Ingredients of Change: Book Talk and Interview with Professor Neuburger

Interview and blog post by SSEES student, Sam Johnson

On 17th October, SSEES had a book talk with Professor Mary Neuburger from the University of Texas at Austin. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to chat with Professor Neuburger about her research and Ingredients of Change.

Professor Neuburger’s talk used her research on changes in Bulgaria’s protein consumption to explore the themes of Ingredients of Change. The book itself explores how dietary changes in Bulgaria around the 20th Century related to historical context. Ultimately, this reveals the emergence of Bulgarian cuisine.

Our discussion opened by exploring how Professor Neuburger became interested in Bulgaria. She revealed that her interest started as a postgraduate studying history, when she got the opportunity to study Bulgarian language. She then visited Bulgaria in summers to practise the language and loved the food, culture, and landscape. As of writing, Professor Neuburger has authored three books on Bulgaria including Ingredients of Change. She revealed that whilst researching for her first book, on Muslim minorities, she noticed tobacco hanging to dry in the communities. This inspired her second book on tobacco in Bulgaria, which led to her interest in “commodity history.” In Ingredients of Change, food is explored as a commodity.

Next, the conversation moved to the research process for Ingredients of Change. Professor Neuburger noted that she did “a fair amount of archival work,” whilst also looking at journals, magazines, and cookbooks from the time. During the book talk, Professor Neuburger recalled an anecdote about making a “pilgrimage” to a rural museum for research. When she arrived, a woman was closing up, but allowed her to stay and read for a few hours. Another noteworthy museum was a yoghurt museum set in a converted house of a scientist who discovered Bulgarian yoghurt.

Professor Neuburger noted that during research she became interested in vegetarianism in Bulgaria because of “the debate about whether or not to consume.” Vegetarianism is discussed in chapter 2 of Ingredients of Change, as part of the book’s analysis of protein in Bulgaria. This chapter and chapter 4, which is about Bulgarian tomatoes and peppers, are her favourites in the book. On the other hand, honey and Bulgarian sweets were food items that Professor Neuburger said could have had a chapter but ultimately did not.

During the talk, the intersection of food and gender was discussed. This was done by contrasting Todor Zhivkov, an avid hunter and the dictator of Bulgaria from 1956-1989, with his vegetarian daughter. I probed Professor Neuburger about this topic more during our interview. She noted how meat was related to power and masculinity through hunting. Meanwhile, food science was targeted at women who were seen to be responsible for both their own and their families’ consumption. She linked this to a “civilising mission of women” who were then expected to civilise men.

As our discussion closed, I asked Professor Neuburger if she had any recommendations for Bulgarian foods to try. After some deliberation, she recommended lyutenitsa (a tomato and pepper relish) and Bulgarian feta cheese.