A History of Food

A HISTORY OF FOOD

This classic work is an exploration and celebration of man's relationship with food from earliest times to the present day. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat tells the story of cuisine and the social history of food, taking in fascinating, little-known byways along the journey. For instance, we learn that Aztecs enjoyed chocolate as a drink with chilli and honey; we discover the Iroquois origins of popcorn; we hear about the potential culinary and farming uses of lupin seeds. Toussaint-Samat looks at the transition from a vegetable-based to an increasingly meat-based diet, as well as at the relationship between people and what they eat, between particular foods and social behavior, and between dietary habits and methods of cooking.

This new expanded edition includes a foreword by food writer, Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn and Raising Steaks, a new final chapter covering recent developments in food production and consumption around the world, and an updated bibliography. Beautifully illustrated with nearly 70 illustrations and new color plates, A History of Food will continue to be read and enjoyed by a fresh generation of readers.

Autorentext
Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat The author is an historian, journalist, and writer. She has written for a variety of periodicals in France and published over seventeen books on cuisine, history, and French regional culture. Her books on the Loire and Périgord received commendations from the Académie Française and the Académie du Périgord. Her principal historical interest is in the medieval and renaissance culture of Europe, in particular the domestic economy, food, and clothing. She pursues her research in association with the École des Hautes Études.

Zusammenfassung
A HISTORY OF FOOD This classic work is an exploration and celebration of man's relationship with food from earliest times to the present day. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat tells the story of cuisine and the social history of food, taking in fascinating, little-known byways along the journey. For instance, we learn that Aztecs enjoyed chocolate as a drink with chilli and honey; we discover the Iroquois origins of popcorn; we hear about the potential culinary and farming uses of lupin seeds. Toussaint-Samat looks at the transition from a vegetable-based to an increasingly meat-based diet, as well as at the relationship between people and what they eat, between particular foods and social behavior, and between dietary habits and methods of cooking. This new expanded edition includes a foreword by food writer, Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn and Raising Steaks, a new final chapter covering recent developments in food production and consumption around the world, and an updated bibliography. Beautifully illustrated with nearly 70 illustrations and new color plates, A History of Food will continue to be read and enjoyed by a fresh generation of readers.

Inhalt
Foreword to the New Expanded Edition by Betty Fussell xiii Preface xv List of Illustrations xvi Acknowledgements xix Introduction 1 Part I: Collecting Gathering Hunting 9
From Fire to the Pot 1 Collecting Honey 14 Honey in the Golden Age 14 A Taste of Honey 16 Honey in Legend 18 Honey in Nature and History 21 Honey-Cakes, Spice-Bread, Gingerbread 28 Mead and Sacramental Intoxication 30 2 The History of Gathering 35 The Ancient Pulses 35 The Symbolism of Beans 40 The Etymology (and Entomology) of Haricot Beans 41 The Holy War of Cassoulet 45 Soya: the Most Widely Eaten Plant in the World 46 Soya: Nutritional Facts and Figures 50 Mushrooms and Fungi 50 Roots 57 Table of Vegetable Nutrition 65 3 Hunting 66 The Great Days and the Decline of Game 66 Nutritional Facts and Figures about Game 79 Part II: Stock-breeding Arable Farming: Meat, Milk, Cereals 83
The Evidence of Occupied Sites 4 The History of Meat 85 The Birth of Stock-breeding and Society 85 Table of Areas of Origin of the First Domestic Animals 88 Meat-Eating: Likes and Dislikes 89 The Horse, the Spirit of Corn 95 Fat Oxen and Prosperous Butchers 95 5 The History of Dairy Produce 103 Cheese and Curds 103 Yoghurt: Fermented Milk 108 Butter: the Cream of the Milk 109 The Symbolism of Butter 113 6 The History of Cereals 114 Cereals as Civilizers 114 The Symbolism of Wheat 117 Table of the Long March of Cereals 118 Imperialist Cereals 119 The Myth of Demeter 126 Everyday Cereals 127 Harvest Festivals 133 Strategic Cereals 134 Rice in the East 139 The Symbolism of Rice 149 Maize in the West 149 Why Maize is Called 'I Have No More Gumbo' 159 Why Corn-Cobs are Thin and Small 160 Zuni Legend of Maize Flour 160 From Porridge to Beer 161 The Technique of Brewing Beer 167 The History of Pasta 170 The History of Grain Spirits 176 Part III: The Three Sacramental Foods: Oil, Bread, Wine 183
The Fundamental Trinity 7 The History of Oil 185 Olive Oil 185 The Dietary History of Olive Oil 187 Olive Oil in Legend and Symbolism 191 Making Olive Oil 193 Other Oils 196 Margarine 199 8 The History of Bread and Cakes 201 The Bread on the Board 201 The Symbolism of Bread and Cakes 207 Four Stages in the Development of Bread-Making 209 The Taste of Bread 210 The Technique of Bread-Making 214 Our Daily Bread 215 Special Cakes for Sundays 218 9 The History of Wine 223 From the Vine to Wine 223 Dessert Grapes 230 The Technique of Wine-Making 231 The Symbolism of Wine 233 The Legend of Dionysus 235 The Proper Use of Wine 236 Cooking with Wine 249 Wine and God 251 A Wine of Revolution 258 Part IV: The Economy of the Ma...