"obituary" news and stories

All you fans of nondairy whipped topping should take a moment. Robert E. Rich, the New York dairy farmer who invented nondairy whipped topping from soybeans in 1945 recently died at the age of 92. According to an obituary in the LA Times, Rich began experimenting with nondairy alternatives because dairy products were being re-routed to U.S. soldiers during World War II. Rich's Whip Topping, as the product was called, was a success, in part, because it could be frozen, unlike dairy-based whipped toppings. He was the first to be inducted into the National Frozen Food Industry Hall of Fame.

Edna Lewis, author of highly regarded cookbooks on Southern cuisine, recently died at the age of 89. In her time, Lewis penned such titles as The Taste of Country Cooking and The Gift of Southern Cooking. The latter was co-authored with her friend, and later, caretaker, Scott Peacock. Today's New York Times has an obituary by food writers Eric Asimov and Kim Severson. The Southern Foodways Alliance also has links to several other articles about Lewis.