A History of Food

Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781444305142
• Edition: 2
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: History

A HISTORY OF FOOD

This classic work is an exploration and celebration of man's relationship with food from earliest times to the present day. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat tells the story of cuisine and the social history of food, taking in fascinating, little-known byways along the journey. For instance, we learn that Aztecs enjoyed chocolate as a drink with chilli and honey; we discover the Iroquois origins of popcorn; we hear about the potential culinary and farming uses of lupin seeds. Toussaint-Samat looks at the transition from a vegetable-based to an increasingly meat-based diet, as well as at the relationship between people and what they eat, between particular foods and social behavior, and between dietary habits and methods of cooking.

This new expanded edition includes a foreword by food writer, Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn and Raising Steaks, a new final chapter covering recent developments in food production and consumption around the world, and an updated bibliography. Beautifully illustrated with nearly 70 illustrations and new color plates, A History of Food will continue to be read and enjoyed by a fresh generation of readers.

Table of contents

• Foreword to the New Expanded Edition
• Preface
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• PART I COLLECTING GATHERING HUNTING
• From Fire to the Pot
• 1 Collecting Honey
• Honey in the Golden Age
• A Taste of Honey
• Honey in Legend
• Honey in Nature and History
• Honey-Cakes, Spice-Bread, Gingerbread
• Mead and Sacramental Intoxication
• 2 The History of Gathering
• The Ancient Pulses
• The Symbolism of Beans
• The Etymology (and Entomology) of Haricot Beans
• The Holy War of Cassoulet
• Soya: the Most Widely Eaten Plant in the World
• Soya: Nutritional Facts and Figures
• Mushrooms and Fungi
• Roots
• Table 2.1 Vegetable Nutrition (The use made of fruits, leaves, stems, pulp, roots, seeds)
• 3 Hunting
• The Great Days and the Decline of Game
• Nutritional Facts and Figures about Game
• PART II Stock-breeding Arable Farming: Meat, Milk, Cereals
• The Evidence of Occupied Sites
• 4 The History of Meat
• The Birth of Stock-breeding and Society
• Table 4.1 Areas of Origin of the First Domestic Animals
• Meat-Eating: Likes and Dislikes
• The Horse, the Spirit of Corn
• Fat Oxen and Prosperous Butchers
• 5 The History of Dairy Produce
• Cheese and Curds
• Yoghurt: Fermented Milk
• Butter: the Cream of the Milk
• The Symbolism of Butter
• 6 The History of Cereals
• Cereals as Civilizers
• The Symbolism of Wheat
• Table 6.1 The Long March of Cereals
• Imperialist Cereals
• The Myth of Demeter
• Everyday Cereals
• Harvest Festivals
• Strategic Cereals
• Rice in the East
• The Symbolism of Rice
• Maize in the West
• Why Maize is Called ‘I Have No More Gumbo’
• Why Corn-Cobs are Thin and Small (Bororo myth)
• Zuni Legend of Maize Flour
• From Porridge to Beer
• The Technique of Brewing Beer
• The History of Pasta
• The History of Grain Spirits
• PART III The Three Sacramental Foods: Oil, Bread, Wine
• The Fundamental Trinity
• 7 The History of Oil
• Olive Oil
• The Dietary History of Olive Oil
• Olive Oil in Legend and Symbolism
• Making Olive Oil
• Other Oils
• Margarine
• 8 The History of Bread and Cakes
• The Bread on the Board
• The Symbolism of Bread and Cakes
• Four Stages in the Development of Bread-Making
• The Taste of Bread
• The Technique of Bread-Making
• Our Daily Bread
• Special Cakes for Sundays
• 9 The History of Wine
• From the Vine to Wine
• Dessert Grapes
• The Technique of Wine-Making
• The Symbolism of Wine
• The Legend of Dionysus
• The Proper Use of Wine
• Cooking with Wine
• Wine and God
• A Wine of Revolution
• PART IV The Economy of the Markets
• The Centre of the City
• 10 The History of Fish
• The Fish of the Ancient World
• A Who’s Who of Sea Fish
• The Salmonidae: a family of aristocrats
• Fishing in Legend
• Extravagance and Economy in Eating Fish
• The Symbolism of Fish
• Uses for Less Profitable Fish
• The Providential Nature of Salt Fish
• Drying, Salting and Smoking Fish; an Age-Old Procedure
• Table 10.1 The Nutritional Values of Fish
• Aquaculture and Pisciculture: Fish Farming
• Blue Europe, or the Common Fish Market
• From Fishing to Our Plates
• Table 10.2 The Economic and Social Potential of a Common Fishing Zone of 1,240,000 sq km
• 11 The History of Poultry
• Facts about Poultry
• Choosing Poultry
• The Symbolism of Poultry
• Eggs: their Uses and Customs
• PART V Luxury Foods
• The Revels of the Gauls
• 12 Treasures from the Sea
• The History of Garum
• The History of Caviare
• A Who’s Who of Caviare
• How to Keep Caviare Happy
• The History of Shellfish and Crustaceans
• Facts about Crustaceans
• The History of Shellfish-Farming
• The Biology of the Oyster
• The Biology of the Mussel
• 13 The Treasure of the Forests
• The History of Pork and Charcuterie
• About Ham
• Sausages
• The Symbolism of the Pig
• The History of Foie Gras
• Facts about Foie Gras
• The Symbolism of Liver
• The History of Truffles
• PART VI The Era of the Merchants
• Making a Good Profit
• 14 An Essential Food
• The History of Salt
• The Symbolism of Salt
• The Technique of Winning Salt
• 15 Spice at Any Price
• About Spices
• The Secrets of Spices
• Cinnamon
• Pepper
• Ginger
• Turmeric and Cardamom
• Cloves
• The Great Trading Companies
• Nutmeg and Mace
• Chillies and Sweet Peppers
• Aromatics and the Imagination
• Saffron
• Vanilla
• Everyday Condiments and Herbs
• Herbs
• The Proper Use of Spices, Aromatics and Condiments
• The Grocer’s Trade
• PART VII New Needs
• Gluttony and Greed for Gain
• 16 The Lure of Sugar
• Rum, A Sugar Spirit
• The Legend of Sugar
• 17 Confectionery and Preserves
• 18 Chocolate and Divinity
• Definitions of Chocolate
• 19 Coffee and Politics
• Coffee from the Islands
• Coffee in Legend
• 20 Tea and Philosophy
• Tea in Legend
• The Symbolism of Tea
• PART VIII
• Instructions for the Garden
• 21 The Tradition of Fruits
• The Symbolism of the Apple
• Grafting
• Dessert Apples
• Table 21.1 Production of Apples in EC Countries, 1982–3 (in thousands of tonnes)
• Cider and Calvados
• Pears
• Plums
• Peaches
• The Peach in Legend
• Apricots
• The Dietetics of Apricots
• Cherries
• The Dietetics of Cherries
• Strawberries
• Melons
• Oranges
• Growing and Selling Oranges
• A Who’s Who of Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Figs
• The Symbolism of Figs and The Fig Tree
• Dates
• Pineapples
• Bananas
• Avocados
• 22 The Evolution of Vegetables
• Cabbages
• Cauliflowers
• Salad
• Chicory and Endive
• Watercress
• Asparagus
• Growing Asparagus
• Artichokes
• Tomatoes
• 23 The Potato Revolution
• Sweet Chestnuts
• Potatoes
• Soufflé Potatoes
• PART IX
• The Hows and Whys of Quality
• 24 Preserving by Heat
• Canned Sardines
• The Technique of Canning
• Food Preservation
• Pasteurized Milk
• 25 Preserving by Cold
• Quick-Freezing
• 26 The Reassurance of Dietetics
• Vitamins
• Chronology of Dietary Progress (first occurrences known from dated archeological evidence)
• 27 A Reassuring Future
• Notes
• Select Bibliography of Recent English-Language Works
• Bibliography to Original Edition
• Index
• Colour Plate