Cookbook of the Week: New England Heritage Cookbook by Jean Hewitt

Another tome from my childhood, the New York Times New England Heritage Cookbook graced our bookshelf in Brooklyn, and made the move with us to Vermont…

The 1970s volume is organized in classic style, with appetizers and soups at the beginning, seafood and meat dishes thereafter, and desserts following, with a robust collection of miscellaneous recipes (pickles, candies, etc.) at the end.

As a Brooklyn-born “flatlander” child in a rugged Northeastern Vermont, this book helped me to begin getting a grasp on what set the various New England states apart from one another, at least culinarily. From it, I learned that a Curried Flan Appetizer made with jellied chicken broth and mayonnaise was purported to represent Connecticut, while Ham Mousse made with chicken broth, ground ham, green olives and mayonnaise could be said to stand for Vermont.

It’s possible that this didn’t constitute a thorough culinary education, and didn’t ingratiate me to anybody, but as a child, how was I to know which items had fallen out of favor since the book was published? All I knew was that there were geographical lines, and somehow, these mountain ranges, rivers and roads contained within them something about culture, and not just features of landscape.

One true fact that I gleaned from the book is that Maine and Massachusetts are renowned for their seafood dishes, and Vermont is not. Maine boasted Baked Haddock and Creamed Lobster, for instance, and Mass offered New England Fish Stew and Lobster Thermidore. I’m genuinely unclear on how the distinctions were made.

Sadly, there’s no index that breaks down all of the recipes from a given state. However, among the Vermont ones I’ve noticed are Cheese Soup, Kettle Stock (basically, bone broth before it was cool), Meat Balls with Brown Beans, and Barbecued Ribs with Maple Syrup.

My understanding of New England and its cuisine was incomplete after my youthful perusals, but nevertheless, this book gave me a hint at the flavors of the regions, and eventually, helped lead me to other books that would continue to illuminate my way.