A Taste of History

media release:  Join historians Jane Conway and Randi Julia Ramsden as they offer a taste of Wisconsin's culinary history. Discussing varied topics such as the banana's arrival on the Midwest menu, early twentieth century health food recipes, the development of new kitchen gadgets and techniques, and the social side of dining, Ramsden and Conway will bring you along with them as they discuss the fascinating rabbit holes they went down while writing their book Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! Recipes and Culinary Curiosities from Historic Wisconsin Newspapers. By exploring the importance of food to Wisconsinites and highlighting historical recipes that made it into our State's newspapers, this presentation provides a slice of historical Wisconsin foodways.

About the presenters:

Jane Conway has a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Oregon, and Randi Julia Ramsden has a master’s degree in American studies from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. They met while working together for the National Digital Newspaper Program at the Wisconsin Historical Society. After stumbling across countless historical recipes in Wisconsin’s newspapers, they began cooking, researching, and writing together in 2019. Their book Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! Recipes and Culinary Curiosities from Historic Wisconsin Newspapers is a collection of recipes and essays documenting their culinary time travel.