History of Food or Forever Summer

History of Food

Author: Maguelonne Toussaint Samat

Everything you eat has a story behind it. If you relish savory steaks you'll delight in the story of the Roman emperor who kept his figure by eating 40 pounds a meat a day. According to legend, you may even one day discover the genie of the tea, an ancient Chinese poet. Compiling countless references and illustrations, History of Food serves up delicious research on the common groceries you buy and some not-so-common foods eaten throughout the world.

This well-written volume discusses the historical significance of food and myths surrounding various delectable treats. It describes hunting and gathering, ancient rituals surrounding certain foods, and a vast array of cooking techniques. History of Food is a must-have for your kitchen.

Publishers Weekly

Although this voluminous compendium, mixing social and natural history, is a worthy resource, it lacks verve and narrative coherence. Toussaint-Samat, a French journalist and sociologist, is more accomplished at describing the past, such as the origins of hunting and gathering, than the uses of food today and the development of modern cuisine. The author canvasses the world but emphasizes Europe and especially France, which may interest Francophiles for Toussaint-Samat devotes more attention to foie gras than to pasta. The book contains interesting information--on winemaking at monasteries and the role of merchants in the Middle Ages--but subjects like chocolate and chilis beg for more creative exposition. Illustrations. (Dec.)

Courtney Greene - Library Journal

From hunters and gatherers and the onset of agriculture to the rise of commercial foodways, historian Toussaint-Samat presents not just the historical background but the cultural, religious, and social impact of food. Extensively researched, with quotations from a wide array of historical sources, the volume does tend to focus slightly more on Europe than on other parts of the world, although there is a visible effort to provide balanced coverage. While some areas receive more intense scrutiny-wine, for example, rates over 30 pages-other topics are skimmed over: an entire section of the book covering sugar, chocolate, tea, coffee, and confectionaries, all significant introductions, fills only 50 pages. While not precisely a book to be read from cover to cover, this will be a useful source for students or researchers as a strong first reference point and for anyone with a dedicated interest in food history. Changes include a new preface, epilog, updated bibliography, and chapter addressing recent issues relating to food. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries, although those whose collections include the first edition should not consider it an essential update.

Table of Contents:

	Foreword
	Acknowledgements
	List of Illustrations
	Introduction	1
I	Collecting, Gathering, Hunting	7
1	Collecting honey	15
2	The history of gathering	39
3	Hunting	72
II	Stock-Breeding, Arable Farming: Meat, Milk, Cereals	89
4	The history of meat	93
5	The history of dairy produce	113
6	The history of cereals	125
III	The Three Sacramental Foods: Oil, Bread, Wine	201
7	The history of oil	205
8	The history of bread and cakes	223
9	The history of wine	247
IV	The Economy of the Markets	291
10	The history of fish	296
11	The history of poultry	336
V	Luxury Foods	365
12	Treasures from the sea	373
13	The treasure of the forests	407
VI	The Era of the Merchants	443
14	An essential food	457
15	Spice at any price	480
VII	New Needs: Sugar, Chocolate, Coffee, Tea	547
16	The lure of sugar	552
17	Confectionery and preserves	565
18	Chocolate and divinity	574
19	Coffee and politics	581
20	Tea and philosophy	596
VIII	Orchards and Kitchen Gardens	607
21	The tradition of fruits	621
22	The evolution of vegetables	688
23	The potato revolution	711
IX	Science and Conscience in the Diet	729
24	Preserving by heat	735
25	Preserving by cold	749
26	The assurance of dietetics	755
	Notes	764
	Bibliography	782
	Index	787

Look this: Complaint Management or Outsourcing the Sales Function

Forever Summer

Author: Nigella Lawson

Now in paperback: the delicious companion volume to Nigella’s TV series Forever Summer — filled with over 100 additional recipes created exclusively for the book.

“Even when sunshine is a distant memory and the only trace of holiday is the sand on the bottom of your discarded holiday flip-flops, don’t consign yourself to winter blues.”
—Nigella Lawson

In Forever Summer, Nigella Lawson offers irresistible summery recipes that can be eaten at any time of the year, venturing out of the kitchen to give picnic, barbecue and beach food a touch of her inimitable culinary style. The key is simplicity, freshness, enjoyment — good food, no sweat.

The food ranges from around the world: from simple Italian pasta dishes to Middle Eastern breads; from Prawn and Black Rice with Vietnamese Dressing to Moroccan Roast Lamb; and food that conjures up the traditional strawberries-and-cream feel of an English summer afternoon or Indian summer evening at home. Keeping the sun shining, there’s a fabulous selection of unusual desserts — from Anglo-Italian Trifle to Slut-red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly. And to complete the summer mood, there are cocktails, both classic and new.

Abundant with gorgeous colour photographs, Forever Summer is about easy cooking and easy eating; laid-back recipes that keep you feeling like summer never ended; and that the kitchen is, in Nigella’s words, “not a place you escape from, but the place you escape to.”

Gourmet

Nigella is an icon.

People

Vivid and fresh.

New York Times

Brings to life the sensual aspects of cooking, helping you understand the pleasure of the journey.

Bon Appetit

Nigella Lawson has done more than anyone recently to revive the art of cooking for the sheer fun of it.

Publishers Weekly

Setting the warm, relaxed tone befitting the season, U.K. food goddess Lawson (Nigella Bites) presents her newest volume as an ode to summer, to freshness, and, in gray weather, to a time to "conjure up the sun, some light, a lazy feeling of having all the wide-skied time in the world to sit back and eat warmly with friends." Befitting a book of simply prepared summer dishes, Lawson takes her inspiration from such warm climes as southern Europe, the Middle East and southeast Asia. For starters, Lawson offers Grilled Eggplant with Feta, Mint and Chilli, where the ingredients are rolled inside the thinly sliced eggplant, and then moves on to Flatbread Pizzas, whose dough is made with za'atar, a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame. Her pastas and salads are innovative and wonderfully fresh, such as Linguine with Chilli, Crab and Watercress; Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad; or Shrimp and Black Rice Salad with Vietnamese Dressing. Main courses include Keralan Fish Curry with Lemon Rice, as well as Porchetta, which is chopped pork shoulder cooked with fennel, garlic and rosemary and sandwiched within a ciabatta roll. Winding down the meal, Lawson serves such cooling fare as Figs for a Thousand and One Nights, which are broiled and then pulled open until they look like "young birds squawking to be fed worms by their mommy" before they are drizzled with rose water, orange water and sugar. As viewers of her shows will notice, the book's photos-of both Nigella and the food-are just as cool and luscious as the recipes themselves. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.