Tannahill takes us on an enthralling journey across history, from prehistoric times to the Industrial revolution, from the perspective of food, cuisine, food production and agriculture. It is an unfortunate sign of the times that history has almost been disassociated with food - probably because in the West food has stopped being a worry for many decades (yes, only decades!), something that will cause us many a problem in the future. This book takes us through the detailed history of almost every major crop, vegetable, beverage, foodstuff and spice, detailing the cuisines of Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, China, the Americas, Africa etc etc. Most studies of the type "X in history" I find too Eurocentric to be considered truly useful and broad-reaching. This one isn't, it truly covers the world.
She tells of how things came about in a very lively, warm and witty manner. The book will teach you lots of interesting pieces of trivia, but it is NOT a trivia book. It manages to concisely, intelligently yet freshly cover over 100,000 years of food history, no small achievement!
Definitely recommended to all who eat, because the political, historical, economic and cultural implications of what's on our plate are things of no small importance. |
Food in History Books In Print, Audio Books.