By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Pack Horse Librarian Recipes will be the focus of an upcoming virtual presentation being put on through the Brighton District Library.

“A Bite of History: Pack Horse Librarian Recipes” will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, March 24th from 7-8pm. Librarian and food aficionado Neal Parr will demonstrate and dive into authentic Appalachian recipes gathered from scrapbooks that the Pack Horse Librarians provided to the people of the Appalachian Mountains.

Organizers say attendees will be able to step back in time from 1936-1943, when people in the mountains of Kentucky were hit hard by the Great Depression and food was scarce. Parr will talk about the food, people, and history and also share and demonstrate three recipes from that era. Participants will be able to discover how pickling and brining defined culinary tastes around the world and learn how to make pickled chicken. The process of how making jam came to be will be explained, along with how to make jam out of Kentucky's State berry, the blackberry. Further explored will be the significance of potato cakes, their many names and types, and how to make them. An alternative contemporary twist will also be included with each recipe.

“A Bite of History: Pack Horse Librarian Recipes” is being held in conjunction with Livingston Reads - the “One Book, One Story” project. Livingston Reads encourages residents to read for pleasure, creates community through reading, and promotes the exploration of ideas, knowledge, and a love of Michigan.

A flyer is attached. the link to register for the upcoming presentation is also provided.