Seasons of Central Pennsylvania

Centre County offers a marvelous vantage point from which to view Pennsylvania’s indigenous cuisine. Centrally located, it has become an island of regional specialties that make use of natural abundance in time-honored ways.

The draw of Penn State University brings the sons and daughters of a vast number of the Commonwealth’s citizenry into the area, along with their food preferences. International students create a microcosm of diversity that is unmatched by any other similar-size geographic region in the state. A sophistication spurred by foreign travel, along with the entertaining demands of the University and local corporations, makes the cuisine of Central Pennsylvania well worth serious study and appreciation.

In Seasons of Central Pennsylvania, Anne Quinn Corr demonstrates how the people of the Keystone State take a singular and active delight in their environment and its natural gifts. Each section focuses on a season, beginning with fall, as leaves turn color and tailgating begins. More than thirty original and adapted recipes are featured in each section, as well as photos and vignettes on area cooks, and stories about local events and activities that celebrate each season. The recipes include a wide variety of Central Pennsylvania ingredients, but also demonstrate the region’s cultural diversity with appetizing international recipes.

Many of the recipes and photographs included in Seasons of Central Pennsylvania were first published in food features by the author in the Centre Daily Times, the newspaper of Central Pennsylvania.