Library Guides: Iowa-Related Resources: Iowa food

ISU Library Resources

After-School Cooking by Meredith Corporation
Call Number: PZ154 Af89
Publication Date: 1987
A Culinary History of Iowa: sweet corn, pork tenderloins, maid-rites & more. by Darcy Dougherty-Maulsby
Call Number: GT2853 U5 D68x 2016
Available online and in hard copy. Iowa's delectable cuisine is quintessentially midwestern, grounded in its rich farming heritage and spiced with diverse ethnic influences. Classics like fresh sweet corn and breaded pork tenderloins are found on menus and in home kitchens across the state. At the world-famous Iowa State Fair, a dizzying array of food on a stick commands a nationwide cult following. From Maid-Rites to the moveable feast known as RAGBRAI, discover the remarkable stories behind Iowa originals.

Iowa State Fair Cookbooks!!! We have many!
To locate them, look in Quick Search for "Iowa State Fair" cookbook*
Or, browse the shelves on Tier 7 at:
TX 715.2 M53 I69228x (cookbooks)
TX715.2 M53 I6923 (recipes)

Web Resources

Eskimo Pie History (Onawa, IA)
From Wikipedia. Danish immigrant Christian Kent Nelson, a schoolteacher and candy store owner, claimed to have received the inspiration for the Eskimo Pie in 1920 in Onawa, Iowa, when a boy in his store was unable to decide whether to spend his money on ice cream or a chocolate bar.
Iowa Cookbook Collection
The Iowa Cookbook Collection consists of cookbooks generated in Iowa that have been collected by the Iowa State University Library as representative of the nature of the genre. As of 2011, this collection consists of approximately 3,000 items including family recipe books, church and other organizational cookbooks, recipe pamphlets and cookbooks centered around Iowa companies, Iowa restaurant cookbooks and cookbooks from other institutions such as radio stations.
Iowa State Fair (Des Moines)
The Iowa State Fair is the single largest event in the state of Iowa and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country. Annually attracting more than a million people from all over the world.
Iowa State Fair Butter Cow History
Includes a list of sculptures by year.

Muscatine Melon: A Case Study of a Place-based Food in Iowa by Susan Futrell; Craig Chase
This special project of the Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative looks at the 120-year history of melon production in southeast Iowa and potential for promotion.

Oleomargarine Controversy
The publication of "Putting Dairying on a War Footing" caused a controversy at Iowa State because it promoted the production and consumption of oleo margarine instead of butter. The resulting backlash by the dairy industry forced the college to publish a revised edition which in turn resulted in the departure of several researchers in protest.
Snickers Salad Originated in Iowa?
According to the Taste Atlas, it originated in Iowa. Wikipedia describes Snickers Salad as a "dessert salad consisting of a mix of Snickers bars, Granny Smith apples, Cool Whip or whipped topping, marshmallows, and often pudding served in a bowl. It is a potluck and party staple in the Upper Midwest of the United States." Other sources such as Gastro Obscura do not give an exact origin, but say it is "especially popular in regions of heavy Lutheran and Scandinavian heritage from Indiana to North Dakota."