An anthology of deeply personal stories about consequential crops and food histories in the place we simply call The South.

Nine years ago, Shane Mitchell wrote her first essay for The Bitter Southerner. In it, she penned a peculiar pronouncement.

"I hate grits," she said.

As soon as the story was live, opinions and accusations flew and our inboxes were filled to overflowing with letters from readers. Thus began her years long saga to better understand the South’s tangled love affair with food, often through memories and ties to her own family, who has been in the region since the late 17th century.

Over time, Mitchell wrote another story, and another, and another, always traveling to the source, dodging snakes, fire ants, observing rallies, marches, protests, pageants, and suffering near heat stroke. From grits to tomatoes to peaches to okra to rice to onions and beyond - tracking down the history of southern fruits, vegetables and grains in the oddest of odysseys.