YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT explores the culinary traditions of cultures around the world. In each case, the food preferences reveal links with the social structure, geography and history of the culture.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Originally published in Canada in 1979, this newly updated and expanded work will be a valuable addition to any reference collection. Its 55 sections cover approximately 170 different cultural groups, with each section providing a culinary historical overview of a country, information on a particular culture's domestic life with reference to food and cooking, a survey of commonly used ingredients and foods, a section devoted to special occasions and the role food plays in them, and a glossary of unique culinary terms and foods. While it is difficult for a single chapter to capture every nuance of the complex cuisines of some countries, e.g., France or China, the author often adds regional culinary details for larger countries and does a credible job of distilling the basic information. The occasional grouping together of certain countries or regions may seem a bit strange, but an excellent index and good cross-referencing within the book itself should guide readers to the sections they need. The only thing missing is information on Native American culinary traditions. Even if your library has other standard culinary reference sources, such as Larousse Gastronomique, which does have recipes but provides fewer details on individual countries, you will still need the range and depth of information Barer-Stein's practical book offers. Highly recommended.AJohn Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
This scholarly and passionate author has catalyzed the opportunity for cultural exchange with a slender skewer. -- Science Books and Film, December 2000
This solid book is dauntingly thorough and thoroughly fascinating. -- Joan Bruskill, Associated Press, December 29, 1999
This solid book is dauntingly thorough and thoroughly fascinating. -- Joan Bruskill, Associated Press, December 29, 1999
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Totally outdated,
This review is from: You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions Revised and expanded second edition (Hardcover)
Having written a reference work on food myself, I fully realize how difficult it is to research and write such a book as this, and how easy it is to find fault and criticize. And if I had seen the original edition of this book when it was first published, I probably would have found it valuable and interesting. If it had been heavily revised and brought up to date, it still might be. But it isn't. I have been reading the chapter on Iceland and I have to say that it is very misleading. What is being described - and not always correctly - is Iceland in the 1950s and 1960s. A few examples - there are many more in the text:"Some homes have refrigerators with freezers" (yes, about 98% of them) "but most manage with cold closets." I'm the only person I know who has a cold larder (and a refrigerator and a freezer, too). Refrigerators have been in most homes here since the early 1960s at least. "Fresh fruits are scarce". They haven't been scarce for the last 30 years at least. These days you can even get exotic fruits like ramboutan and mangosteen. "Cattle are mainly used for dairy products, rarely for beef." Beef is now as common as lamb. "Pigs are all but nonexistent; pork is rare and expensive and said to have a fishy taste ..." Now common, inexpensive by Icelandic standards and quite good. "Icelanders have a deeply rooted objection to eating birds of any type" - oh, come on, chicken was not much eaten but not because people didn't like it, rather because it wasn't economical to raise the birds on imported grain. They are very popular now. And wild birds have always been eaten - in some regions they were a large part of the diet. "... margarine and butter (all unsalted)". Totally wrong. Both margarine and butter is almost always salted. "Salt is seldom added (to food)" Wrong. Salt is added to most savory food and many people salt their food liberally. "Preferring to talk in separate groups, men and women disperse after the meal, it still being considered "odd" or "forward" if women join in men's conversations." Possibly in the 1950s; certianly not now. Flatbrauð (rye griddle cakes) is never ever served with sugar or preserves, always with butter and meat or cheese. Steiktir partar are not "thin wafer-like pastries filled with sweetened whipped cream" but fairly thick, flat wheatcakes, deep-fried in fat and eaten cold with butter and often meat or cheese, never a sweet topping. I could go on and on - there are so many errors here. Reading this book made me realize once again how much Icelandic cuisine and society has changed during the last 30-40 years and the same is true for most other Western nations. This book is supposedly revised and updated but these updates seem to have been minimal in the chapters I've looked at so far (the only sources cited for Iceland that are published after 1967 are The New York Times 1998 Almanac and the Lonely Planet guide). Unfortunately I feel this is a reference work that I can not trust - it is so inaccurate and out of date.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
DECEPCIONADO,
By "hansnied" (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews
This review is from: You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions Revised and expanded second edition (Hardcover)
Me encanta leer libros de cocina y pense que este sería "el libro" para conocer arte y costumbres culinarias de otros paises. Como soy originario de México y ahora vivo en Brasil, lo primero que leí fue lo referente a estoa paises. QUE DECEPCIÓN!La idea del libro es excelente y seguramente la autora tuvo que viajar, leer y estudiar mucho, pero pienso que debió haber pedido ayuda a que revisaran sus capítulos personas conocedoras de cada país o región. Tiene muchos errores históricos, geográficos, culinarios y de ortografía del idioma original. Estoy preparando una lista de ellos que posteriormente enviaré. La felicito por su dedicación, perodes graciadamente el resultado no es del todo bueno. Hans Rio de Janeiro/Brasil
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Coverage of India was a total disappointment,
This review is from: You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions Revised and expanded second edition (Hardcover)
Reading a very favorable review in New York Times, I bought the book without even opening it at the book store. As I am researching on the cooking of my home state in India, I was hopeful of finding a lot of information in it. But to my great disappointment, several historical facts were incorrect. Thelma Barer-Stein began the historical narrative on India by saying that all foreign conquerers came to Delhi.History reminds us that the Poruguese navigator Vaso da Gama arrived not at Delhi, but at the other end of India, at Calicut, in the state of Kerala. The Romans, Greek, Syrians and the Arabs had invaded the southern part of Inida way before that. About religion she says" Greek thinking in 300 BC and Buddhisam in 200 BC was followed by Hindu beliefs". First of all Hinduism was there first, and Buddhisam originated India, both before the invation of the Greeks. About food, the statement "fruits and vegetables are eaten in season only sapraingly; more consumed in the form of pickles, condiments and chutneys" is totally wrong, written by someone who has not tasted the varied and rich vegetarian cuisine of India. Then she goes on to write about several fruits, completely ignoring India's favorite fruit the mango. Finally the statement "In Cochin, in Kerala province, foods are very plain, and rice and coffee prevail. Rice, fish and vegetables and seafood make up the diet..." is waht is prompting me to write this review. Probably the author only ate these foods in Cochin; but as a native of Cochin and a life long vegetarian, I can assure you that our vegetarian cuisine is neither very plain not very bland. Our vegetable crop is enriched by the centuries long foreign invasions. There were several other incorrect facts in the chapter. I did not read any other chapters and my comments are strictly about the chapter on India. But I have to say I was very disappointed and returned the book the very next day.I understand the author undertook a herculian effort study the food and culture of the world. This book makes one realize how vast and uncomprehensible the subject is.
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