Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food & People (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Tracing the connection between major historical events and their affect on different culinary traditions, this hearty meal of 12 "courses" explains everything from how the Franch gained their gastronomic stature to the roots of American cuisine..." (Sante)

"...Based on the sweep self-assurance and verve exhibited in this book, subtitled "A History of Food and People,: we will be reading more of and from her. "Ah," you say "a game of trivia." Not really, it's too satisfying." (Chicago Tribune)

Product Description

An illuminating account of how history shapes our diets
Throughout history, food has played a critical and defining part in individual cultures and the overall development of civilization. Cuisine and Culture presents an engaging, informative, and amazing story of the interaction among history, culture, and food that draws connections between major historical events and how and why these events affected and defined the culinary traditions of different societies.
Covering prehistory and the earliest societies around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to today's celebrity chefs, Cuisine and Culture is a multicultural and multiethnic approach to food and history, providing enlightening answers to many such questions as:
* How did the French establish a notable reputation in world cuisine?
* Where does American cuisine have its roots?
* How has food been used to control populations and as a weapon during war?
* How did the Romans come to believe cinnamon grew in swamps guarded by giant killer bats?
* Why did some restaurants print their own money?
Complete with sample recipes and menus, as well as revealing photographs and illustrations, Cuisine and Culture is an important resource for people interested in food history.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (August 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471202800
• ISBN-13: 978-0471202806
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #811,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, witty, and a great addition to your cookbook library!, January 12, 2006

By	Christopher Lauderdale "ChefBoyRD" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am the Director of a culinary school in Southern California. We have been using Tannahill's text for our Food History course; that is until Cuisine and Culture was published. While Tannahill provides a deeply detailed timeline, with links to historical events, and is quite a scholarly tome, convincing our students to actually read the book has been an uphill battle. Cuisine and Culture changed all that. This book belies Civitello's true passion for food, delights our students, and serves as the perfect complement to our World Civilization course. It is full of fascinating side-notes, dispels many urban legends (the recipe for Coca Cola is not a secret; it can be found on page 209), and provides historically accurate recipes that our students then make and bring into class. I especially like the time she spends on the 20th century, and her conjectures on the future of food. Probably not the right book for one pursuing a PhD in food history, but definitely for anyone who loves food!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, January 13, 2004

By	Teresa Amos (Burbank, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was very pleased by the amount of information on history and culture provided by this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and had trouble putting it down. The book is interesting, easy to read and highly informative. I had certainly never realized how our past has been shaped by our cuisine. I strongly recommend this book to everyone - not just history or food buffs.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vice President - Pro*Act Specialties, January 30, 2004

By	Gwen K. Gulliksen (USA) - See all my reviews

What I most love about this book is the wonderfully witty tone in which it is written. I found myself chuckling throughout. It encapusulates history very well making me excited to read more. Civetello has a fresh style and brings exciting new research to the table so that even well schooled chefs will be surprised. Linda's book is proof that the beauty of the food profession is that there is alwyas something new to learn!
Great reference list!