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Plain But Wholesome presents a groundbreaking foray into Mormon history. Brock Cheney explores the foodways of Mormon pioneers from their trek west through the arrival of the railroad and reveals new perspectives on the fasci-nating Mormon settlement era. Relying on original diaries, newspaper accounts, and recipe books from the 1850s, Cheney draws a vivid portrait of what Mormon pioneers ate and drank. Although other authors have sketched the subject before, this portrait is the first effort that might be described as scholarly, though the lively prose will interest a broad general audience. Presented here are the first explicit descriptions of the menus, food processes, and recipes of the Mormon pioneers. While many have supposed that earlier pioneer foodways continued to be handed down through Mormon families, Cheney has confirmed traditions going back generations and covering more than a century. The book also exposes myths and clichés about pioneer piety and hardships, as Cheney examines such pioneer extravagances as fresh “oysters on the half shell” and pioneer trends of alcohol consumption. A perfect gift for the history buff or Dutch oven chef, Plain But Wholesome will also prove its place among scholars and historians. With its rollicking blend of historical source material and modern interpretation, this book will entertain and educate novice and expert alike.  

A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used to examine increases in food handling knowledge among eastern European refugee restaurant candidates as a result of educational material taught either by the employee’s child or the Salt Lake Valley Health Department. Participants were nonrandomly assigned to a study (n= 15) or control group (n= 17). The study group was taught by their children in their native language. The control group was taught by an SLVHD instructor in English. All participants completed pre- and posttests that measured four areas of food handling knowledge: personal hygiene and hand washing (PHHW), cooking and holding time/temperature (COOKTT), cooling and holding time/temperature (COOLTT), and cross-contamination (CC). Both groups demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge of PHHW, but only the study group demonstrated significant improvements in COOKTT and CC knowledge. These study results suggest that food handling education programs are effective in increasing knowledge and mode of delivery may be an important factor.