97 Orchard: an Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman

Age Level: Adult
Format: Book

Ziegelman transports readers to New York City around the turn of the twentieth century and introduces them to five ethnically unique families that lived at the 97 Orchard Street tenement - German, Irish, German Jewish, Russian Jewish and Italian. Ziegelman explores in this nonfiction history book the foods of each of these ethnic groups and provides basic insight into the daily and social lives of the immigrants, even including a description of life on Ellis Island for new arrivals and deportees. Recipes and photographs are scattered throughout the pages, connecting readers to the discussion.

This is not a culinary history of the individual families living at 97 Orchard Street per se; rather, it is a culinary history of immigrants much like these families living in the tenements of New York City. Some readers may be discouraged that more anecdotes of the individual families highlighted are not present in the narrative. However, I really enjoyed this book because Ziegelman, beginning with a brief background of each family, tours New York City markets, tenements, work places, restaurants and other food-related haunts of different immigrant groups. By the end, readers will gain a better appreciation for our culinary heritage. Well-written and well-researched, this is a very unique look at history and one that I highly recommend.

Reviewed by Jessica