The Month of Their Ripening - by Georgann Eubanks (Paperback)

About the Book

"Georgann Eubanks takes readers on a flavorful journey across the state. She begins in January with the most ephemeral of southern ingredients--snow--to examine the impulse among Tar Heels to make ice cream in the midst of winter in the mountains. In March, she takes a midnight canoe ride on the Trent River in search of shad, a bony fish with a savory history. In April, she highlights how garlicky green ramps, traditionally savored by many Cherokee people, is endangered by its increasing popularity in fine restaurants"--

Book Synopsis

Telling the stories of twelve North Carolina heritage foods, each matched to the month of its peak readiness for eating, Georgann Eubanks takes readers on a flavorful journey across the state. She begins in January with the most ephemeral of southern ingredients--snow--to witness Tar Heels making snow cream. In March, she takes a midnight canoe ride on the Trent River in search of shad, a bony fish with a savory history. In November, she visits a Chatham County sawmill where the possums are always first into the persimmon trees.

Talking with farmers, fishmongers, cooks, historians, and scientists, Eubanks looks at how foods are deeply tied to the culture of the Old North State. Some have histories that go back thousands of years. Garlicky green ramps, gathered in April and traditionally savored by many Cherokee people, are now endangered by their popularity in fine restaurants. Oysters, though, are enjoying a comeback, cultivated by entrepreneurs along the coast in December. These foods, and the stories of the people who prepare and eat them, make up the long-standing dialect of North Carolina kitchens. But we have to wait for the right moment to enjoy them, and in that waiting is their treasure.

Review Quotes

"[Eubanks] does her part to help preserve N.C. heritage foods."--Winston-Salem Journal

"Eubanks interweaves her own narrative of life in the Tar Heel State and packs each chapter with information about the state of Southern foods."--The Local Palate

"I've never read anything like it . . . .a book that is equal parts food essay, regional travelogue, natural history and profile of the characters that cultivate the foods that define the state."--Ryan Mathews, Asheville Citizen Times

"If you are a fan of both history and Southern food, or curious about the way that seasonal foods create a culture, this book is a must."--Elizabeth Karmel, Associated Press

"Replete with stories past and present in mouth-watering detail, Georgann's stories will encourage the exploration of North Carolina's month-by-month feast. Readers will walk away from a book about food with a new taste for life."--Hollie Eudy, Watauga Democrat

"The seasons keep the tempo in [this] collection of literary nonfiction essays about 12 North Carolina foods deeply entwined with the state's cultural histories. . . . Gorgeous botanical paintings by Carol Misner keep company with Eubanks' story vignettes from mountain ranges to shorelines."--Triad City Beat

"This is a book for a food lover, someone who has respect for the land and respect for local foods and the local people who raise them, or who collect snow for snow cream, or wait in the dark, wee hours for a crab to shed its shell."--Deirdre Smith, Salisbury Post

"This lovely ode to Tar Heel State heritage captures foods at their peaks--shad in March; ramps in April; persimmons in November--while introducing readers to the growers, hunters, foragers, and fishermen who harvest them."--Garden and Gun

About the Author

Georgann Eubanks is a writer, Emmy-winning documentarian, and popular speaker. She is the author of Saving the Wild South: The Fight for Native Plants on the Brink of Extinction, as well as Literary Trails of Eastern North Carolina, Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont, and Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains.