The 4th of July is more than a holiday. It is a celebration of the United States as a nation – and one that is often celebrated with food. However, in times of deeper political and ideological differences it's arguably harder to celebrate what makes America such a special place. To mark the 4th of July, we spoke exclusively to former senator, cookbook author and TV personality Capri S. Cafaro about how food can bring people together in divided times, and got her top tips on how to throw a great party celebrating American cuisine.
Former Democratic senator for the state of Ohio, Cafaro describes herself as Italian-American. Cafaro spent most of her career in government and in public service, but food has always been an important part of her life. “I've always had a lot of food. And I've always seen it as a way to bring people together,” she says. She also recalls how, as an elected official, she would often bake pies to share with her colleagues in an attempt to build bridges through food.
Her heritage may have a lot to do with the way Cafaro approached food: “My sister and I grew up cooking with my grandmother. And, really, valuing food is part of our culture. Being welcoming, and that warmth and hospitality were very important to us. And I really carried all of that into my adult life.”
“I have always seen food both as a unifier, a sort of common denominator, but also as a unique lens to tell a cultural story. I spent 12 years working on politics and government and then spent about five years working in television news and then I switched gears. I did a cookbook called United We Eat which talks about how food is a unifier, in a divided country.”
Cafaro’s cookbook contains recipes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Half of the recipes were developed by Cafaro herself and the other half were contributed by Democrats and Republicans across the country. “They shared not only recipes that were important to them in their home state but also stories about how they've used and seen food as unifiers in their own public life,” says Cafaro. Since then, she has launched a podcast, Eat Your Heartland Out, which is now becoming a radio show.
Cafaro is taking her mission to showcase the best of American food to the small screen, hosting a TV series that will be coming out in the United States on public television next year called America The Bountiful. The series looks to showcase vibrant, untold food stories in rural and small-town America.
Cafaro says that to define a nation’s cuisines you must consider the impact of immigration and migration. "You know when you think of what British cuisine is, yes, it's fish and chips, sure, but you know, it's also Tikka Masala. It's all these things that happen when you have multiple cultures coming together in one place. And, over time, those cultures become part of the landscape. American cuisine is all about that.”
For Capri, defining American cuisine starts with understanding its multiple regions and history. “It really depends on where you're at, and then it also depends on the immigrant populations that settled in.” She goes on: “One of the things that is most important to understand is that because of the literal vast size of the country and the sort of climate diversity of the United States, regional cuisine in the United States is what makes it different.”
“You have different parts of the country that have different specialties, right? For example, in the mid-Atlantic states, places like Maryland, they're very well known for crabs, and you have crab dip, you have crab cakes and crab everything. In Maine, their big things are lobster and blueberries. So every state’s cuisine is a combination of the local agricultural resources. But also we must consider the African-American presence, rooted in the tragic institution of slavery and the Deep South. And then you have the Southwest and Texas where there’s a massive Mexican, Central and South American cultures converging and the blends with Native American culture. I think those things are specifically American because of the cultural intersection that is specific to the United States.”
“I have to say my grandmother’s macaroni and cheese,” Cafaro says with a laugh when asked about her favourite dish. “For me, it's like the ultimate comfort food and really does represent what American food is when you kind of think about the most basic form of it.” Like many, Cafaro’s palate was highly influenced by her grandmother’s cooking. “I learned how to cook from my grandmother, and you know mid-century America, post-World War Two, you had these immigrant cultures that really wanted to assimilate. So, on one hand, our Italian heritage was important, but somehow it was almost sidelined by some of these Betty Crocker, American type of dishes: the meatloaf, the spiral sliced ham pies, a lot of weird Jell-O dishes, and macaroni and cheese as well." Her grandmother’s secret ingredient for a killer mac ‘n’ cheese? A sprinkle of Colman’s mustard powder.
Cafaro spoke to us about the conflicted feelings her constituents are experiencing around patriotic holidays. “I think that in these times where it seems like there is so little to celebrate about the country, where people may feel that there's injustice and a backward slide when it comes to equity, it's hard to find joy and celebrate, but I think that the key is to try to remember the best of the nation. We must remember that ultimately any country is not just its government or its TV stations. It's a collection of communities. I think that if you're looking for something to celebrate, I think the best thing to do is look in your own backyard. Maybe it's not the time to celebrate the institutions but the time to celebrate the community around you.”
“In practice, the 4th of July is more about spending time with family and friends and welcoming them. And this is again why food is such an important aspect of all of it because it is about backyard barbecues, it is about food festivals and county fairs, which are so incredibly driven by food. And there's a lot that the American people can offer, there's a lot to celebrate about American culture from an individual standpoint and I think that that's what we should remember,” says Cafaro.
Cafaro has some great tips for celebrating through food. The first is to make your celebration a potluck one: “Food tells a story without speaking, and so you can bring people together by having your friends and neighbours bring their own food and dishes, which everyone can share. It’s the best conversation starter.”
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“All year long, I wait for these specific festivals to get the one or two things that the church ladies make for these festivals because it's the best food ever, but also you can only get them once a year.”
Cafaro will be celebrating this 4th of July far from home in London, where, like many, she won’t have access to an outdoor grill. However, this isn’t stopping her from celebrating. Instead, she's having a picnic. On the menu: mac ‘n’ cheese; themed cocktails; red, white and blue cupcakes; and easy-to-carry foods like potato salad are all making the cut.
“Marinating is like the key to life in many ways,” says Cafaro. “It is key to good flavour and for great tenderness, and it doesn't need to be super-complicated. All you need to do is place your meats and marinade in a zip lock bag." Cafaro has found that a great trick is to use salad dressings as a marinade as they contain the necessary acidic properties. “I like infusing my own balsamic to make a dressing by placing it in a mason jar with strawberries or raspberries for a unique flavour combination. If you don’t have a lot of time, get some bottled salad dressing and use it to marinate your meats. That's all you need to do and it makes all the difference.”
Get the recipe: Capri S. Cafaro’s Memphis Rendezvous Pulled Chicken Sliders
Get the recipe: Capri S. Cafaro’s Apple Cheddar Pie