Preface xi preliminary list among some food and culture colleagues, including the listserv of the leading organization in the field, the 400-plus-member Association for the Study of Food and Society, to solicit suggestions for must-include entries. That list yielded numerous additional suggestions for entries. Finally, individual contribu- tors pitched contributions given their professional interests and expertise, naming items that they passionately felt needed to be included in such a volume. We aim to establish the cultural identity of each entry. Who eats it and how? Foods have individual meanings, and this was our opportunity to examine them. What is this dish’s significance? Is it a food with health associations? What is the historical significance? (How did it come to be?) When is the dish generally eaten? (Is it an everyday item or a ceremonial food?) Our hope is that you use these teaser entries to become fascinated by the study of food and culture and keep exploring. To that end, each entry has suggestions for further reading. The strength of this collection is in its contributors. We are so fortunate to count among them some of the leading scholars of cultural foods, emerging scholars from food studies programs across the country, professional writers and journal- ists, independent scholars, and established scholars in other disciplines who have a passion for—and deep understanding of—the intersection of food and culture. I am extraordinarily grateful for their contributions. This is truly their book—the editors are traffic police, project managers, and talent recruiters. A note about the recipes: For those who want to taste these foods, we have included adapted or original recipes where possible. Many of the ingredients may be challenging to find (and certainly not at your local grocery store), but we hope you will not let that deter you! Most of the entries have a recipe for the food itself (horseshoe sandwich, for example) or for a food made with the entry’s featured item (eel). This is not a cookbook, though many of the recipes will have delicious results. In this case, each recipe is intended to be an illustration of how the food is prepared, rather than a strict formula for its preparation. With that, we invite you to learn, taste, and explore some of the lesser-known and key foods in U.S. food culture.