Whether it was a one of a kind meal your grandma used to make just for you or a slice of deliciously spiced bread you tasted halfway around the globe, food has always been so much more than food itself. Food is a memory. In our semi-annual lost recipe contest, where the top prize is now $25,000 and a feature in Cook's Country Magazine, we've learned that not only is food a memory, it's where we come from. It's our heritage, our family, ourselves.

In the thousands of entries that pour in from across the country, readers share their most heartfelt stories of the recipes that represent their history. From there, our test cooks begin the long and arduous process of recipe testing to determine which recipes are worth exploring further. Those recipes are then tested, tested, and tested again until we are certain we've perfected the original recipe for the home cook.

Add to those delicious recipes the heartfelt stories that accompany them and you have the third in our recipe contest series: How America Learned to Cook. This book is full of desserts, savory dishes, breads, and a new focus on pickles and preserves. It's rich with a history that can only be described as the best of Americana.