News
Key Ingredients: America by Food opens
Scott Wagar
12/11/2012
On Saturday, the long awaited Smithsonian exhibit, Key Ingredients: America by Food, opened inside the Tech Center in downtown Bottineau, which will grant guests to the exhibit a great insight to America’s food culture in every aspect.
“Key Ingredients: America by Food, explains the little known, the everyday, and the obvious through an entertaining and informative overview of country’s diverse regional cooking and eating traditions. It investigates how culture, ethnicity, landscape and tradition influence foods and flavors we enjoy across the nation,” stated the Smithsonian in a press release. “Key Ingredients demonstrates how food on the American tables is rooted in centuries of continuous borrowing and sharing between people across the generations, across cultures and across the land. In addition, it underscores the contributions made by Native American cultures to our palate and eating habits.
It also addresses to entrepreneurial spirit on which many food production industries are based, such as those of food pioneers Heinz, Campbell and Borden.”
Individuals who will stroll through the Smithsonian exhibit will get the opportunity to learn that some of the most predominant foods from the southern states started with African Americans who came from slavery, the history of canning foods and home economic schools, the most principal food known from each state and so much more.
“I am excited to be setting up the exhibit and I have been taking a good look at it, but it is going to be fun to come back several times and read it and pay attention to it,” said Tim Davis, a committee member of the Key Ingredients exhibit who assisted in setting up the display on Thursday afternoon. “It’s a Smithsonian. So when you say Smithsonian it is something that is important.”
Key Ingredients: America by Food focuses on rural communities too.
“The project proves to be most effective at the local level. Key Ingredients inspires the gathering, celebrations and preservation of the finest of what rural America has to offer,” stated the Smithsonian’s press release. “Host institutions may create activities and events that are both fun and informative. Cook-offs, oral history projects, folk demonstrations, publication, storytelling, chili and barbecue festivals and ancillary exhibitions are just a few of the possible activities.”
So far in Bottineau, Key Ingredients has brought a local apron display, readings at Bottineau County Public Library’s Story Hour time, coloring contests for the elementary schools and A Taste of Bottineau event with local foods from the community.
This past week, a cookie jar exhibit went on display at the Tech Center and Dakota College at Bottineau’s student athletes spent time at Central School reading books about food to the students.
Coming up is a cookbook display (Dec. 14-22) and a Holiday Open House with free samples of traditional holiday favorites (Dec. 21 and 22).
The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 10, 2013, and a number of events are planned during the time Key Ingredients is in Bottineau. For more information about upcoming events, make sure you check the Bottineau Courant, which will be placing the events in the newspaper.
Key Ingredients: America by Food is being brought to Bottineau by Dakota College at Bottineau, Bottineau Community Theater and N.D. Humanities Council.
Hours for the exhibit are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.