When did we first serve meals at regular hours? Why did we begin using individual plates and utensils to eat? When did ""cuisine"" become a concept and how did we come to judge food by its method of preparation, manner of consumption, and gastronomic merit?
Food: A Culinary History explores culinary evolution and eating habits from prehistoric times to the present, offering surprising insights into our social and agricultural practices, religious beliefs, and most unreflected habits. The volume dispels myths such as the tale that Marco Polo brought pasta to Europe from China, that the original recipe for chocolate contained chili instead of sugar, and more. As it builds its history, the text also reveals the dietary rules of the ancient Hebrews, the contributions of Arabic cookery to European cuisine, the table etiquette of the Middle Ages, and the evolution of beverage styles in early America. It concludes with a discussion on the McDonaldization of food and growing popularity of foreign foods today.
"Introduction to the Original Edition One: Prehistory and Early Civilizations Introduction: The Humanization of Eating Behaviors, by Jean-Louis Flandrin 1. Feeding Strategies in Prehistoric Times, by Catherine Perles 2. The Social Function of Banquets in the Earliest Civilizations, by Francis Joannes 3. Food Culture in Ancient Egypt, by Edda Bresciani 4. Biblical Reasons: The Dietary Rules of the Ancient Hebrews, by Jean Soler 5. The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians: The Early Mediterranean Diet, by Antonella Spano Giammellaro Two: The Classical World Introduction: Food Systems and Models of Civilization, by Massimo Montanari 6. Urban and Rural Diets in Greece, by Marie-Claire Amouretti 7. Greek Meals: A Civic Ritual, by Pauline Schmitt-Pantel 8. The Culture of the Symposium, by Massimo Vetta 9. The Diet of the Etruscans, by Giuseppe Sassatelli 10. The Grammar of Roman Dining, by Florence Dupont 11. The Broad Bean and the Moray: Social Hierarchies and Food in Rome, by Mireille Corbier 12. Diet and Medicine in the Ancient World, by Innocenzo Mazzini 13. The Food of Others, by Oddone Longo Three: From the Late Classical Period to the Early Middle Ages (Fifth--Tenth Centuries) Introduction: Romans, Barbarians, Christians--The Dawn of European Food Culture, by Massimo Montanari 14. Production Structures and Food Systems in the Early Middle Ages, by Massimo Montanari 15. Peasants, Warriors, Priests: Images of Society and Styles of Diet, by Massimo Montanari Four: Westerners and Others Introduction: Food Models and Cultural Identity, by Massimo Montanari 16. Christians of the East: Rules and Realities of the Byzantine Diet, by Ewald Kislinger 17. Arab Cooking and Its Contribution to European Culture, by Bernard Rosenberger 18. Mediterranean Jewish Diet and Traditions in the Middle Ages, by Miguel-Angel Motis Dolader Five: The Late Middle Ages (Eleventh--Fourteenth Centuries) Introduction: Toward a New Dietary Balance, by Massimo Montanari 19. Society, Food, and Feudalism, by Antoni Riera-Melis 20. Self-Sufficiency and the Market: Rural and Urban Diet in the Middle Ages, by Alfio Cortonesi 21. Food Trades, by Francoise Desportes 22. The Origins of Public Hostelries in Europe, by Hans Conrad Peyer 23. Medieval Cooking, by Bruno Laurioux 24. Food and Social Classes in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy, by Allen J. Grieco 25. Seasoning, Cooking, and Dietetics in the Late Middle Ages, by Jean-Louis Flandrin 26. ""Mind Your Manners"": Etiquette at the Table, by Daniela Romagnoli 27. From Hearth to Table: Late Medieval Cooking Equipment, by Francoise Piponnier Six: The Europe of Nation-States (Fifteenth--Eighteenth Centuries) Introduction: The Early Modern Period, by Jean-Louis Flandrin 28. Growing without Knowing Why: Production, Demographics, and Diet, by Michel Morineau 29. Colonial Beverages and the Consumption of Sugar, by Alain Huetz de Lemps 30. Printing the Kitchen: French Cookbooks, 1480--1800, by Philip Hyman and Mary Hyman 31. Dietary Choices and Culinary Technique, 1500--1800, by Jean-Louis Flandrin 32. From Dietetics to Gastronomy: The Liberation of the Gourmet, by Jean-Louis Flandrin Seven: The Contemporary Period (Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries) Introduction: From Industrial Revolution to Industrial Food, by Jean-Louis Flandrin 33. The Transformation of the European Diet, by Hans Jurgen Teuteberg and Jean-Louis Flandrin 34. The Invasion of Foreign Foods, by Yves Pehaut 35. The Rise of the Restaurant, by Jean-Robert Pitte 36. The Food Industry and New Preservation Techniques, by Giorgio Pedrocco 37. The Taste for Canned and Preserved Food, by Alberto Capatti 38. The Emergence of Regional Cuisines, by Julia Csergo 39. The Perils of Abundance: Food, Health, and Morality in American History, by Harry A. Levenstein 40. The ""McDonaldization"" of Culture, by Claude Fischler Conclusion: Today and Tomorrow, by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari"
Jean-Louis Flandrin is Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris VIII-Vincennes, Directeur d'Etudes at the Ecole des hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and founder of the international review Food and Foodways.Massimo Montanari is Professor at the University of Bologna, specializing in food of the Middles Ages.Albert Sonnenfeld is Chevalier Professor of French and Comparative Literatures at the University of Southern California and is a longtime member of the National Board of Directors of the American Institute of Wine and Food. He is a restaurant consultant, culinary lecturer, and frequent contributor on culinary topics to the press.
Reviews for Food: A Culinary History
Never judge a book by its title. This is no global history but a multi-authored assortment of essays focused on France and Italy, with a couple of supplementary chapters on modern America. Three editors of different nationalities, five translators, and 36 experts would have been enough to ensure that the book lacked the cohesion normally implied by the word 'history' even if Professor Flandrin hadn't underlined the point by advising readers not to swallow everything said by the authors of 'certain chapters in Part One and later'. The book's American editor claims that 'a superb historical overview... can be gleaned by reading in sequence the richly elegant introductions by Flandrin and Montanari to each of the seven sections.' Well, he's entitled to his opinion. But the newcomer to food history needs both more and less than either the 'overview' or the book itself provides - more, in terms of comparisions and perspectives, less in terms of symbolism and plain old-fashioned gastronomic chauvinism. All that having been said, within its limitations the book contains much interesting material not readily available elsewhere. The reader who already has a decent grasp of food history and is therefore able to evaluate the authors' occasionally eccentric pronouncements will find much to relish if he/she takes the book for what it is - a roughly chronological series of snapshots of Mediterranean societies at particular moments in time. Worth having for the articles on the ancient Hebrews, the Etruscan diet, the Arab cuisine, the medieval food trades and guilds, dietary choices and culinary techniques 1500-1800, the emergence of regional cuisines (in France), and the McDonaldization of modern culture. A desirable book, then, for the already knowledgeable reader, who is likely to be intrigued, stimulated and infuriated by turns. Review by REAY TANNAHILL (Kirkus UK)
