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Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People
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Product Description
An illuminating account of how history shapes our diets-now revised and updated
Why did the ancient Romans believe cinnamon grew in swamps guarded by giant killer bats? How did the African cultures imported by slavery influence cooking in the American South? What does the 700-seat McDonald's in Beijing serve in the age of globalization? With the answers to these and many more such questions, Cuisine and Culture, Second Edition presents an engaging, informative, and witty narrative of the interactions among history, culture, and food.
From prehistory and the earliest societies around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to today's celebrity chefs, Cuisine and Culture, Second Edition presents a multicultural and multiethnic approach that draws connections between major historical events and how and why these events affected and defined the culinary traditions of different societies. Fully revised and updated, this Second Edition offers new and expanded features and coverage, including:
- New Crossing Cultures sections providing brief sketches of foods and food customs moving between cultures
- More holiday histories, food fables, and food chronologies
- Discussions of food in the Byzantine, Portuguese, Turkish/Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires
- Greater coverage of the scientific genetic modification of food, from Mendel in the 19th century to the contemporary GM vs. organic food debate
- Speculation on the future of food
- And much more!
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #214331 in Books
- Published on: 2007-03-09
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 432 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
An illuminating account of how history shapes our diets—now revised and updated
Why did the ancient Romans believe cinnamon grew in swamps guarded by giant killer bats? How did the African cultures imported by slavery influence cooking in the American South? What does the 700-seat McDonald's in Beijing serve in the age of globalization? With the answers to these and many more such questions, Cuisine and Culture, Second Edition presentsan engaging, informative, and witty narrative of the interactions among history, culture, and food.
From prehistory and the earliest societies around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to today's celebrity chefs, Cuisine and Culture, Second Edition presents a multicultural and multiethnic approach that draws connections between major historical events and how and why these events affected and defined the culinary traditions of different societies. Fully revised and updated, this Second Edition offers new and expanded features and coverage, including:
- New Crossing Cultures sections providing brief sketches of foods and food customs moving between cultures
- More holiday histories, food fables, and food chronologies
- Discussions of food in the Byzantine, Portuguese, Turkish/Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires
- Greater coverage of the scientific genetic modification of food, from Mendel in the 19th century to the contemporary GM vs. organic food debate
- Speculation on the future of food
- And much more!
Complete with sample recipes and menus, as well as revealing photographs and illustrations, Cuisine and Culture, Second Edition is the essential survey history for students of food history.
About the Author
LINDA CIVITELLO has a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.A. in history from UCLA. She has taught food history in California and written extensively for television. The previous edition of Cuisine and Culture won the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Culinary History Book.
Customer Reviews
None better, and I've read them all!
I am a Chef/Instructor at a culinary school in Southern California. We use Cuisine and Culture for our food history class. This book reveals the author's true passion for food, and serves as the perfect complement to our World Civilization course. Not a dry textbook but an absorbing piece of literature, full of fascinating side-notes, dispels many urban legends, and provides historically accurate recipes that our students then make and bring into class. I especially like the time she spends on the 20th century, and her conjectures on the future of food. Definitely for anyone who loves food!
Great Book!
I was afraid this book would be a dry, hard read. It's not. This book is my foods history class, and it's great. I love the recipes, and the anecdotes provided by the author. This book brings history to life and you can tell the author really enjoys this subject. I recommend this for any culinary student, or anyone interested in why we eat what we today!
Great Book
As a history buff, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first edition. I find the second edition even more fine-tuned. The author has the ability to demonstrate the influence of food on the history of cultures. I would recommend this book to anyone.
