Customer Reviews

Culinaria Spain

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"Culinaria Spain" is much more than a simple cookbook. As stated in the introduction, "To savor a nation's culinary customs is to experience the unfolding of an entire culture."

The people who bring you the Culinaria series want you to know that the food of a country reflects not only the geography, topography and climate, but also the history - all the peoples who have conquered, settled or passed through a country leave an impression.

While many people think of Spain and paella, there is much more to it. The people of the northern mountains certainly eat a more hearty fare than the people of the southern Mediterranean coast.

The book is divided by region to illustrate the various cuisine and cultures. For example, the empanada originated in Galicia as a kind of "fast food" for Christian pilgrims.

Culinaria gives you many wonderful recipes, many fun and interesting facts about the food and the regions. There are extensive sections describing wines, cheeses, olive oils, seafood, mineral water and more. The book is beautifully and lavishly illustrated with photographs, not only of prepared foods but of coastlines and mountains, markets, and beautiful Spanish faces.

This is a really nice book if you want to learn more about Spain than just a few recipes!

Highly recommended!!!

REVIEW FOR THE RELAUNCH VERSION:

The relaunch is essentially no different in content than the original. The main changes are

- new pictures of some recipes

- more open feel with increased line spacing

- no more coloured backgrounds on pages

- general realignment of photos and text on pages.

Overall if you do not own it, it is probably easier to read than the original and better for vision impaired. If you own the original do not bother, all conent and recipes are the same. Personally I prefer the more rustic and warmer feel of the original.

This is an incredible cookbook at a great price!. It covers the three things I look for....large pictures of the country or city I visited, information about the foods produced in those areas, and recipes using those local and regional foods. Pictures were amazing.

I agree that the Relaunches (as I have seen them) are not exactly like the old ones. They are more modern and a lot of photos are new. Basically, the layout and format has not changed much. They are quite similar and concerning the content more or less identical. But I have contacted the publisher and asked why they made them and they said that they just felt the need to revise them and give them a new look after being on the market for more than 10 years an that most of the photos have been updated and and wrong information has been revised.

I agree and the Relaunches do not disappoint as they follow the style of the previous Culinaria by featuring as the subtitles also says country, cuisine and culture. And this is exactly what makes all Culinaria titles different from other cookbooks.

The Culinarias are so diverse in information. You get to know all kinds stuff from the different areas of the country and it really makes you feel like travelling afterwards.

I have loved the CULINARIA series from the very first volume that I was given as a gift. If you are interested in lerning the history and culture of Spain by learning about the food eaten there, this is the book for you.

The book is divided into chapters by geographic regions. Each region is described by the physical features that make it unique, the foods and ingredients that are special to it, and recipes are given for the dishes that define it. There are abundant sidebars about significant topics either historical, political or cultural in the region that have shaped the food or people.

Then there is the photography. Beautiful photographs of the landscape, detailed photographic charts of ingredients, appetizingly displayed prepared dishes, step-by-step series showing ingredients being made, and people lovingly portrayed going about their daily lives.

This book is BIG, no bedtime reading with this one, you won't be able to hold it up! If you love cookbooks for the way they tell the story of a country, the CULINARIA Spain is not to be missed.

All of the Culinaria cook books are wonderful. Great reading as well as recipes.

Ordered this book a few months ago in preparation for my trip to Madrid and Barcelona, I wanted to better understand the food cultures from there. I found the book very excellent for what I was looking for, I wouldn't say it's the greatest recipe book but it is great for understanding the culture of different areas.

This book is so impressive and comprehensive that I can thumb through the pages over and over again to come up with impressive culinary creations from all over Spain. I have MANY friends from Spain and they are awed by the accuracy of the recipes and the fact that all of their favorite dishes are represented.

This is a cookbook for reading as well as for cooking! I have this book to thank for introducing me to Spain and its many fascinating regions. Regretfully, my knowledge of this country, its people and food are limited. Through reading Culinaria Spain, I now have a greater understanding and appreciation for the country.

Like all other books in the 'Culinaria' series, it is arranged in sections by region, not by food or meal type. I enjoy getting to know each area along with its history, people and foods together, rather than having a chapter on history, another on ingredients, etc. It gives a more complete picture of each region. And the pictures! Hundreds of color photos of a vast array of people, terain, fruits and vegetables, and so on.

I will be reading this book for pleasure, for reference and for making dinner for years to come.