Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When did we first serve meals at regular hours? Why did we begin using individual plates and utensils to eat? When did "cuisine" become a concept and how did we come to judge food by its method of preparation, manner of consumption, and gastronomic merit?

Food: A Culinary History explores culinary evolution and eating habits from prehistoric times to the present, offering surprising insights into our social and agricultural practices, religious beliefs, and most unreflected habits. The volume dispels myths such as the tale that Marco Polo brought pasta to Europe from China, that the original recipe for chocolate contained chili instead of sugar, and more. As it builds its history, the text also reveals the dietary rules of the ancient Hebrews, the contributions of Arabic cookery to European cuisine, the table etiquette of the Middle Ages, and the evolution of beverage styles in early America. It concludes with a discussion on the McDonaldization of food and growing popularity of foreign foods today.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction to the Original Edition
• 1 Prehistory and Early Civilizations
• Introduction: The Humanization of Eating Behaviors
• 1 Feeding Strategies in Prehistoric Times
• 2 The Social Function of Banquets in the Earliest Civilizations
• 3 Food Culture in Ancient Egypt
• 4 Biblical Reasons: The Dietary Rules of the Ancient Hebrews
• 5 The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians: The Early Mediterranean Diet
• 2 The Classical World
• Introduction: Food Systems and Models of Civilization
• 6 Urban and Rural Diets in Greece
• 7 Greek Meals: A Civic Ritual
• 8 The Culture of the Symposium
• 9 The Diet of the Etruscans
• 10 The Grammar of Roman Dining
• 11 The Broad Bean and the Moray: Social Hierarchies and Food in Rome
• 12 Diet and Medicine in the Ancient World
• 13 The Food of Others
• 3 From the Late Classical Period to the Early Middle Ages (Fifth-Tenth Centuries)
• Introduction: Romans, Barbarians, Christians-The Dawn of European Food Culture
• 14 Production Structures and Food Systems in the Early Middle Ages
• 15 Peasants, Warriors, Priests: Images of Society and Styles of Diet
• 4 Westerners and Others
• Introduction: Food Models and Cultural Identity
• 16 Christians of the East: Rules and Realities of the Byzantine Diet
• 17 Arab Cooking and Its Contribution to European Culture
• 18 Mediterranean Jewish Diet and Traditions in the Middle Ages
• 5 The Late Middle Ages (Eleventh-Fourteenth Centuries)
• Introduction: Toward a New Dietary Balance
• 19 Society, Food, and Feudalism
• 20 Self-Sufficiency and the Market: Rural and Urban Diet in the Middle Ages
• 21 Food Trades
• 22 The Origins of Public Hostelries in Europe
• 23 Medieval Cooking
• 24 Food and Social Classes in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy
• 25 Seasoning, Cooking, and Dietetics in the Late Middle Ages
• 26 "Mind Your Manners": Etiquette at the Table
• 27 From Hearth to Table: Late Medieval Cooking Equipment
• 6 The Europe of Nation-States (Fifteenth-Eighteenth Centuries)
• Introduction: The Early Modern Period
• 28 Growing without Knowing Why: Production, Demographics, and Diet
• 29 Colonial Beverages and the Consumption of Sugar
• 30 Printing the Kitchen: French Cookbooks, 1480-1800
• 31 Dietary Choices and Culinary Technique, 1500-1800
• 32 From Dietetics to Gastronomy: The Liberation of the Gourmet
• 7 The Contemporary Period (Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries)
• Introduction: From Industrial Revolution to Industrial Food
• 33 The Transformation of the European Diet
• 34 The Invasion of Foreign Foods
• 35 The Rise of the Restaurant
• 36 The Food Industry and New Preservation Techniques
• 37 The Taste for Canned and Preserved Food
• 38 The Emergence of Regional Cuisines
• 39 The Perils of Abundance: Food, Health, and Morality in American History
• 40 The "McDonaldization" of Culture
• Conclusion: Today and Tomorrow

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This English-language edition of L'Histoire de l'alimentation (1996) is an entertaining and informative addition to the study of food and the customs that surround it. The 40 essays comprising this volume were written by historians from various countries and focus primarily on the food history of Europe. The essays are arranged by time period, from prehistoric to modern times, with the bulk of the work concentrating on the medieval period and before. Introductory essays for each section provide a brief overview of the time period and its issues. This is an excellent compilation of consistently well-written articles on a wide range of topics, including the dietary rules of the ancient Hebrews, the origins of the restaurant, and the contribution of Arab cooking to European culture. Recommended for anyone interested in European social history in general and food history in particular. [Bibliographical references and index not seen.]ÄMary Martin, Manchester, NH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Review

YA-The editors have diligently researched and presented the evolution of food, meals, and eating customs from the first prehistoric hunters to the fast-food chains of today, and show how they all have had an impact on culture in general. The fact that social status, geography, diseases, families, and religion have influenced the history of food is also covered. For example, the Black Plague is credited for the use of individual portions rather than a community plate. The chronologically arranged essays are written by different experts in the fields. While the emphasis is strongly European, some Asian influences are mentioned. Although written in a sophisticated manner, this is a thorough, up-to-date overview of a universally appealing topic.- Myra Tabish, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Albert Sonnenfeld has emended Flandrin and Montanari's original French opus to produce this English edition of an anthology particularly useful for students beginning a study of food history. The volume seeks sensible explanations for ancient eating practices, such as the Israelites' elaborate dietary laws. Christianity's triumph in the late Roman Empire contributed to the world of cookery a desacralization of meat so that it became an everyday item at exactly the same time that Germanic herders had begun to increase the supply of red meat in Roman markets. By the thirteenth century, kitchen career specializations such as cookie makers were already recognized. Laurioux's chapter on medieval cookery explains helpfully how to interpret recipes from the era. Although the book does not address the cooking of the Far East except insofar as it has been imported to the West, dabblers in the history of food will find copious readings here to satisfy their curiosity. --Mark Knoblauch

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Jean-Louis Flandrin is professor emeritus at the University of Paris VIII-Vincennes.

Massimo Montanari is professor of medieval history and the history of food at the Institute of Paleography and Medieval Studies, University of Bologna.