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In looking at what might
be defined as a native "Michigan Cuisine", it becomes
obvious Michigan's food sources and concepts come from an
extremely broad area including portions of surrounding
states. Fair enough. Local influences are somewhat driven by
a given nationality, but this is sometimes also combined
with prolific fish and game harvests, and Michigan's farming
and produce. Combine this with Michigan's tourism and travel
and a specific cuisine becomes difficult to define.
What's important to note is that all of these influences and
ingredients lend themselves to meals made in the home, which
is what some chefs like to aim for. There's nothing
extravagant or fancy in all of this. It's all very down-to
earth because that's how a lot of folks in Michigan see
themselves … farmers, auto workers, small-business people,
tourists, and hunters and fishermen, all in search of a good
solid meal that will leave them feeling full and satisfied.
But it's all very broad, at the same time very regional, and
in many cases, quite personal. Unfortunately, in some cases
the Mackinac Bridge even gets in the way, dividing strong
personal opinions from Michigan's upper peninsula vs. those
of the lower peninsula, while physically connecting the two.
People can be very territorial. They like certain sports
teams, where they live, the places to go nearby, and not
only where they eat but what they eat. Older diners have a
tendency to base their food choices on culture or
nationality, or even a local gathering place for senior
citizens. Younger diners may go to specific places merely
for ambience or atmosphere, eating specially-made finger
foods in very large quantities. And amongst all this
culinary chaos are the family reunions where anything and
everything about food can collide, and generally does.
This explains why, when searching for "Michigan
Cuisine" or "Michigan cooking" on an internet search engine
or the website for a massive online bookstore, very little
that's definitive will come up.
There are many restaurants that serve what's touted as
a "Michigan Cuisine" and there are many cookbooks written
about Michigan cooking. Some of the books about Michigan
cooking are kind of close to what we were looking for prior
to starting this site. But most of them are definitely not.
How many fund raiser cookbooks are there out in the wild?
Who knows? These are great for their purpose, and my family
and I have participated in putting some of them together,
purchasing many of them as well. One of our favorites is the
revised edition of "Tested, Tried & True", assembled by the
Junior League of Flint, Inc., and released in 1980. At over
325 pages and illustrated with images of Flint's historical
figures and some short biographic blurbs, this is one of the
largest and best-produced "fund raiser" cookbooks we've
seen. There's a Swedish meatball recipe in the Main Dishes
section by one Barbara Burroughs that's become a family
favorite.
But from a historical standpoint, there are no Swedes in
Michigan as a base culture of the area. As much as I
like "Tested, Tried & True", it doesn't help.
There are some books I feel lend themselves well to helping
to define a real and honest Michigan Cuisine. We simply
can't go wrong referencing cookbooks from Zehnder's in
Frankenmuth, or the Detroit Historical Society, cookbooks
from the folks at Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, a cookbook
on sports-related tailgating cooking from University of
Michigan Press, pamphlet books from the Jiffy Mix folks at
the Chelsea Milling Company, or from Dutch families in
Holland, Michigan, on the western side of the state. And,
whether hunters have Cat Scratch Fever or not, they simply
cannot go wrong with hunting-related cooking advice from
long-time Michiganders Ted and Shemane Nugent.
These folks, and many others like them, are the real experts
on various aspects of an overall Michigan Cuisine, as are
those at Michigan's DNR who track the state's hunting and
fishing processes, the folks at Michigan's Department of
Agriculture, the Michigan offices of AAA 4H and FFA leaders,
and many others like them.
My goal in this site, and the related cookbook this research
is actually for, is to attempt to assemble all of this
information into a cohesive whole. Dave
Liske, May 2006 |
