Immigrant Italian Women and the Birth of an Italian American Foodway

In this episode Linda talks with Lucinda Scala Quinn about the history of immigrant Italian women who came to America between 1880 and 1924, fleeing the poverty of their southern Italian homes. They cooked the food they knew, often substituting ingredients and embellishing recipes with the new found abundance of foods in America. These recipes represented their kitchens and evoked the flavors of their homes, thus founding an Italian American foodway. Recipes are discussed from Lucinda's new book, Mother Sauce: Italian American Family Recipes and the Story of the Women Who Created Them.