Foodway is the term used to describe the ideas and customs surrounding food. It refers to the way a culture thinks about and prepares their food in an informal manner.

Are you interested in the history of food, it's preparation and the general culture of cooking? Check out the links below and explore traditional Maine foodways.

Basic Foodway Links

Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/index.html

Food History News - Sandra Oliver's newsletter site
http://foodhistorynews.com/index.html
Be sure to check out Oliver's definitive book Saltwater Foodways

Food Timeline - Lynne Oliver's clickable general food history timeline.  http://www.foodtimeline.org/

Maine Folklife Center: Foodways Research
http://www.umaine.edu/folklife/foodways.htm

Acadian Culture in Maine: Foods
http://acim.umfk.maine.edu/foods.html

What's Cooking, America? - Linda Stradley's food history and recipe site  http://whatscookingamerica.net/  Just look up your favorite food.
Some pages like "Chowder" are pretty good-
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/ChowderHistory.htm

Maine Specialties

Bakewell Cream (powdered leavening) made in Bangor and famous for biscuits
http://www.newenglandcupboard.com- the manufacturer's site
http://www.yankeegrocery.com/bakewell_cream.html - for a better description

Baked Beans- B&M Baked Beans - http://www.bgfoods.com/bm/bm_history.asp
Maine Folklife Center - Bean Hole Beans - http://www.umaine.edu/folklife/beanholebeans.htm

Canning: A Maine Industry - an exhibit slide show by Andrew Patrick at MaineMemory.net
or Early Fish Canneries in Brooklin by Jane Hooper

Classic New England Recipes - Yankee Magazine
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipes/classic/index.php      or search their recipes and get 79 bean recipes - some decidedly not regional like Mississippi Chile
Yankee Magazine Soup's on! (includes 4 New England recipes - NO tomatoes)
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/food/features/chowder.php
If you can find it, a few years ago Yankee had a great comparative article on chowder styles from around New England. Apparently it is not available on the internet so look for an old print copy

Donuts may not have actually been invented in Maine - but maybe the hole was. Check this story out!
The History of the Donut - http://www.wentz.net/donut/history_of_the_donut.htm
The Partially True History of the Doughnut - http://www.elliskaiser.com/doughnuts/history.html

Gulf of Maine Aquarium: How to Eat Lobster - there are a billion of these sites out there but the GMA isn't making a living selling lobsters
http://octopus.gma.org/lobsters/eatingetc.html

Hot Dogs - yep, but only the nuclear red kind!
Colleen Stone's "From Away" column in Maine Today
http://travel.mainetoday.com/fromaway/051101.shtml?com_full=1

Italian Sandwiches:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HoagieSubmarinePoBoy.htm (But don't believe that picture!!!)
In search of ... The definition of Italian by Andy King - Portland Phoenix
http://www.portlandphoenix.com/food/dining/documents/03199201.asp
or the Amato's Sandwich Shops site
http://www.amatos.com/about_01.html

Pilot Crackers- Read how Nabisco tried to deep 6 a necessary Maine food staple and was set right by a Maine island!
http://www.chebeague.org/crownpilot.html

Whoopie Pies
Labadie's Bakery -the (reported) home of the original whoopie pie - http://www.labadiesbakery.com/
Linda Stradley's take on whoopie pies - http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/WhoopiePieHistory.htm
Wikipedia article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopie_pies