Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin
A Founding Father’s Culinary Adventures
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Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin
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Narrated by:
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Pam Ward
About this listen
In this remarkable culinary biography, Rae Katherine Eighmey presents Benjamin Franklin's experimentation with food throughout his life. At age 16, he began dabbling in vegetarianism. In his early 20s, citing the health benefits of water over alcohol, he convinced his printing press colleagues to abandon their traditional breakfast of beer and bread for "water gruel", a kind of porridge he enjoyed.
Franklin is known for his scientific discoveries, including electricity and the lightning rod, and his curiosity and logical mind extended to the kitchen: he even conducted an electrical experiment to try to cook a turkey.
Later in life, on his diplomatic missions - he lived 15 years in England and nine in France - Franklin ate like a local. Eighmey discovers the meals served at his London home-away-from-home and analyzes his account books from Passy, France, for tips to his diet there. Yet he also longed for American foods; his wife Deborah sent over some favorites including cranberries, which amazed the London kitchen staff. He saw food as key to the developing culture of the United States, penning two essays presenting maize as the defining grain of America.
Eighmey revives and re-creates recipes from each chapter in his life. Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin conveys all of Franklin's culinary adventures, demonstrating how Franklin's love of food shaped not only his life, but also the character of the young nation he helped build.
©2018 Rae Katherine Eighmey (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story5 out of 5 stars 207
Acclaimed cookbook author Jessica B. Harris weaves an utterly engaging history of African American cuisine, taking the listener on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, and tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way. From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form an important part of African American culture, history, and identity.
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3 out of 5 stars
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more of a history lesson than a culinary book
- By Scott Johnson on 09-02-15
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The Taste of Empire
- How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World
- By: Lizzie Collingham
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
In The Taste of Empire, acclaimed historian Lizzie Collingham tells the story of how the British Empire's quest for food shaped the modern world. Told through 20 meals over the course of 450 years, from the Far East to the New World, Collingham explains how Africans taught Americans how to grow rice, how the East India Company turned opium into tea, and how Americans became the best-fed people in the world.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Overall really interesting and informative
- By Amazon Customer on 01-01-21
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A Square Meal
- A Culinary History of the Great Depression
- By: Jane Ziegelman, Andrew Coe
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
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Story4 out of 5 stars 67
The decade-long Great Depression, a period of shifts in the country's political and social landscape, forever changed the way America eats. Before 1929, America's relationship with food was defined by abundance. But the collapse of the economy, in both urban and rural America, left a quarter of all Americans out of work and undernourished - shattering long-held assumptions about the limitlessness of the national larder.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not entirely accurate title
- By Robert on 06-07-17
By: Jane Ziegelman, and others
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Consider the Fork
- A History of How We Cook and Eat
- By: Bee Wilson
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,396
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,217
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,212
Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights.
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5 out of 5 stars
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For the foodie/science geek/history buff in you
- By Nothing really matters on 08-30-14
By: Bee Wilson
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The Big Oyster
- History on the Half Shell
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 308
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 224
Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Now award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants, the oyster, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled.
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5 out of 5 stars
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history of the oyster in America
- By Andy on 01-01-20
By: Mark Kurlansky
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Milk!
- A 10,000-Year Food Fracas
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Brian Sutherland
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 203
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 170
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Story4 out of 5 stars 171
Mark Kurlansky's first global food history since the best-selling Cod and Salt; the fascinating cultural, economic and culinary story of milk and all things dairy - with recipes throughout. According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk; a splatter of the goddess Hera's breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Horrible narration nearly kills Kurlansky
- By Scarlatti's Muse on 05-15-18
By: Mark Kurlansky
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Chop Suey
- A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States
- By: Andrew Coe
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4 out of 5 stars 49
In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China and the first to eat Chinese food. Today there are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the United States - by far the most plentiful among all our ethnic eateries. Now, in Chop Suey, Andrew Coe provides the authoritative history of the American infatuation with Chinese food, telling its fascinating story for the first time.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Wanted to like this
- By Irene on 02-13-21
By: Andrew Coe
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The Kitchen Counter Cooking School
- How A Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks
- By: Kathleen Flinn
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 213
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 185
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 184
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, writer Kathleen Flinn returned with no idea what to do next, until one day at a supermarket she watched a woman loading her cart with ultraprocessed foods. Flinn's "chefternal" instinct kicked in: she persuaded the stranger to reload with fresh foods, offering her simple recipes for healthy, easy meals.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just as much a self-help book as a cookbook.
- By J. Locke on 03-07-13
By: Kathleen Flinn
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Lunch in Paris
- A Love Story, with Recipes
- By: Elizabeth Bard
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 80
In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman - and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs - one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.
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2 out of 5 stars
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ok to pass the time
- By Robin on 03-25-13
By: Elizabeth Bard
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Buttermilk Graffiti
- A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine
- By: Edward Lee
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
American food is the story of mash-ups. Immigrants arrive, cultures collide, and out of the push-pull come exciting new dishes and flavors. But for Edward Lee, who, like Anthony Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton, is as much a writer as he is a chef, that first surprising bite is just the beginning. What about the people behind the food? What about the traditions, the innovations, the memories? A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the country.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good listen for the aspiring food snob
- By thurman r. on 02-09-22
By: Edward Lee
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What She Ate
- Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories
- By: Laura Shapiro
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Laura Shapiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 175
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 157
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 158
A beloved culinary historian's short takes on six famous women through the lens of food and cooking - what they ate and how their attitudes toward food offer surprising new insights into their lives. It's a lively and unpredictable array of women; what they have in common with one another (and us) is a powerful relationship with food.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting, but don't think the book's premise...
- By Jay Quintana on 09-15-17
By: Laura Shapiro
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Barbecue
- The History of an American Institution
- By: Robert F. Moss
- Narrated by: David Holloway
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Barbecue: The History of an American Institution draws on hundreds of sources to document the evolution of barbecue from its origins among Native Americans to its present status as an icon of American culture. This is the story not just of a dish but of a social institution that helped shape the many regional cultures of the United States.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great for those that love BBQ.
- By Austin on 01-02-23
By: Robert F. Moss
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Provence, 1970
- M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste
- By: Luke Barr
- Narrated by: John Rubinstein
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 179
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4 out of 5 stars 157
Provence, 1970 is about a singular historic moment. In the winter of that year, more or less coincidentally, the iconic culinary figures James Beard, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Richard Olney, Simone Beck, and Judith Jones found themselves together in the South of France. They cooked and ate, talked and argued, about the future of food in America, the meaning of taste, and the limits of snobbery.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb Narration, Engrossing Tale
- By Robert R. on 10-22-13
By: Luke Barr
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Hippie Food
- How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat
- By: Jonathan Kauffman
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Food writer Jonathan Kauffman journeys back more than half a century - to the 1960s and 1970s - to tell the story of how a coterie of unusual men and women embraced an alternative lifestyle that would ultimately change how modern Americans eat. Impeccably researched, Hippie Food chronicles how the longhairs, revolutionaries, and back-to-the-landers rejected the square establishment of President Richard Nixon's America and turned to a more idealistic and wholesome communal way of life and food.
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5 out of 5 stars
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If you grew up eating health food you'll love it
- By Susie Wyshak on 05-09-18
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JGV
- A Life in 12 Recipes
- By: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Eric Yves Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story5 out of 5 stars 32
From his first apprenticeship in France to his Michelin-starred restaurant empire, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s cuisine is inspired by the freshest ingredients, the simplest techniques, and the drive to make the ordinary perfect. It all started at home. JGV is an invitation into the kitchen with a master chef. With humor and heart, Jean-Georges looks back on success and failure, sharing stories of cooking with legendary chefs Paul Bocuse and Louis Outhier, traveling in search of new and revelatory flavors, and building menus of his own.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Informative and fun!
- By David Stuk on 11-24-22
By: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and others
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Eating for England
- The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table
- By: Nigel Slater
- Narrated by: Nigel Slater
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
The British have a relationship with their food that is unlike that of any other country. Once something that was never discussed in polite company, it is now something with which the nation is obsessed. But are we at last developing a food culture or are we just going through the motions? Eating for England is an entertaining, detailed, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek observation of the British and their food, their cooking, their eating, and how they behave in restaurants.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Must-Hear!
- By Laura on 07-04-08
By: Nigel Slater
What listeners say about Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 06-13-18
wheres the pdf?
NO PDF for recipes she keeps referring to pdf for recipes Reader talks way to fast
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ilaria m
- 04-02-18
Great story ruined by bad reader +no downloadables
What disappointed you about Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin?
The reading is annoying, unclear and cheerful in all the wrong bits. Requires excessive concentration to understand what the narrator is reading, and for the French part, once again, the French pronunciation is dismal. Really, if you are reading a book partially set abroad, the narrator should have at least a passing ability to pronounce that language. Otherwise, you are so busy cringing that you have no idea what is being said. Dreadful, dreadful narrative. Also, the book comes with recipes. Which you cannot download. So totally useless.
What did you like best about this story?
the story is excellent. Killed by narrator and lack of downloadables.
What didn’t you like about Pam Ward’s performance?
Artificial, cheerful for no reason, unclear, bizarre pace, and terrible at pronouncing foreign words.Puts weird stress in random words, as if this was some kind of romance novel. It's history, so you really wish she was less into theatrics and more into clarity.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
disappointment.
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