Food

An array of authorities demonstrate the link among culinary custom and social life, religious belief and our most enduring habits.

Exploring culinary evolution and eating habits in a cornucopia of cultures from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America and from the Byzantine Empire to Jewish Mediterranean culture in the Middle Ages, Food: A Culinary History is a rich banquet for readers. Culinary customs, the writers reveal, offer great insight into societies past and present.

Introduction to the Original EditionOne: Prehistory and Early CivilizationsIntroduction: The Humanization of Eating Behaviors, by Jean-Louis Flandrin1. Feeding Strategies in Prehistoric Times, by Catherine Perles2. The Social Function of Banquets in the Earliest Civilizations, by Francis Joannes3. Food Culture in Ancient Egypt, by Edda Bresciani4. Biblical Reasons: The Dietary Rules of the Ancient Hebrews, by Jean Soler5. The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians: The Early Mediterranean Diet, by Antonella Spano GiammellaroTwo: The Classical WorldIntroduction: Food Systems and Models of Civilization, by Massimo Montanari6. Urban and Rural Diets in Greece, by Marie-Claire Amouretti7. Greek Meals: A Civic Ritual, by Pauline Schmitt-Pantel8. The Culture of the Symposium, by Massimo Vetta9. The Diet of the Etruscans, by Giuseppe Sassatelli10. The Grammar of Roman Dining, by Florence Dupont11. The Broad Bean and the Moray: Social Hierarchies and Food in Rome, by Mireille Corbier12. Diet and Medicine in the Ancient World, by Innocenzo Mazzini13. The Food of Others, by Oddone LongoThree: From the Late Classical Period to the Early Middle Ages (Fifth--Tenth Centuries)Introduction: Romans, Barbarians, Christians--The Dawn of European Food Culture, by Massimo Montanari14. Production Structures and Food Systems in the Early Middle Ages, by Massimo Montanari15. Peasants, Warriors, Priests: Images of Society and Styles of Diet, by Massimo MontanariFour: Westerners and OthersIntroduction: Food Models and Cultural Identity, by Massimo Montanari16. Christians of the East: Rules and Realities of the Byzantine Diet, by Ewald Kislinger17. Arab Cooking and Its Contribution to European Culture, by Bernard Rosenberger18. Mediterranean Jewish Diet and Traditions in the Middle Ages, by Miguel-Angel Motis DoladerFive: The Late Middle Ages (Eleventh--Fourteenth Centuries)Introduction: Toward a New Dietary Balance, by Massimo Montanari19. Society, Food, and Feudalism, by Antoni Riera-Melis20. Self-Sufficiency and the Market: Rural and Urban Diet in the Middle Ages, by Alfio Cortonesi21. Food Trades, by Francoise Desportes22. The Origins of Public Hostelries in Europe, by Hans Conrad Peyer23. Medieval Cooking, by Bruno Laurioux24. Food and Social Classes in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy, by Allen J. Grieco25. Seasoning, Cooking, and Dietetics in the Late Middle Ages, by Jean-Louis Flandrin26. "Mind Your Manners": Etiquette at the Table, by Daniela Romagnoli27. From Hearth to Table: Late Medieval Cooking Equipment, by Francoise PiponnierSix: The Europe of Nation-States (Fifteenth--Eighteenth Centuries)Introduction: The Early Modern Period, by Jean-Louis Flandrin28. Growing without Knowing Why: Production, Demographics, and Diet, by Michel Morineau29. Colonial Beverages and the Consumption of Sugar, by Alain Huetz de Lemps30. Printing the Kitchen: French Cookbooks, 1480--1800, by Philip Hyman and Mary Hyman31. Dietary Choices and Culinary Technique, 1500--1800, by Jean-Louis Flandrin32. From Dietetics to Gastronomy: The Liberation of the Gourmet, by Jean-Louis FlandrinSeven: The Contemporary Period (Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries)Introduction: From Industrial Revolution to Industrial Food, by Jean-Louis Flandrin33. The Transformation of the European Diet, by Hans Jurgen Teuteberg and Jean-Louis Flandrin34. The Invasion of Foreign Foods, by Yves Pehaut35. The Rise of the Restaurant, by Jean-Robert Pitte36. The Food Industry and New Preservation Techniques, by Giorgio Pedrocco37. The Taste for Canned and Preserved Food, by Alberto Capatti38. The Emergence of Regional Cuisines, by Julia Csergo39. The Perils of Abundance: Food, Health, and Morality in American History, by Harry A. Levenstein40. The "McDonaldization" of Culture, by Claude FischlerConclusion: Today and Tomorrow, by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari