New Netherland, the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, brought with them seeds and tree stock for the same kinds of fruits and vegetables as beautifully portrayed in these masterpieces. From 18th- and 19th-century hand-written cookbooks belonging to the descendants of the early settlers, we know that they continued to cook in the manner of their forebears. Many of the recipes indicate not only the method of preparation but reveal that Dutch social customs continued here as well, as revealed for example by a recipe for doot koeckjes, funeral biscuits, or for kandeel, a special drink served at births. Not only agricultural practices and horticultural introductions are attributable to the Dutch colonial past in our country, but also cookies, doughnuts, and coleslaw as well as the use of baking soda in bakery products, to mention only a few examples. The Dutch touch left a lasting mark on the American kitchen.
If you would like further information, please email me.