Who thought of putting molasses in baked beans? The answer you know is probably wrong, and likely the result of Victorian efforts to spin a colonial story about how New England eats. Join Meg Muckenhoupt, the author of The Truth About Baked Beans, to hear the true stories behind Boston Baked Beans, maple syrup, bear fat, and more. Muckenhoupt examines how ideas about New England’s food have shaped our ideas about regional identity, who belongs here, and whose stories get told.

Meg Muckenhoupt is a freelance writer and author of The Truth About Baked Beans and Cabbage: A Global History, among others. Her work has been featured in the Boston Globe, Boston Phoenix, Boston Magazine, and the Time Out Boston guide. Her book Boston Gardens and Green Spaces (Union Park Press, 2010) is a Boston Globe Local Bestseller. She lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

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