WELCOME
Our new book, Northern Comfort: The New England Baking Tradition, will be out this fall from New York University Press! Use the link below the book cover image on the left to get a 30% discount with the code NYUAU30. Or use one of the other links below the cover image to preorder from Amazon or Bookshop.com.
And take a look at the great piece (with lots from us) on "What Americans Were Eating in 1776" from TASTING TABLE. (See link on left.)
What did 19th century New Englanders eat . . . and what did they want to eat? Find out in an essay we wrote for the National Park Service and the Center for Children's Books, geared to middle schoolers, teachers, and parents (see the Lyddie link on left).
Want to try some 19th-century food? We have a tasty Ginger Nuts recipe on our blog (see link on left).
Ginger Nuts comes from a cookbook by "Mrs. Bliss of Boston." We have uncovered her story and that of two other fantastic 19th-century cookbook authors. You can read about them and their books in two articles,"A Book of One's Own," (Spring 2025) and "Women's Works" (Spring 2026) in the British food journal, PPC (Petits Propos Culinaires)
Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald’s books on New England and American food history have been widely acclaimed. This is true even before publication of their latest offering, Northern Comfort: The New England Baking Tradition. It will be out this November from New York University Press.
"Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald are our best historians of foodways, not only of New England but across the culinary canon. With their cookbook Northern Comfort they have now entered the kitchen to provide a practical analog of the lively insight that characterizes their scholarship. It is most welcome."
~Blake Perkins, Petits Propos Culinaires
"A meticulously researched, eloquently crafted and utterly captivating exploration of that most uplifting of the culinary arts. Packed with historical insights and practical tips, modern bakers will be inspired by these traditional recipes that preserve New England's food heritage."
~Sam Bilton, Host and Producer of the award-winning podcast, Comfortably Hungry
". . . an amazing wealth of information, packed with history, culture, and recipes that celebrate a distinct culinary tradition . . ."
--- Michael, Goodreads Reviewer
Their book before this, United Tastes: The Making of the First American Cookbook (University of Massachusetts Press, 2017), was recognized as a key work of culinary and regional history.
--Editor-in-Chief, Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
An earlier book by Stavely and Fitzgerald, Northern Hospitality: Cooking by the Book in New England (University of Massachusetts Press, 2011), was called
and
Stavely and Fitzgerald made their debut with America’s Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking (University of North Carolina Press, 2004). This was praised as
Another reviewer commented that
America’s Founding Food has been deemed a “classic tome” (Choice) and was awarded a 2005 Best of the Best from University Presses selection by the American Association of University Presses.
Stavely and Fitzgerald have also contributed to the Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery and The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Their history of the American Thanksgiving and their in-depth look at three nineteenth-century New England cookbook authors and their books have appeared in the international food journal, Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC).
They have written for and been interviewed by many media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Providence Journal, the Baltimore Sun, Slate, and Yankee Magazine. The have spoken at Plimoth Plantation, the Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island historical societies, and a great many local historical societies, libraries, museums, and interest groups throughout the Northeast.
They live in Jamestown, Rhode Island.