Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese Food

Andrew Coe's Chop Suey examines how Chinese food was transformed and popularized in America, exploring immigrants, restaurants, and cultural exchange. The book traces early Chinatown restaurants, the development of Americanized dishes like chop suey and chow mein, and the cuisine's place in immigrant and American identity. Coe situates culinary change within immigration laws, urban life, and shifting tastes across decades up to more recent regional Chinese cuisines. He combines archival research, interviews, and food history to show how Chinese food became a national favorite and cultural touchstone. The book illuminates both the food itself and broader themes of assimilation, modernity, and multicultural encounter.

Jane Ziegelman's A Square Meal explores how the Great Depression reshaped American food culture, documenting the shift in diets, food availability, and public attitudes toward nourishment. Drawing on archival materials, recipes, and contemporary accounts, the book reveals how Americans adapted cooking and eating practices to scarce resources and government programs. It examines institutional responses, home economics, and the rise of new food industries that addressed hunger and changing tastes. The narrative connects economic forces with cultural perceptions of food, health, and morality in a period of national crisis. Ziegelman highlights resilience and innovation in how households and communities fed themselves during the 1930s.