Cultural studies: food and society Books

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Book SynopsisOn Mount Desert Island, Maine, winter can mean six months of isolation and tough times, as year-round residents hunker down through the cold season. Larry Stettner and Bill Morrison vowed to change that. In November 2009, the Common Good Soup Kitchen opened its doors to the public, offering free soup as well as live music and a place for locals to gather, interact, and help each other. In its first winter of operation, the Common Good served over 10,000 bowls of soup to the community. Run entirely by donations, grants, and volunteer labor, the café also runs a distribution program to deliver soup to senior residences and others who cannot make it out to the café.In Cooking for the Common Good, Stettner and Morrison argue that we need to radically rethink the concept of the soup kitchen, emphasizing true community building along with incorporating healthy and locally sourced food. The book includes a lively third-person narrative telling the story of how the Common Good Soup Kitchen was created; the authors'' unique cooking philosophy; some of their most popular soup and salad recipes; and a full appendix with resources and a sample grant application for others interested in starting their own soup kitchen."Today access to whole foods, local organic foods, and sustainable fisheries is more important than ever for our well-being. But, because of economic inequities, good whole food is once again hard to get. Organic foods are largely available to the wealthiest and most privileged among us. Let us break down the bastions and make natural, whole food—including organically based soups—for everyone."—from chapter 2, "The Soup Manifesto"

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Book SynopsisA culinary history of the seven food staples that have shaped human history, including 63 original recipesThe Seven Culinary Wonders of the World is a global culinary history told through the stories of seven essential ingredients found in cuisines all over the world: honey, salt, chile, pork, rice, cacao, and tomato. Each of these foundational ingredients has played a long and valuable role in human foodways and culture, and each has its own fascinating history.This engagingly illustrated book traces the journeys of these foodstuffs as they were transported from their regions of origin to faraway cultures and countries, there to take up starring roles in new cuisines. The Seven Culinary Wonders of the World explores each food in depth, beautifully illustrated by specially commissioned artworks, and views them through a number of prisms--social, cultural, historical, and botanical--to offer readers fresh, informative insights into seemingly everyday foods that reveal themselves as wondrous. The rich and diverse cultural stories of these seven ingredients are also told, from the magical and aphrodisiac powers associated with cacao in Mesoamerican culture to the introduction of tomatoes to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century and the earliest cultivation of rice in China's Pearl Valley. Readers can take the seven ingredients into their own kitchens via 63 original recipes for dishes both traditional and innovative.

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Book SynopsisDroves of people have turned to local food as a way to retreat from our broken industrial food system. From rural outposts to city streets, they are sowing, growing, selling, and eating food produced close to home—and they are crying out for agricultural reform. All this has made "local food" into everything from a movement buzzword to the newest darling of food trendsters. But now it's time to take the conversation to the next level. That's exactly what Philip Ackerman-Leist does in Rebuilding the Foodshed, in which he refocuses the local-food lens on the broad issue of rebuilding regional food systems that can replace the destructive aspects of industrial agriculture, meet food demands affordably and sustainably, and be resilient enough to endure potentially rough times ahead. Changing our foodscapes raises a host of questions. How far away is local? How do you decide the size and geography of a regional foodshed? How do you tackle tough issues that plague food systems large and small—issues like inefficient transportation, high energy demands, and rampant food waste? How do you grow what you need with minimum environmental impact? And how do you create a foodshed that's resilient enough if fuel grows scarce, weather gets more severe, and traditional supply chains are hampered? Showcasing some of the most promising, replicable models for growing, processing, and distributing sustainably grown food, this book points the reader toward the next stages of the food revolution. It also covers the full landscape of the burgeoning local-food movement, from rural to suburban to urban, and from backyard gardens to large-scale food enterprises.Trade ReviewPublishers Weekly- For a somewhat wonky book about food policy, Rebuilding the Foodshed is unusually humorous and open-minded. Vermont farmer and professor Ackerman-Leist ruminates his way through the conundrums and possibilities of local food, demonstrating how words and their definitions can shed light on and transform our understanding of the rapidly evolving, often confusing, emotion-fraught questions of what people eat, where the food comes from, who has access to what, and how the answers to these questions affect the lives of eaters and growers. Let’s call food production farming, he suggests. “Farming is about energy flows. ‘Food production’ is about a terminal point in the act of agriculture.” He finds solutions in the actions of pioneers of food production, distribution, and education, including D-Town Farm—a “step into transcendence” in a deteriorating Detroit suburb that recycles waste to grow vegetables and mushrooms, harvest honey, and help revitalize the devastated local economy. Ackerman-Leist also examines New North Florida Cooperative’s farm-to-school program. With insight, he demonstrates how communities can bridge and transcend the “false divides” he pinpoints in the local-food conversation: urban/rural, small-scale/large-scale, local/international, and all/nothing.ForeWord Reviews- From the Acknowledgements section on, Philip Ackerman-Leist’s newest book is highly enjoyable, sincere, and informative. An associate professor at Vermont’s Green Mountain College, Ackerman-Leist heads up the Farm and Food Project at the college and has years of experience in homesteading. So, when he asks questions about sustainable and local food, it is from a deeply personal perspective. Readers will appreciate the well-researched arguments and examples, as well as the academician behind them. Ackerman-Leist embarks on a personal challenge to define these buzzword categories of “local” and “sustainable.” He exhaustively tackles all of the logistics of creating a truly local food system as he engages and entertains readers. Key to Ackerman-Leist’s goals is engaging more members of the community in local food initiatives. Addressing the growing problem of food insecurity as it relates to underutilized or lack of local food systems, as well as taking on the food justice issue, must be priorities for concerned locavores. In searching for answers, he highlights several groundbreaking citizen/producer-owned programs as well as problematic status quo operations. Getting healthy food into the hands of all people requires that we pull the elitist label off of anyone who has an interest in healthy, local food. The author’s writing style entirely succeeds in making an academic line of questioning feel fun, relevant, and accessible to all who are interested. Ultimately, this is a great book that will catapult readers into a highly critical understanding of the many complex issues with food and localized agriculture in the United States, as well as offer possible solutions. Ackerman-Leist writes with lively panache, an unlikely but somehow well-suited style for talk of such serious problems. This book is highly recommended for anyone who hopes to be part of the evolution.Choice- "The third volume in the Community Resilience Guide series, this book explores themes similar to those in Michael Bryan's Food Security and Paul Roberts's The End of Food. Just as Michael Carolan recognizes in The Real Cost of Cheap Food, Ackerman-Leist (environmental studies, Green Mountain College) acknowledges the complex, confusing issues associated with local food, without detracting from its counterpoints. Much of Ackerman-Leist's argument focuses on how a locavore approach is articulated within a larger food production cycle. The book is divided into three sections. Part 1, 'Dilemmas,' presents several questions related to the meaning of local food. Sections titled 'Drivers for Rebuilding Local Food Systems' and 'New Directions' follow. 'Drivers' provides excellent discussions of energy and the environment and a fresh look at the implications of food security and food justice, addressing topics such as equitable access, agricultural workers, and different agricultural commodities. The concluding section examines sometimes neglected areas, including current agricultural education or the role of incubator farms, before expanding the concept of local food into community-based food. Ackerman-Leist's task is not simple, but his approach is stimulating and worthwhile. Summing Up: Recommended.""Now that it’s not just acceptable but fashionable to write about local food systems, lots of people do it. Few pay close attention, however, as Ackerman-Leist does in this volume, to the variously shaped components successful local systems will require and the multiple efforts around the country working to create them. A wise, informed, and thoroughly useful book."--Joan Gussow, author of Growing, Older and This Organic Life"By now we have all learned that local food is about much more than food miles. Philip Ackerman-Leist has eloquently helped us to understand just how comprehensive the concept is: how our food system must be redesigned if it is to be reliable and resilient, how that design must be guided by principles of ecology, justice, health, and humility, and how to put such theories into practice for farmers, chefs, consumers, and communities. A practical guide for anyone interested in imagining our food systems of the future."--Frederick Kirschenmann, author of Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer/Philosopher"The future of food is local. But how do we transition from our current globalized, supermarket-centered food world to one that's human-scaled and ecosystem-friendly? This book shows how communities across America are reclaiming the ability to feed themselves. It's inspiring as well as informative. If you eat, you really should read it."--Richard Heinberg, author of The End of Growth and Peak Everything"Rebuilding the Foodshed introduces readers to local food systems in all their complexities. In moving from industrial to regional food systems, communities must consider an enormous range of factors, from geographic to socioeconomic. Difficult as doing this may be, this book makes it clear that the results are well worth the effort in their benefits to farmers and farm workers as well as eaters."--Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of What to Eat "Phillip Ackerman-Leist has been in the trenches of food-systems change for well over a decade, from farm to school. Now he has elegantly laid out the principles of how to redesign foodsheds for greater food security, justice, and energy efficiency, while engaging communities in making tangible innovations on the ground. He is undoubtedly in the best place to address these issues, since Vermont communities have accomplished more food relocalization than those in any other state."--Gary Paul Nabhan, pioneer in the food relocalization movement, author of Coming Home to Eat and Renewing America's Food Traditions Table of Contents1. Location, location, values 2. The geography of local 3. How far should local go? 4. Energy 5. Environment 6. Food security 7. Food justice 8. Biodiversity 9. Market value 10. Marketplace values 11. Bringing it all back home 12. Collaborative possibilities 13. Farmland security 14. Bridging the divides

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Book SynopsisMals, Italy, has long been known as the breadbasket of the Tyrol. But recently the tiny town became known for something else entirely. A Precautionary Tale tells us why, introducing readers to an unlikely group of activists and a forward-thinking mayor who came together to ban pesticides in Mals by a referendum vote—making it the first place on Earth to accomplish such a feat, and a model for other towns and regions to follow. For hundreds of years, the people of Mals had cherished their traditional foodways and kept their local agriculture organic. Their town had become a mecca for tourists drawn by the alpine landscape, the rural and historic character of the villages, and the fine breads, wines, cheeses, herbs, vegetables, and the other traditional foods they produced. Yet Mals is located high up in the eastern Alps, and the valley below was being steadily overtaken by big apple producers, heavily dependent on pesticides. As Big Apple crept further and further up the region’s mountainsides, their toxic spray drifted with the valley’s ever-present winds and began to fall on the farms and fields of Mals—threatening their organic certifications, as well as their health and that of their livestock. The advancing threats gradually motivated a diverse cast of characters to take action—each in their own unique way, and then in concert in an iconic display of direct democracy in action. As Ackerman-Leist recounts their uprising, we meet an organic dairy farmer who decides to speak up when his hay is poisoned by drift; a pediatrician who engaged other medical professionals to protect the soil, water, and air that the health of her patients depends upon; a hairdresser whose salon conversations mobilized the town’s women in an extraordinarily conceived campaign; and others who together orchestrated one of the rare revolutionary successes of our time and inspired a movement now snaking its way through Europe and the United States. A foreword by Vandana Shiva calls upon others to follow in Mals’s footsteps.Trade ReviewBooklist— "Northern Italy’s South Tyrol province is at a cultural crossroads where the Swiss, Austrians, and Italians have all claimed the region’s fertile slopes. The latest struggle for the area is agricultural, pitting organic farmers against Big Apple, the opposition’s nickname for a cooperative of fruit growers who spray pesticides on their high-tech orchards up to 20 times per year. Due to frequent winds, Big Apple’s pesticides drift into the adjacent organic fields, harming the income and reputation of farmers who pledged to be chemical-free. Thanks to its remoteness, Mals, a municipality in South Tyrol, has been out of Big Apple’s reach, but the construction of industrial orchards is approaching. This is the story of Mals and its successful, preemptive campaign to ban pesticides within the township borders. With profiles of organic farmers, descriptions of traditional foods, and accounts of creative local politics, the book will appeal to readers who enjoy reading encouraging stories of grassroots environmental action. A short 'activist’s primer' is included." Publishers Weekly— "In this down-to-earth volume on the effects of pesticides, Ackerman-Leist (Rebuilding the Foodshed), a farmer and professor at Green Mountain College, chronicles the agricultural battles waged in Mals, a town in the Italian Alps filling fast with apple orchards. Residents had grown accustomed to the 'gradual march of the orchards up the slopes' but were dismayed by the 'enveloping mists blasted from the spray machines mounted on the back of the advancing tractors.' Ackerman-Leist profiles some of the crucial actors in Mals’s fight against 'Big Apple,' during which the residents of Mals passed a referendum vote to ban pesticides. He introduces Günther Wallnöfer, an organic dairy farmer whose family business sat adjacent to a new orchard; residue from the orchard’s chemical sprays had found its way to Wallnöfer’s livestock. Ackerman-Leist also talks with Peter Gasser, a veterinarian who interacted daily with farmers and livestock. As a result of this work Gasser had a thorough knowledge of the community’s issues, which he would later use to help lead the fight against pesticides in the town. Ackerman-Leist argues that Mals’s story has particular relevance for American farmers who face similar circumstances, and he concludes his discussion with useful suggestions for farming communities on topics such as information gathering and political engagement.”Foreword Reviews- "Focusing on a region of the Alps where farming has been a mainstay for millennia, this book examines a successful grassroots movement to ban pesticides…. A Precautionary Tale is an optimistic read with an enthusiastic and celebratory tone. Activists will find it inspiring, and community leaders in a position to take the example of Mals may see in it a blueprint for peaceful, calm, and productive civil discussion around the environment."“An inspiring tale of citizen science and community action.”—Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System“Ackerman-Leist tells the story of how a small town took on the powerful forces of chemical agriculture and not only won, but created a template that anyone seeking a poison-free environment anywhere in the world can follow.”—Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland and Pig Tales“Climate change, xenophobia, war, hunger, madmen and autocrats running the world. It’s easy to feel paralyzed when faced with the enormity of our modern dilemma. Philip Ackerman-Leist’s A Precautionary Tale gives us hope, and provides us with a real-life tale of regular folk who stood up to the Goliath that was about to swallow their community, and succeeded. This book is living proof that even against overwhelming odds we have enormous power in and around the places where we live.”—Michael Ableman, farmer and; author of Street Farm: Growing Food, Jobs, and Hope on the Urban Frontier“A Precautionary Tale is the hopeful message we all need! Philip Ackerman-Leist shows us that we still have the power, as citizens, to gather and change the reality of our daily lives. The people from Mals could be you and me. They have proven that working for empowerment is not in vain. Indeed, they have managed to defeat giant corporations. And they remind us that we can’t let despair or sadness paralyze us, that we can trust the strength of community, and that we must do our part and act.”—Perrine and Charles Hervé-Gruyer, authors of Miraculous Abundance“Many, many thanks to Philip Ackerman-Leist for telling us the wonderful story of Mals, the town in Italy that decided to ban the use of pesticides! This story is extremely inspiring for us all. It shows that there is a way out of the actual dependency of our agriculture on pesticides, and that a group of informed and active citizens, together with brave local politicians, can change the world for the better. May this excellent book inspire communities all around the world—and our politicians, too!”—François Veillerette, chair, Pesticide Action Network Europe

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Book SynopsisA prominent food scientist defends the use of raw milk in traditional artisan cheesemaking. Raw milk cheese—cheese made from unpasteurized milk—is an expansive category that includes some of Europe’s most beloved traditional styles: Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyère, and Comté, to name a few. In the United States, raw milk cheese forms the backbone of the resurgent artisan cheese industry, as consumers demand local, traditionally produced, and high-quality foods. Internationally award-winning artisan cheeses like Bayley Hazen Blue (Jasper Hill, VT) would have been unimaginable just forty years ago when American cheese meant Kraft Singles. Unfortunately the artisan cheese industry faces an existential regulatory threat. Over the past thirty years the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has edged toward an outright ban on raw milk cheeses. Their assault on traditional cheesemaking goes beyond a debate about raw milk safety; the FDA has also attempted to ban the use of wooden boards, the use of ash in cheese ripening, and has set stringent microbiological criteria that many artisan cheeses cannot meet. The David versus Goliath existence of small producers fighting crushing regulations is true in parts of Europe as well, where beloved creameries are going belly-up or being bought out because they can’t comply with EU health ordinances. Centuries-old cheese styles like Fourme d’Ambert and Cantal are nearing extinction, leading Prince Charles to decry the “bacteriological correctness” of European regulators. The dirty secret is that Listeria and other bacterial outbreaks occur in pasteurized cheeses more often than in raw milk cheeses, and traditional processes like ash-ripening have been proven safe. In Ending the War on Artisan Cheese, Dr. Catherine Donnelly forcefully defends traditional cheesemaking, while exposing government actions in the United States and abroad designed to take away food choice under the false guise of food safety. This book is fundamentally about where and how our food is produced, the values we place on methods of food production, and how the roles of tradition, heritage, and quality often conflict with advertising, politics, and profits in influencing our food choices.Trade Review“Catherine Donnelly serves up a compelling case for food regulation based on scientific evidence, not special interests, reminding us in the process of our duty to cherish and support small-scale, independent producers endangered by the encroachment of multinationals.”—Bronwen Percival, coauthor of Reinventing the Wheel“Friends of raw milk cheese could not have a more knowledgeable, rational, and persuasive expert on their side than Catherine Donnelly. Detail by appalling detail, Dr. Donnelly lays bare the thin scientific support for many FDA regulations on food safety. Her exposé may enrage you, but that’s the point. Informed and indignant consumers willing to fight for traditional foodways can win this war.”—Janet Fletcher, publisher, Planet Cheese blog“This bold and compelling book reveals the shocking truth behind why powerful industrial dairy producers are on a mission to impose a ban on all raw milk cheese, and how US regulators are blatantly misrepresenting credible scientific studies to intimidate and threaten the country’s growing number of artisan cheesemakers. Make no mistake, the stakes are high. Unless the confrontation ends soon, artisan cheese with an authentic taste of place will disappear.”—Will Studd, host and executive producer, Cheese Slices“One size does not fit all when it comes to food safety regulation. In this comprehensive, critical review of FDA policy and practice over the last three decades in regulating commercial cheesemaking, microbiologist Catherine Donnelly reveals how the twentieth-century industrial ethos that guides regulatory rule-making is dangerously out of step not only with the growing interest in producing and consuming artisanal foods, but also with the latest scientific evidence.”—Heather Paxson, author of The Life of Cheese“Dr. Donnelly’s compelling scientific and historical arguments against arbitrary regulation and government overreach are must-reads for anyone who values raw milk artisan cheeses, one of our most delicious and safest traditional foods. Those seeking proof need go no further.”—David Gibbons, coauthor of Mastering Cheese; cheese columnist, Wine Spectator“In a moment where alternative facts, the war on science, fake news, and the corporate consolidation of our food system are redefining our futures, this superbly written book is timely and necessary. Catherine Donnelly uses the experiences of cheesemakers, farmers, and scientists to explore the tension that exists among corporate behemoths, regulators, and cheesemakers working to build economic vitality and maintain traditions in rural communities. As a scientist, Dr. Donnelly exposes the political objectives that have dominated policy and enforcement at the FDA, expertly proposes alternative regulatory solutions, and defends the remarkable safety record cheese has enjoyed over millennia. Bravo!”—Mateo Kehler, cheesemaker, Jasper Hill Farm“Dr. Donnelly has written a thorough and articulate book, one that explores how rules written far from the farm, by people with little to no farm experience, weaken food safety, and how current FDA policy does not jibe with current scientific understanding of microbiology. She argues that the government should not favor industrial producers over small farms, and better policy is not only possible, but already exists. She also explains how we can use our wallets and our pens to advocate for the return of common sense and science to food policy.”—Dan Strongin, former president, American Cheese Society; columnist, Cheese Reporter “You’ll find no better guide to the byzantine world of food safety regulation than the eminent Professor Donnelly, whose lucid prose illuminates the complex scientific and regulatory issues at the heart of this riveting story. At a time of sharp ideological division over the role of government, she explains that more regulation is not always better, but all regulation is not necessarily bureaucratic overreach. Going further she offers a common sense call for competence and science-based decisions. Donnelly is eloquent in reminding us that the world’s food traditions are cultural treasures and unsparing in her condemnation of the shocking and even duplicitous behavior of the FDA.”—Frederic C. Rich, lawyer; environmentalist; author of Getting to Green“Dr. Donnelly does the hard work of piecing together a definitive account of how our government has threatened artisanal cheese producers at home and abroad. I had previously read the published science and couldn’t understand why the FDA would use it against US producers. This book aims to clarify their intentions. Consumers and elected officials now have a responsibility to take action to stop this overreach.”—Carlos Yescas, director, Oldways Cheese Coalition“This amazing book is an insightful look into the story of American entrepreneurs who are under attack from faceless bureaucrats who are determined to homogenize a unique and centuries-old American treasure. The book sets out a cautionary tale for any person interested in the American dream—what is happening to the artisan cheese industry can easily happen to any other industry. This is a must-read for sophisticated people who care about the battle between regulation and prosperity.”—Gregory S. McNeal, JD, PhD, professor, Pepperdine University School of Law; contributor, Forbes“For over two decades, Dr. Catherine Donnelly has worked tirelessly to support and defend artisanal cheesemakers in the daunting arena of food safety assurance and regulation. Ending the War on Artisan Cheese presents a panoramic view of the scientific, regulatory, political, commercial, and legal landscape that now threatens the survival of traditional artisan cheese. Donnelly’s epic account is a clarion call to work together toward a win-win regulatory model that supports large and small producers alike, those who employ cutting-edge technology and those who carry on centuries-old tradition. Let’s move forward together!”—Paul Kindstedt, author of Cheese and Culture

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Book SynopsisRevised and Expanded EditionFor anyone attempting to make sense of the world food crisis, or understand the links between U.S. farm policy and the ability of the world's poor to feed themselves, Stuffed and Starved is indispensable. —Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's DilemmaIt’s a perverse fact of modern life: There are more starving people in the world than ever before, while there are also more people who are overweight. To find out how we got to this point and what we can do about it, Raj Patel launched a comprehensive investigation into the global food network. It took him from the colossal supermarkets of California to India’s wrecked paddy-fields and Africa’s bankrupt coffee farms, while along the way he ate genetically engineered soy beans and dodged flying objects in the protestor-packed streets of South Korea. What he found was shocking, from the false choices given us by supermarkets to a global epidemic of farmer suicides, and real reasons for famine in Asia and Africa. Yet he also found great cause for hope—in international resistance movements working to create a more democratic, sustainable and joyful food system. Going beyond ethical consumerism, Patel explains the steps, from seed to store to plate, to regain control of the global food economy, stop the exploitation of both farmers and consumers, and rebalance global sustenance.

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Book SynopsisIn the 1960s and early 1970s, countercultural rebels decided that, rather than confront the system, they would create the world they wanted. The natural foods movement grew out of this contrarian spirit. Through a politics of principled shopping, eating, and entrepreneurship, food revolutionaries dissented from corporate capitalism and mainstream America.In Food for Dissent, Maria McGrath traces the growth of the natural foods movement from its countercultural fringe beginning to its twenty-first-century ""food revolution"" ascendance, focusing on popular natural foods touchstones - vegetarian cookbooks, food co-ops, and health advocates. Guided by an ideology of ethical consumption, these institutions and actors spread the movement's oppositionality and transformed America's foodscape, at least for some. Yet this strategy proved an uncertain instrument for the advancement of social justice, environmental defense, and anti-corporatism. The case studies explored in Food for Dissent indicate the limits of using conscientious eating, shopping, and selling as tools for civic activism.

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Book SynopsisOn football weekends in the United States, thousands of fans gather in the parking lots outside of stadiums, where they park their trucks, let down the gates, and begin a pregame ritual of drinking and grilling. Tailgating, which began in the early 1900s as a quaint picnic lunch outside of the stadium, has evolved into a massive public social event with complex menus, extravagant creative fare, and state-of-art grilling equipment. Unlike traditional notions of the home kitchen, the blacktop is a highly masculine culinary environment in which men and the food they cook are often the star attractions.Gridiron Gourmet examines tailgating as shown in television, film, advertising, and cookbooks, and takes a close look at the experiences of those tailgaters who are as serious about their brisket as they are about cheering on their favorite team, demonstrating how and why the gendered performances on the football field are often matched by the intensity of the masculine displays in front of grills, smokers, and deep fryers.

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Book SynopsisAntelope and porcupines in Africa, feral cats and wild goats in Australia and deer, pheasants and rabbits in the USA and Europe are just a few of the world's game animals, or creatures hunted for food. Game has been central to the development of humanity and forms a core part of cultures - and meat industries - from the Amazon to the Arctic. In Game, the first culinary overview of the subject, Paula Young Lee describes the fascinating history of a food so diverse it ranges from luxury good to staple of the poor. The animals we hunt as game have varied over history - quail and dormice were once so avidly pursued that they became semi-domesticated, and dishes like bear paws, reindeer pate and lark pie have seen their popularity come and go. The politics of hunting have also come into play, from the earliest hunting laws to today's quotas and efforts at sustainability, and made certain game more desirable: cookbooks once instructed readers how to disguise beef as the more elegant and coveted venison. Featuring unusual recipes for many little-eaten animals and cuts of meat, Game will be gobbled up by readers.Trade Review'Books in Reaktion's Edible series are paragons of their type; concise and flavourful, jammed with interesting facts, period photos and just a handful of recipes, in case you want to "do it yourself". I recommend these books to foodies and academics alike.' 
- Robert Sietsema, restaurant critic for The Village Voice 'Embellished with clever illustrations and a nice selection of historical and contemporary recipes ... [an] outstanding series of food volumes.' - Wall Street JournalTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Hunting of the Snark: A Brief Overview of Game 2. The Culinary Crucible: Of Law and Lusciousness 3. It Tastes Like Chicken: Falconry, Trapping and Subsistence Hunting 4. The Raw and the Cooked: Making Your Own Meat 5. The Forlorn Table Recipes Select Bibliography Websites and Associations Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisWhich came first, the chicken or the egg? In Hindu scripture, the world began as an egg. Laid by a swan floating on the waters of chaos, after a year the egg split into silver and gold halves, with the silver becoming the earth and the gold transforming into the sky. Throughout history, the egg has taken on numerous meanings outside of the famous philosophical dilemma: it was used for curing the evil eye by the Mayans, as protection against lightning in Greece, and to signify rebirth in the Christian tradition. In Eggs, Diane Toops offers a fascinating tour of egg history and lore, looking at how the egg's significance has represented the preoccupations of the cultures that consume it. Many varieties of eggs, whether laid by chickens, geese, ducks, fish, ostriches or even alligators, have been eaten throughout history, and today hens' eggs are an integral part of modern cuisine around the world. Eggs are now marketed as a health food, but there have been debates over their nutritional status. Filled with appetizing recipes and beguiling images, this book will enthral anyone with an interest in cuisine or cultural history.Trade Review'Embellished with clever illustrations and a nice selection of historical and contemporary recipes ... [an] outstanding series of food volumes.' - Wall Street Journal 'The Edible Series contains some of the most delicious nuggets of food and drink history ever. Every volume is such a fascinating and succinct read that I had to devour each in just a single sitting ... food writing at its best!' - Ken Hom, chef and author

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Book SynopsisOur ancestors have enjoyed sausages for thousands of years, even though they've been the butt of jokes for nearly as long. While we often think of sausages as being made only of pork, they've been fashioned from virtually every animal humans eat, as well as a number of vegetarian-friendly fillings. Sausage: A Global History serves up a tasty, informative, and witty account of bangers and bratwurst from all different cultures and periods, easing our doubts about these "mystery meats," and introducing the reader to a host of unusual treats from around the world.Gary Allen's lively and engaging history of the sausage includes many recipes, both historic and original. It's lavishly illustrated with photos and graphics: antique posters and advertisements, photos from exotic lands, and cartoons. It's a virtual alphabet of sausages, from Andouilles (both the original French saucissons and Cajun Louisiana's spicier version), to Italy's zampone, seasoned forcemeat of pork, stuffed and into sewn into the skin of a pig's trotter. This book is literally wurstig (German for "stuffed like a sausage") with savory tidbits, and speculation on how the lowly sausage-which was first created to prevent waste of otherwise unusable scraps of meat-became the darling of gourmets. Sausage is sure to whet the appetite of foodies and scholars alike.

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Book SynopsisAn account of the controversies surrounding the fast-food industry, which has become the most significant culinary trend of our time.

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Book SynopsisFor such a small fish, the herring has played an enormous role in history. Since the Middle Ages battles have been waged for it; international economic alliances have formed over it; a number of major cities owe their initial prosperities and structural foundations to it. Unquestionably, political powers have risen and fallen with the herring's own rise and fall in population. In Herring: A Global History Kathy Hunt looks at the environmental, historical, political and culinary background of this highly prolific, delicious and easily caught fish. It will appeal to food lovers, history buffs and anyone who has ever eaten British kippers, German Bismarcks, Dutch matjes or Jewish chopped herring.

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Book SynopsisThe small but mighty shrimp, or prawn, has lured diners to the table for centuries. These primordial-looking creatures spend their short lives out of sight, deep on the ocean floor, yet they have inspired an immense passion among many cultures. They are also at the centre of some of our most pressing environmental and human rights concerns. In this lively and entertaining book, Yvette Florio Lane embarks on a culinary and historical tour of the production and consumption of the beloved crustacean from earliest times to the present day, incorporating fascinating lore, unusual recipes and compelling images. Essential reading for foodies and food historians, Shrimp demonstrates that the enormous desire for this favourite shellfish has always come with a high price tag.

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Book SynopsisBerries are enmeshed with human history. Widely available in nature, they have been part of the human diet for millennia, and today they inspire everything from lip-gloss flavours to amusement parks. However diminutive their size, berries are of such significance to Northern and Eastern Europeans that picking them in the wild is `everyman’s right’, interwoven with their cultural identity, but some berries can be deadly. In Berries: A Global History, Heather Arndt Anderson relates the story of how humans came to love these tiny, bewildering fruits. Readers meet the inventor of thornless brambles, learn ancient fables and berry-lore, and discover berries’ use in poisonous witches’ brews and modern superfood health crazes. Featuring a selection of historic and original recipes for berry-lovers to try, this is a witty and lushly illustrated ramble through the curious history of our favourite fruits, which will appeal to food lovers and social historians alike.

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Book SynopsisWhether it's a homemade strawberry shortcake in summer or a chef's complex medley of sweets, dessert is the perfect ending to a meal. Most of us, even those who seldom indulge, have a favourite dessert. After all, sweet is one of the basic flavours and we seem to be hard-wired to like it. Yet while everyone has a taste for sweetness, not every culture enjoys a dessert course at the end of the meal. And desserts as we know them - the light sponge cakes, the ice creams, the steamed plum puddings - are neither as old nor as ubiquitous as many of us believe. Jeri Quinzio traces the history of desserts and the way they, and the course itself, have evolved over time. The story begins before dessert was a separate course - when sweets and savouries were mixed on the table - and concludes in the present, when homely desserts are enjoying a revival, and as molecular gastronomists are creating desserts an alchemist would envy. An indulgent read, for all those with a curious mind and a sweet tooth.Trade Review`Dessert is a perfectly delightful romp through the history of puddings and cakes and custards, everything from syllabubs to strawberry ice cream. Bring a big spoon.' - Ken Albala, food historian and Professor of History at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California

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Book SynopsisGin is a drink deeply rooted in British culture. From ‘Dutch Courage’ to ‘Gin Soaked’, our language is full of expressions which reflect our gin drinking heritage. In the early eighteenth century, Britain was gripped by the Gin Craze, when the drink was dubbed ‘mothers ruin’, before becoming more respectable as advances in distilling led to a drink of higher quality and improved flavour. This led to the construction of lavish 'gin palaces' in the Victorian and Edwardian era. In recent years a twenty-first century renaissance in gin drinking and craft gin production has led to the drink once again rising high in the national consciousness. Uncovering the mysteries of gin manufacture and production, as well as its fascinating history, this book is a complete guide to Britain’s tipple of choice.Trade ReviewThis book is crammed full of fascinating information about gin... and reveals your favourite spirit to be a drink with more of a colourful and exciting past than you could ever imagine. * The Scottish Gin Society *A great introduction to gin and its past. [...] Moses Jenkins reaches out to the reader [...] with a clarity that makes the book approachable and interesting in equal measure. * Gin Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction Gin Production Early History of Gin Mother’s Ruin: The Eighteenth Century Rising Quality: The Nineteenth Century Rise, Fall and Rise Again: Gin in Modern Times Further Reading Places to Visit Index

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Book SynopsisHave you ever wondered what Queen Victoria ate for breakfast? Or pondered over George V's preferences for pudding? Straight from the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, this fascinating collection offers an extraordinary insight into royal gastronomy, featuring exclusive photographs, recipes, anecdotes and menus that span three generations of royal dining.This compilation offers a unique glimpse into the intimate affair of afternoon tea in the Royal Household, as well as the more formal proceedings of a state supper, alongside a brief insight into the history of royal cooking. Featuring a selection of menus used at actual royal events, alongside a series of exclusive private photographs of the royal family, this new insight into the world of royal dining will give you the inspiration you need to transform your own dinner parties and afternoon luncheons, enabling you to create exquisite dishes and decadent desserts that are truly fit for a king and queen.

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Book SynopsisSpanning 65,000 years, this book provides a history of food in Australia from its beginnings, with the arrival of the first peoples and their stewardship of the land, to a present where the production and consumption of food is fraught with anxieties and competing priorities. It describes how food production in Australia is subject to the constraints of climate, water and soil, leading to centuries of unsustainable agricultural practices post-colonisation. Australian food history is also the story of its xenophobia and the immigration policies pursued which continue to question the image of Australia as a model multicultural society though the history ends on a positive note as Indigenous peoples take increasing control of how their food is interpreted and marketed.Trade Review"A thorough examination of Australia's culinary history. . . . Divided into ten chapters and organized historically, the book describes the foodways of the first peoples, the colonization of Australia, during wartime and between wars, Federation, post-colonialism and modernity; it ends with the themes of Australia as a foodie nation and millennial reckonings. . . . A skillfully written overview of Australian food history, detailing the evolution of Australian foodways and agriculture while acknowledging the contributions of the many cultures that make up contemporary Australia." * Digestible Bits and Bites * "A comprehensive history of the food of Australia, from its beginning with the First Nations people 60,000 years ago to 2020." -- John Newton, author of "The Oldest Foods on Earth: A History of Australian Native Foods" "A masterful overview of Australian food history and foodways, including their social and political implications and the influences of scientific and technological advances. From millennia-old fish traps to television's MasterChef Australia, by way of damper and mutton, lamingtons and Anzacs, it charts the evolution of Australian food and agriculture, acknowledging the contributions of the many cultures that make up contemporary Australia." -- Barbara Santich, professor emeritus, University of Adelaide

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Book SynopsisA thoughtful consideration of taste as a sense and an idea and of how we might jointly develop both. When we eat, we eat the world: taking something from outside and making it part of us. But what does it taste of? And can we develop our taste? In Taste, Sarah Worth argues that taste is a sense that needs educating, for the real pleasures of eating only come with an understanding of what one really likes. From taste as an abstract concept to real examples of food, she explores how we can learn about and develop our sense of taste through themes ranging from pleasure, authenticity, and food fraud, to visual images, recipes, and food writing.Trade Review"This engaging book . . . invites rumination on the familiar saying, 'We are what we eat.'" -- Carolyn Korsmeyer, author of "Making Sense of Taste" and "Savoring Disgust "

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Book SynopsisWritten for food aficionados everywhere, this book provides an entertaining look at the history and development of the key foods we eat every day. Mike Gibney, Professor Emeritus of Food and Health at University College Dublin, traces the story of food from early hunter gatherers through settled agriculture to the migration across Europe, and examines the influence early trading, imperial conquests and medieval exploration had on the food chain. Along the way Food through the Ages uncovers some fascinating nuggets: - Indian rice is fluffy to eat with the hand, while Chinese rice is sticky to eat with chopsticks. - In the Middle Ages it became fashionable to stuff boned smaller birds into bigger birds into even bigger birds and so on. This process, known as engastration, is still popular today in Cajun cuisine with Turducken, a hen in a duck in a turkey. - A passion for tea led two great powers, China and England, to engage in warfare - The popularity of the potato accounted for about 25% of the population growth in Europe from 1700 to 1900 - The Arabs brought pasta to Italy but the popular shaped pastas were most often produced in religious orders by nuns - The Jesuits and Dominicans argued bitterly over the perceived magical yet sinful attributes of Aztec chocolate. Professor Gibney explains the origins of commonplace foods, including bread, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, sugar, tea, chocolate and of course Ireland’s beloved potato. He defines a well-stocked larder and shows how the kitchen has changed over thousands of years, getting cleaner, less smelly, more reliable, less dangerous and more accessible to all.

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Book SynopsisMilk, poured over cereal in the morning and splashed in coffee, is part of daily life in the West. Though milk is the sustaining and essential food of all mammals, and worldwide demand for it is growing every year, the majority of the world's population cannot digest raw cow's milk. Of those that do drink milk regularly, most have never actually tasted raw milk; what is known as milk today is a heavily treated version far removed from its natural state. In "Milk", Hannah Velten explores the myths and misconceptions surrounding the drink. Modern milk processing produces a safe, clean beverage that is far removed from real milk straight from the cow, but advocates of raw milk long for the days before pasteurization, homogenization and standardization. Paradoxically, milk back then was likely to be even less natural than today: known as the white poison, and filled with additives to make it look like milk after extensive watering-down, it was bacteria-ridden and dangerous to the health of invalids and infants. Now that milk has cleaned up its act, it is considered a staple for a healthy and balanced diet. Velten investigates how and why conceptions of milk have shifted in the public consciousness, from the science of nutrition, to dairy industry advertising and government endorsements. "Milk" will surprise and entertain in equal measure.Trade ReviewBooks in Reaktion's Edible series are paragons of their type; concise and flavorful, jammed with interesting facts, period photos and just a handful of recipes, in case you want to "do it yourself". I recommend these books to foodies and academics alike. -- Robert Sietsema, restaurant critic for The Village VoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 The First Milk 2 The White Elixir 3 White Poison 4 Solving the Milk Question 5 Modern Milk Recipes Glossary Appendix References Select Bibliography Websites and Associations Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisThe occasions of celebration considered run from wedding breakfasts, birthday parties, Easter, harvest festival, and Passover, while the sorts of celebration include banquets, drinking bouts, the Icelandic thorrablot, and election day feasts. Authors include from America, Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Anthony Buccini, Sharon Hudgins, Charles Perry; from Turkey, Aylin Tan and Priscilla Mary Isin; from England, Robert Appelbaum, Andrew Dalby, Christopher Grocock, Gillian Riley, David C. Sutton, and from Israel, Susan Weingarten.

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Book SynopsisIn this groundbreaking book, Jessica Martell investigates the relationship between industrial food and the emergence of literary modernisms in Britain and Ireland. By the early twentieth century, the industrialization of the British Empire's food system had rendered many traditional farming operations, and attendant agrarian ways of life, obsolete. Weaving insights from modernist studies, food studies, and ecocriticism, Farm to Form contends that industrial food made nature "modernist," a term used as literary scholars understand it stylistically disorienting, unfamiliar, and artificial but also exhilarating, excessive, and above all, new. Martell draws in part upon archives in the United Kingdom but also presents imperial foodways as an extended rehearsal for the current era of industrial food supremacy. She analyzes how pastoral mode, anachronism, fragmentation, and polyvocal narration reflect the power of the literary arts to reckon with, and to resist, the new "modernist ecologies" of the twentieth century.Deeply informed by Martell's extensive knowledge of modern British, Irish, American, and World Literatures, this progressive work positions modernism as central to the study of narratives of resistance against social and environmental degradation. Analyzed works include those of Thomas Hardy, E. M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, Joseph Conrad, George Russell, and James Joyce.In light of climate change, fossil fuel supremacy, nutritional dearth, and other pressing food issues, modernist texts bring to life an era of crisis and anxiety similar to our own. In doing so, Martell summons the past as a way to employ the modernist term of "defamiliarizing" the present so that entrenched perceptions can be challenged. Our current food regime is both new and constantly evolving with the first industrial food trades. Studying earlier cultural responses to them invites us to return to persistent problems with new insights and renewed passion.Trade ReviewFarm to Form is a well-written, solid piece of scholarship. The selection of writers and texts alone will make this book a must-read, and no one, to my knowledge, has explored to this extent how the rapid transformation of food production, distribution, and marketing touched the choices that writers made in shaping their work." — Bill Conlogue, professor of English, Marywood University and author of Working the GardenTable of Contents Introduction: Modernist Ecologies and the Food Politics of Empire Part I 1. Industrial Dairying, the Pastoral, and Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles 2. Food Chains and Refrigerated Time in E.M. Forster's Howards End 3. Wartime Rationing and Virginia Woolf's Aesthetic Ecologies Part II 4. Joseph Conrad and the Metabolism of Empire 5. Famine, Food Sovereignty, and the Irish Literary Revival Coda "From a Morning World" Acknowledgments

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