Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin

A Founding Father’s Culinary Adventures

By: Rae Katherine Eighmey

Narrated by: Pam Ward

In this remarkable culinary biography, Rae Katherine Eighmey presents Benjamin Franklin's experimentation with food throughout his life. At age 16, he began dabbling in vegetarianism. In his early 20s, citing the health benefits of water over alcohol, he convinced his printing press colleagues to abandon their traditional breakfast of beer and bread for "water gruel", a kind of porridge he enjoyed.

Franklin is known for his scientific discoveries, including electricity and the lightning rod, and his curiosity and logical mind extended to the kitchen: he even conducted an electrical experiment to try to cook a turkey.

Later in life, on his diplomatic missions - he lived 15 years in England and nine in France - Franklin ate like a local. Eighmey discovers the meals served at his London home-away-from-home and analyzes his account books from Passy, France, for tips to his diet there. Yet he also longed for American foods; his wife Deborah sent over some favorites including cranberries, which amazed the London kitchen staff. He saw food as key to the developing culture of the United States, penning two essays presenting maize as the defining grain of America.

Eighmey revives and re-creates recipes from each chapter in his life. Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin conveys all of Franklin's culinary adventures, demonstrating how Franklin's love of food shaped not only his life, but also the character of the young nation he helped build.

©2018 Rae Katherine Eighmey (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

wheres the pdf?

NO PDF for recipes she keeps referring to pdf for recipes Reader talks way to fast

Great story ruined by bad reader +no downloadables

What disappointed you about Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin?

The reading is annoying, unclear and cheerful in all the wrong bits. Requires excessive concentration to understand what the narrator is reading, and for the French part, once again, the French pronunciation is dismal. Really, if you are reading a book partially set abroad, the narrator should have at least a passing ability to pronounce that language. Otherwise, you are so busy cringing that you have no idea what is being said. Dreadful, dreadful narrative. Also, the book comes with recipes. Which you cannot download. So totally useless.

What did you like best about this story?

the story is excellent. Killed by narrator and lack of downloadables.

What didn’t you like about Pam Ward’s performance?

Artificial, cheerful for no reason, unclear, bizarre pace, and terrible at pronouncing foreign words.Puts weird stress in random words, as if this was some kind of romance novel. It's history, so you really wish she was less into theatrics and more into clarity.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment.