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THE SOUTHERN STEWS COLLECTION ... a Six Volume DVD set for only $90.00 * |
The black iron pot is an artifact in the material culture of the rural South - a marker of an agrarian culture where the hard labor of seasonal ground cultivation, sewing, growing, harvesting and taking to market the products of the soil was the common lot of farm families. Labor was demanding and the hours long, with little down-time for the relaxing and socializing that are commonplace today. However, woven into the fabric of this life was the use of the black iron pot at the end of growing season or at harvest-time or at the end of a hunt for game to create a time for gatherings around the pot to cook a massive stew that would bring neighboring families from surrounding farms together - the women to prepare vegetables to put in the pot, the men to cook the stews that bore the taste of seasonings determined by one master cook - known as the stewmaster. These Southern stews took time to prepare and different shifts of men to work at different stages - often lasting a night and the better part of the next day - a time for socializing, telling tales, pulling legs, and catching up on news of the greater community of farmers and farm families - who was getting married, who was sick, who was in special need.... So inter-woven into rural life in the South are these stew traditions and their methods of seasoning and cooking that stewmasters and crews today still gather and keep alive these ancestral stews, their recipes and secret ingredients....on farms, at church and family reunions, at volunteer fire departments, and as fundraisers for needy causes in the rural communities where these stews are most heartily maintained. Brunswick stews, Burgoos, hash, hunter stews, chicken bogs ... all are represented by this splendid collection of works documented on travels throughout the South by folklife documentary filmmaker, Stan Woodward. |
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Coming Soon... |
Chicken Bog |
* Plus $5.00 S&H - Order by e-mail at woodwardstudio@charter.net ... or
...mail order to The Woodward Studio, PO Box 5163, Greenville SC 29606
"A journey through the stews that fed the South that is spontaneous, entertaining and when viewed as a set provides a remarkable understanding and appreciation of the role these stews played in bringing people together for the enjoyment of each other, building and sustaining community, and celebrating the joy that gathering communally around food always provides. An inside glimpse into what "Southern" is, where it comes from, and why it feels so good." - The Filmmaker
THE WORKS
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