Food & Drink Books

Book SynopsisAs most people in Atlantic-era West Africa—as in contemporary Europe and the Americas—were farmers, fields and gardens were the primary terrain where they engaged the opportunities and challenges of nascent globalization. Agricultural changes and culinary cross-currents from the Gold Coast indicate that Africans engaged the Atlantic world not with passivity but as full partners with others on continents whose histories have enjoyed longer, and greater, scholarly attention. The most important ‘seeds of change’ are not to be found in the DNA of crops and critters carried across the seas but instead in the creativity and innovation of the people who engaged the challenges and opportunities of the Atlantic World.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2013 Mary W. Klinger Award for Best Book from the Society for Economic Botany. "[La Fleur's] human-centered as opposed to crop-centered focus makes an important contribution to our knowledge of African foodways during this crucial era and furthers historians’ efforts to retrieve the dynamic roles of Africans in Africa as actors in our histories of the Atlantic world." - Cynthia Bouton, in: Journal of Early Modern History (November, 2014) "... this is an excellent book." - Ray Kea, in: New West Indian Guide (November, 2014) "... This is a well written and nicely produced book with broad appeal given its focus on issues that have developed in the wake of Crosby's influential The Columbian Exchange. In addition to its value as a work of historical scholarship, it will also be appreciated by anyone interested in African ethnobotany whether in Africa or elsewhere..." - John Rashford, in: Economic Botany (June, 2013) "... La Fleur adds to our growing attempt to better include West Africa in Atlantic Studies, and thus make it less Eurocentric, while expanding our understanding of the role of women within the Gold Coast as they determined what new items would be adapted and which ones would not." - Ty Reese, in: Itinerario: International Journal on the History of European Expansion and Global Interaction (April, 2013) ".. move[s] the history of staple foodstuffs to a new level, greatly extending understanding of the history of agriculture and food ..." - Rachel Laudan, Institute for Historical Studies, University of Texas at Austin, in: Journal of World History (June 2017), pp. 302-306Table of ContentsList of Maps, Illustrations, and Word Lists Preface and Acknowledgements Notes on Linguistic Evidence and African Languages 1. Finding Food in Early Afro-Atlantic History Africanist Historiography of Pre-Colonial Agriculture Themes and Structures 2. Introducing the Land to Culture, 25,000 BCE to circa 1400 CE Early Foraging to 25,000 BCE Specialized Foraging, 25,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE Intensified Foraging from 10,000 BCE Integrating Crops and Critters into Hunting, Gathering, and Foraging Initial Farming from 500 BCE Mature Farming, circa 1400 CE 3. Seeds of Change: Early African Experimentation in the Atlantic Era The Agro-Historical Milieu Plantains Maize Asian Rice 4. Reap What You Sow: The Profits and Perils of the New Starchy Crops Going for Gold with Plantains Allada Communities and Culinary Cross-Currents Baked Bread and Biscuits Kenkey Opportunities Brewing Sowing and Savoring Wealth Insecurity and Impoverishment amid Scarcity and Violence Suffering in Times of Plenty 5. The Porcupine’s Shame: Bearing the Burden of Cassava Culture Problems in the Earliest Records of Introduction Introducing Cassava Africanizing Cassava Culture Outsiders and Renewed Innovation with Cassava Colonial Postscript 6. Finding History in Early Afro-Atlantic Foodways Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisThe fourteenth-century Egyptian cookbook, Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, is a treasure trove of 830 recipes of dishes, digestives, refreshing beverages, and more. Here, for the first time, it has been meticulously translated into English and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction, glossary, illustrations, and twenty-two modern adaptations of its recipes.Trade ReviewWinner of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding (1st Prize, Translation from Arabic into English.) click here. Shortlisted for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2018 in the categories Translation and Culinary History click here. "Historians are quite fortunate that Nawal Nasrallah has continued to gift us with her edited translations of Arabic cookbooks from the medieval Islamic world.Overall, Nasrallah’s edition is a pleasure to read. The organization is easy to follow, the notes full of important information, and the color pictures suitable and complementary. Kanz al-fawāʾid brings medieval Cairene and Egyptian history to life and will serve as a critical primary source not only for food historians but also those interested in medieval Islamic trade, agricultural, consumption, and social history." - Febe Armanios in: Journal of the American Oriental Society 141.1 (2021). "A formidable intertwined offering from a historian, translator, cook, cooking instructor and writer... Nasrallah succeeds in giving a clear, simple and practical text in English to many of the 830 recipes which are difficult to understand and use, even for an Arabic speaker with culinary experience... After the full translated text, Nasrallah adds a helpful alphabetical glossary with an explanation of terms, methods and general commentaries, translations and correlations with dishes known today. Nasrallah ends her book with a fantastic contribution of 22 modern adaptations of some recipes from Kanz. All recipes were tried and photographed by the author. They are well written, easy to follow, and the outcome, as tested by this author, is delicious." - Hala N. Barakat, in: Madamasr (August 25, 2018) click here. "For culinary enthusiasts as well as for those fascinated by Egypt’s heritage, the very first English-language translation of a mediaeval Egyptian cookbook entitled Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table. A Fourteenth Century Egyptian Cookbook will come as a thrilling revelation." - Aziza Sami, in: Al-Ahram Weekly (August 31, 2018) click here. "Nasrallah provides her readers not only with an annotated translation, but also details of texts and manuscripts, and excellent and detailed glossaries, helpfully divided into classes of food such as vegetables and legumes, fruits and nuts and so forth, as well as kitchen and cooking implements and culinary terms." Susan Weingarten, in: Mediterranean Historical Review, 33:2 (2018) "The tremendous linguistic and contextual expertise that has gone into the preparation of this book has paid off. It is not only an invaluable historical document for the better understanding of the material culture and foodways of pre-modern Egyptian society, but also a fine example of thorough research and scholarly responsibility to one's material." - Leyla Rouhi, in: Al-Masāq, 30/3 (2018) "Cet ouvrage contient tout ce que l’on peut attendre de la traduction d’un livre de cuisine médiéval : une traduction sérieuse (...), une présentation qui permette au lecteur, même non spécialiste, d’apprécier l’originalité du texte, des glossaires efficaces et une petite touche de gourmandise." - Audrey Caire, in: Arabica 65 (2018) "N. Nasrallah nous propose ici un travail exceptionnel. Sa minutie et son expérience passée de la traduction d’ouvrages culinaires confère à ce livre une valeur scientifique indéniable, mais aussi une dimension sociale, vivante de ce que fut la cuisine arabe médiévale. Cette oeuvre réjouira tout autant le chercheur en quête d’informations que l’amateur curieux de mettre en pratique une cuisine riche, variée et colorée, nous rappelant que, contrairement à la cuisine occidentale, la cuisine arabe sut conserver les goûts, les produits et les modes de cuisson médiévaux et que l’on peut toujours, à une table de Tunis, du Caire ou de Damas, se faire une idée assez précise des plaisirs culinaires qu’éprouvaient les mangeurs pour qui l’auteur du Kanz rédigea son livre." - Veronique Pitchon, in: BCAI 33 (2019) Read an interview about the book with the author on Marcia Lynx Qualey's blog ArabLit: click here.Table of ContentsPREFACE NOTES ON TRANSLATING THE TEXT INTRODUCTION PART I: THE MAKING OF KANZ AL-FAWĀʾID 1. The Text 2. The Provenance 3. Date and Sources 4. A Case of Abridged Borrowing: Kanz al-fawāʾid and Zahr al-ḥadīqa PART II: MEDIEVAL EGYPTIAN FOOD CULTURE 5. Diet and Formation of a Cuisine 6. What was Cooking in Medieval Cairo? 7. The Culture of Food and Cooking 8. Shopping and Eating out PART III 9. Medieval Egyptian Cooking as Reflected in Kanz al-fawāʾid 10. Eating in Good Health INFINITE BENEFITS OF VARIETY AT THE TABLE (ENGLISH TRANSLATION) Chapter 1: Indispensable Instructions for Cooks Chapter 2: How to Knead Bread Dough and Bake It; and Making Varieties of Bread: Enhanced (muṭayyab), Seeded (mubazzar), Salted (mamlūḥ), and More Chapter 3: Measures Taken When Drinking Water: muzammal, and Chilled with Ice (thalj maḍrūb) Chapter 4: Qualities of Air-Cooled Water and What the Physicians Said About It Chapter 5: Miscellany of Dishes Chapter 6: Making murrī (Liquid Fermented Sauce), and Preserving Juice of Sour Unripe Grapes (māʾ al- ḥiṣrim) and Lemon Juice (māʾ al-laymūn) Chapter 7: Eggs Cooked as Omelets and Other Dishes Chapter 8: Vegetarian Dishes (muzawwarāt al-buqūl) for the Nourishment of the Sick Chapter 9: All Kinds of Dishes Made with Different Varieties of Fish Chapter 10: Making All Kinds of Sweets (ḥalwā) Chapter 11: Digestive Stomachics (juwārishnāt), Electuaries (maʿājīn), and Drinks (ashriba) Offered Before and After the Meal Chapter 12: Making fuqqāʿ (Foamy Beer), and Other Drinks Chapter 13: Dried-Apricot Compote (naqūʿ al-mishmish) Chapter 14: Making Preparations Which Relieve Nausea (adwiyat al-qaraf) Chapter 15: Making Mustard [Condiments], Mild and Pungent-Hot Chapter 16: Making Table Sauces (ṣulūṣāt) Chapter 17: Dishes Made with Dairy (albān): kawāmikh (Fermented Condiments), jājaq (Drained-Yogurt Condiment), Condiments with kabar (Capers) and zaʿtar (Thyme); bīrāf (Clotted Cream); and the Like Chapter 18: All Kinds of Pickled Turnip and Onion, Pickling Fruits and Vegetables of All Kinds, and Preserving Lemon, Damascus Citron and the Like, in Salt Chapter 19: Making Cold Dishes (bawārid) Chapter 20: On Aromatics (ṭīb), and Properties of Toothpicks (khilāl) Made from Willow Wood (ṣafṣāf) and Egyptian-Willow Twigs (ʿīdān al-khilāf) Chapter 21: Varieties of Aroma-Diffusing Incense Which Fortify Spirit and Heart; Aromatizing Pills; Deodorants; and Other Preparations Chapter 22: Top Quality Perfumed Powders (dharāʾir mulūkiyya) and Other Preparations Chapter 23: Storing Fresh Fruits and Keeping Them to Use After Their Season GLOSSARY 1. Beverages for Pleasure and Health 2. Breads, Grains, Pasta, Noodles, and Sweet and Savory Pastries 3. Dairy 4. Desserts, Sweeteners, and Conserves; for Pleasure and Health 5. Dishes and Prepared Foods: Main and Side Dishes, Snacks, Condiments, Pickles, Dips, and Table Sauces 6. Fats and Oils 7. Fruits and Nuts 8. Ingredients Used in Foods and Medicinal Preparations: Herbs, Spices, Aromatics, Minerals, Food Colors, and Seasoning Sauces 9. Kitchen and Cooking Implements, and Culinary Techniques and Terms 10. Meat 11. Medical Terms, Medicinal Preparations, and Personal Hygiene and Perfumes 12. Vegetables and Legumes 13. Weights and Measures APPENDIX: A TASTE OF TIME: MODERN ADAPTATIONS OF TWENTY-TWO RECIPES FROM THE KANZ AL-FAWĀʾID WORKS CITED INDICES

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Book SynopsisCrossroads of Cuisine provides a history of foods, and foodways in terms of exchanges taking place in Central Asia and in surrounding areas such as China, Korea or Iran during the last 5000 years, stressing the manner in which East and West, West and East grew together through food. It provides a discussion of geographical foundations, and an interlocking historical and cultural overview going down to the present day, with a comparative country by country survey of foods and recipes. An ethnographic photo essay embracing all parts of the book binds it all together, and helps make topics discussed vivid and approachable. The book is important for explaining key relationships that have not always been made clear in past scholarship.Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements List of Illustrations and Table Introduction 1 The Eurasian Heartland: Overview of a Link between Worlds  1 Physical Geography  2 Vegetation  3 Animal Life  4 Nations of Today  5 Agriculture and Environment  6 Integrating Agriculture and Livestock  7 Nomads  8 The Crossroads  9 Overall View of Foods  10 Building Foodways 2 Prehistory and History: The Long Record of Foodways  1 Prehistory: From Hunting to Agriculture  2 Prehistory: Domestication  3 Domesticated Plants  4 Domestic Animals  5 Languages  6 The Origins of Civilization and High Culture in the Eurasian Heartland  7 Religion 3 Histories  1 Ancient and Medieval History (Before the Mongols)  2 Chinese Food Meets Western Food on the Silk Road  3 China after Tang  4 Witnesses: Travel Accounts from Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Times  5 Medicine and Food in Medieval Central Asia  6 History during the Mongol Empire  7 The Eurasian Heartland and Its Silk Roads in Mongol Times  8 Food and Medicine in Mongol Times  9 History after the Mongols  10 Travels and Excursions after  11 On to the Twentieth Century 4 Contemporary Food  1 Lifestyles  2 Bread  3 The All-Important Noodle  4 Other Grain Foods  5 Cooking Meat  6 Dairy Foods  7 Other Drinks  8 Vegetables  9 Sweets  10 Spicing  11 Cooking Utensils 5 Food by Country  1 Afghanistan’s Food 1.1  Dopiaza  2 Eastern Iran’s Food  3 Uzbekistan’s Food  4 Tajik Food  5 Kyrgyz Food  6 Kazakh Food  7 Azerbaijan food, and Central Asian Food in Turkey  8 Uighur Food  9 Mongol Food  10 Kalmyk Food  11 Chinese Food, the Central Asian Connections in Ming and Today  12 Chinese Food Today: The Central Asian Connection  13 Korea and the Eurasian Heartland Conclusion, The Next Step: Silk Road as Metaphor, Seattle, the Silk Road, and the Pacific Rim Appendix: Summary of Western Plants in the YSZY and the HHYF Bibliography Index

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