










































A letter from the Editors: 
 

 
 
Dear Readers, 
 
 
Hello, and welcome to the new Digest! The publication of the Foodways Section of the American 

Folklore Society has been re-launched as a fully online academic journal. We will be publishing two 

issues per year, with content including peer-reviewed articles, research notes, and reviews of relevant 

media, as well as images, photo essays, recipes, and creative pieces. Additionally, we have stored 

copies of the old versions of Digest in our ../archives section. Our focus remains on presenting pieces 

that deal with food, culture, and identity, but the move to an online journal increases our reach while 

providing us with unprecedented flexibility. The Digest site is open-access, so no passwords or signups 

will be required. If you would like to be sent an email reminder when a new issue comes out, submit 

your name to our mailing list with the link [insert link]. We will never give, sell, or otherwise provide 

your contact information to anyone. 
 
The new Digest is the result of collaboration between the Department of Folklore at Memorial 

University of Newfoundland and the professional programs at Champlain College in Vermont. This 

innovative cooperative model divides the work between the two campuses, maximizing the resources 

and skills of both. The content editorial work will be handled at Memorial, drawing on the knowledge 

and experience of the folklore faculty members and graduate students. The layout, design, and 

publishing work will take place at Champlain, where the skills of professional majors such as Graphic 

Design, Web Design and Programming present the journal’s content in an attractive, functional, and 

professional form. 
 
The editors of the new Digest are Diane Tye and Michael Lange. Diane Tye is Associate Professor and 

Head of the Department of Folklore at Memorial where she researches and teaches across a number of 

areas, including foodways, women’s folklore and research methodology. She is author of Baking as 

Biography. A Life Story in Recipes (McGill-Queen’s, 2010). Michael Lange is an anthropologist and 

folklorist in the interdisciplinary Core Curriculum at Champlain College. He teaches a range of courses 

in several fields, including working closely with the Graphic Design program. His own research interests 

include academic culture and identity, narrative in Scotland, Scandinavia, Morocco, and cookbooks and 

sugarmaking culture in Vermont. He is author of Norwegian Scots (Edwin Mellen, 2007). Editorial 

Assistant is Caitlin Bethune, a Masters student in the Department of Folklore at Memorial. 
 
We want to thank Emily Snyder, recent graduate from Champlain College, who did the graphic and web 

design that allowed us get underway. Thanks also to LuAnne Roth, Chair of the Foodways section for 

her assistance and to Ben Staple for scanning the back issues. 
 



Among the articles in this first issue we are happy to include the work of several recent winners and 

runners up for the Sue Samuelson Award for Foodways scholarship. It seems appropriate that as we look 

forward with the re-launch of Digest in its new format, we recognize outstanding student papers that 

point to the future of foodways scholarship. 
 
So, we welcome you to the new Digest, and we hope you enjoy and find use in our revamped journal. 

Tell your friends and colleagues about Digest, and please consider submitting a piece to us for future 

publication. Enjoy! 
 

 
 
Michael Lange and Diane Tye, editors 

 


