British Food [Hardcover]

Colin Spencer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1904010164 | ISBN-13: 978-1904010166

After 1100 English cooking reached a high degree of gastronomy, which it shared internationally with the courts of Europe. Medieval food was stylish and tasteful, it was food designed to please and satisfy very sophisticated palates and right up to the mid 19th century it had epochs and phases of greatness. So how did we throw all that away? And not only throw it all away but forget all about it? This book attempts to trace the changes and influences of food in Britain through the Black Death, the Enclosures, the Reformation, the rise of Capitalism and the sado-masochism of the Victorian non-conformists to the present day. It should remind us all of our rich past and the gastronomic importance of the cuisine of these islands.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Few national cuisines have endured as much abuse as Britain's. Vilified as unimaginative and heavy, it has traditionally been recognized for only two achievements: the English breakfast and Christmas dinner. But, Spencer explains, even before the Romans brought their civilization to the islands, Celtic agriculture and animal husbandry produced a wide range of foodstuffs. Anglo-Saxon England knew how to stew meats with savory herbs before that practice became common in Europe. The Norman conquest introduced exotic spices. Medieval England even saw the invention of fast food, in the cookshops that lined the Thames, catering to boatmen and travelers. And imperialists returned home with knowledge of India's elaborate food tradition, full of strong, penetrating spices and herbs. Victorian home cooking succumbed to uniformity under one of the earliest cookbooks: Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1800). Rationing and postwar austerity in large part gave birth to British cooking's modern evil reputation, but globalization and affluence have transformed London into one of the world's gastronomic capitals. A glossary assists readers with old and unfamiliar kitchen terms. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

A stimulating work.... What did the Brontës dine on at Haworth Parsonage? How did Jane Austen's family cook prepare the sauce? Colin Spencer will tell you. His book is a joyous, lively mine of information.

(Times Literary Supplement )

A book so absorbing it may even stop the reader from falling asleep after Christmas dinner.

(London Times )

One of the most fascinating and riveting reads this year. Go buy.

(Scotland on Sunday )

Never has there been such a breathtakingly comprehensive, wide-ranging and fascinating food history as this stonking great tome by Colin Spencer. The amount of research involved makes the brain boggle.

(Daily Mail )

Sure to become a classic.

(The Independent Magazine )

British Food describes the glories -- and the decline -- of the nation's cuisine over the centuries... Spencer traces the country's lamentable decline in cuisine through the Reformation, Puritanism, and the Industrial Revolution... Modern Britons would not recognize the impressive lists of ingredients their ancestors used.

(Library Journal )

[Spencer] ably covers a millennium and more, reflecting intelligently on the dramatic, and often sudden, dietary developments wrought by political and economic change... Spencer's rich lode of information about British food justifies his subtitle's claim that its present vigor caps off 'an extraordinary thousand years of history.'

(Claire Hopley Washington Times )

Spencer's interesting book is a worthwhile addition to the food history literature. Recommended [for] all levels.

(Choice )

Ten reference books every food loer should own...#10 British Food

(Waitrose Food Illustrated ) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Grub Street (October 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904010164
• ISBN-13: 978-1904010166
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,541,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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