Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony (Paperback)

by Madeleine Pelner Cosman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Any even faintly literary types, be they cook or history buff, should be absolutely delighted with this book. -- Julia Child, Boston Globe

Product Description
What did people who lived during the Middle Ages eat? How did they eat? Dr. Cosman proves just how endlessly intriguing the answers to these questions are in this fascinating exploration of medieval food habits in service, table manners, menu, and courtly magnificence. Also provided are tempting recipes for the modern-day host and hostess who would like to delight their guests with a medieval feast. Fabulous Feasts received nominations for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: George Braziller (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080760898X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807608982
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #640,982 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not at all accurate!, August 21, 2000

By	MemElaina (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

Buy this book for the illustrations if you want, but don't be lured into believing that the scholarship is accurate! Cosman does NOT document her recipes (as a matter of fact, she has admitted in lectures to making some of them up), she does not give original recipes and sources, and she continually substitutes ingredients and methods unknown in Europe in the Renaissance. This book is old and the "fantasy" research is long outdated by the excellent work of Hieatt, Santich, Redon, Scully, and the like.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Information of varying accuracy, no supporting documents., December 3, 1997

By	[e-mail] (New York City, USA) - See all my reviews

Lots of information about food preparation and laws in medieval Europe, including modern "adaptations" of medieval recipes. Unfortunately, many of these adaptations are extremely loose, e.g. not showing the original recipe being "adapted", and using ingredients that don't remotely resemble anything available in medieval Europe. Enormous bibliography, but no indication of which source any given recipe or statement came from, so there's no way to check their accuracy.

On the positive side, the book includes many quotations from sumptuary and sanitation laws, which give insight into medieval food practices.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Medieval - It's Not, March 3, 2003

By	"robertwestfall" (NY,) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony (Hardcover)

Although this book claims to be a historical reference about 1500c cookery it is not an accurate reference. The recipies are not historically accurate, and the book does not provide the original recipes. [bad], "exploitive", "fantasy" are words that my wife (a food historian) uses to describe this book.

Recommend anything by terrance scully.