A Taste of Culture

Foods of Canada
Author Barbara Sheen
Published by KidHaven Press

Author Barbara Sheen examines the historical and cultural forces behind Canada's diverse culinary tradition, including contributions from Canada's First Nations, French, and British background. Key ingredients include fish and seafood, meat, bread, hearty soups and chowders. Canada produces 85 percent of the world's maple syrup; how the syrup is gathered from maple trees and prepared in sugar shacks is explored. Feasts for Canadian Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations are explained. Sidebars feature engaging country information as well as a number of recipes with easy-to-follow directions.

Review:

"These titles offer easy, delicioius recipes (some with as few as two ingredients) and insights into the cultures that produced them. Each volume is well researched, and culture and food go hand-in-hand. Each title ends with a metric conversion chart and extensive chapter notes. Clear, large full-color photographs spice up the texts. The language is inviting and not overly challenging, and each book could be used for reports on culture as well for cooking. These tasty books, especially the more obscure Ethiopian title, will be appreciated in most libraries."
--School Library Journal, May 2008