Museums With a Food Theme

[feedmec00kies]

I don't consider it food, but:

feh

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Wow . . . . have you been inside?

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No, I have an allergic reaction to most places like that.

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I don't know, I had thought about going myself, just to say I had. Maybe because it's ironic. I went to school in Rochester but never made it, but know at least one person who has (and bought a shirt!). Maybe when I visit this spring I'll convince some friends that it's a good idea.

[Shoom]

I went to the Museu de la Xocolata in Barcelona a couple of years ago, and they sold some excellent churros and hot chocolate in their cafe.

Aside from several mystifying exhibits featuring chocolate Catalan propaganda, it was a worthwhile stop.

[Lonnie]

I don't consider it food, but:

feh

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No, this is not the "feh" museum, this is the one and only Jell-O Museum in Le Roy, New York. Folks, it may not be food but, admit it, you have probably eaten this stuff and chances are, there was a time in your life when you actually loved it. Okay, maybe if you grew up in mid-century USA.

What other "food" could bind together, in a bright green sheen, the following ingredients (taken directly from a recipe my mother used often):

mayonnaise, cream cheese, cottage cheese, onions, celery, cucumbers, garlic powder, cashews

Admit it, you are just dying to try this, aren't you?

The real joy of the Jello Museum is the book in which people write their fond memories of Jello. You would not believe! Jello fights in the summer on the lawn, Jello desserts served at a WEDDING! Jello used with many more savory ingredients. Jello mixed with Coke! Family gatherings made all the more hilarious for the use of Jello in imaginative ways that did not involve eating it.

And the fact that, when Jello first came out, it was touted as a high-class dessert. They had to tone that down to get ordinary people to buy it. Folks in LeRoy tell of how the local stream would run different colors - the colors of goth hair syles - screaming blue, red, or green, depending on which flavor the factory was making that day. Children would swim in the stream and come out dyed that color. And let us not forget the weird flavors over the years: tomato, Italian salad, coffee, apple, celery and champagne. Oh, no, do not call this "feh." This is pure Americana.

But no, it's not food.

Lonnie

OMG! As I'm writing, a segment about the popularity of Spam has come on the radio, CBC's As It Happens.

[VenerableBede]

There's the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis which is all about. . .flour. Well, the history of flour and flour mills in Minneapolis. They have a bunch of old Betty Crocker boxes and various General Mills products (their HQ is in Minneapolis); as well as a test kitchen on the various types of flour and their effects in baked goods.

I must say, the more interesting aspect of the museum, other than explaining how flour particles are combustible, is how Minneapolis harnessed the Mississippi River for hydropower to power the mills.

[Peter the eater]

. . . . I must say, the more interesting aspect of the museum, other than explaining how flour particles are combustible, is how Minneapolis harnessed the Mississippi River for hydropower to power the mills.

I like their bold slogan on the homepage: "Get a whiff of the best smelling museum ever created". I remember The Prado having an agreeable scent.

[barolo]

There's a truffle museum in Tuscany: Museo del tartufo.

A description in english: truffle museum

The culinary joys of the fungus are also explored: recipes, and utensils used for serving, shaving and preserving the earthy tidbit, are displayed. At $2,500-4,000 per kilo this season, it's clear why white truffles are referred to as "white diamonds." And like diamonds, they're not much to look at before they're cut, but once prepared by expert hands, can be seductively intoxicating

[gwilson]

The Soul Food Museum, http://www.naacaha.com, in Atlanta, Georgia. I really like what the museum is trying to do, but I believe it lacks direction. The article below will tell you more.

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobas...tent?oid=453576

-Greg

[Peter the eater]

Here's an interesting one, although it doesn't have a permanent home: NY Food Museum.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Did I miss it or did anyone mention the resource of The Food Museum.com?

[pkeibel]

and you know there also had to be a Maple syrup museum here in Vermont

http://www.maplemuseum.com/

[Peter the eater]

and you know there also had to be a Maple syrup museum here in Vermont

http://www.maplemuseum.com/

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That looks like fun, but I have to say, Mr. Doolittle looks a little scary.

[vloglady]

How about the Museum of Burnt Food?

http://www.burntfoodmuseum.com/

And we went to the Ganong Chocolate Museum in New Brunswick, Canada. Wow, chocolate sampling at every display. And mighty good stuff.

http://www.ganong.com/

Would you believe the lady at the desk had NEVER seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

Susan

[rlibkind]

The National Mustard Museum moved a few years ago to Middleton, a suburb of Madison. I was there last month for a celebration honoring the winners of the 2011 World Wide Mustard Competition and the Iron Mustard Chefs Challenge, both fund-raisers for the non-profit museum. You can find a report, undoubtedly with more details than you need to know, on my blog here.

[Toliver]

I don't consider it food, but:

feh

Some on eGullet consider it dessert:

Showstopper Jello Desserts

[kitchensqueen]

Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb, WI. may be able to get there on or back from our trip to Duluth in spring, 2010.

I've been there and it's a small but well-done museum on the main street in downtown. They've got an amazing selection and some interesting displays and literature about mustard. A little touristy, as they also function as a shop, but certainly worth a look if you're in Mount Horeb.

[Alex]

What a great forum! How did I miss it the first time around?

Anyhow, the displays aren't really food per se, but they could have been when they were alive: Dead Pals of Sam Sanfillippo.

On a more conventional note, there's America's Soul Food Museum in Atlanta.

[gfweb]

I went to Copia in Napa. It was a food/wine themed place funded by Mondavi. Big expensive new building, nice art, some displays, but pretty devoid of very much serious content. I think it folded.

[rlibkind]

Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb, WI. may be able to get there on or back from our trip to Duluth in spring, 2010.

I've been there and it's a small but well-done museum on the main street in downtown. They've got an amazing selection and some interesting displays and literature about mustard. A little touristy, as they also function as a shop, but certainly worth a look if you're in Mount Horeb.

Note my item a few posts upthread. It's been in Middleton, not Mount Horeb, for a couple of years.

[kitchensqueen]

Wow, has it been that long since I've been up there? We used to go to Mount Horeb/Madison all the time...

I think I need to leave the house more.

[LindaK]

Don't miss the Camembert Museum the next time you're in Normandy, France. Not only a lovely, smelly cheese aging room, but a beautiful collection of artwork done for the logos/labels of individual Camembert producers.

[Mjx]

The Museo del Prosciutto is worth a visit; we were there a couple of years back, when we were in Langhirano during the prosciutto festival.