Summary Of 97 Orchard By Jane Ziegelman

In the book 97 Orchard, the author Jane Ziegelman examines the lives of five different immigrant families in New York City. Through their culinary traditions, foods and drinks of choice, the author is able to determine some of the social and economic situations were for these different ethnicities. She also uses their foods to show what last impressions these people had on the streets they lived on as well as New York City. The German immigrants that were depicted by the author was the Glockner family. In German culture, baking is a tradition that is closed off to a certain number of people, and is an art that takes perfection. “By the end of the decade, responsibility for baking the city’s bread had passed into Germans hands” which would result in a variety of recipes including breads and cakes being sold as well as many ethnicities looking to the German for their baked goods (27). This could be seen with items such as the Vienna Bread or the yeast-based cakes which would become very popular

Unlike the Germans and the Irish, the Italian immigrants tried to stay as “Italian” as possible. They did not want to be Americanize and become a part of American society the way that other immigrants found themselves doing. However, their resistance would have a direct impact on American society. In many instance of Italian immigration, “Little Italys” popped up in different communities due to “the immigrants’ belief in the superiority of their native foods” (194). These communities are still established within New York City and other cities today, and still have the overwhelming idea that Italian product is a guaranteed best. The culinary tradition of importing goods from Italy would become a staple to these communities and would leave a lasting impression on New York City. By holding true to their beliefs, the Italians were still able to become apart of American