{"product_id":"the-chile-pepper-in-china-9780231195331","title":"The Chile Pepper in China","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrian R. Dott explores how the non-native chile went from obscurity to ubiquity in China, influencing not just cuisine but also medicine, language, and cultural identity. \u003ci\u003eThe Chile Pepper in China\u003c\/i\u003e sheds new light on the piquant cultural impact of a potent plant and raises broader questions regarding notions of authenticity in cuisine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eExtensive source materials in both Chinese and English form the bedrock for this impressive study into how a relatively unassuming American import so radically changed one country’s cuisines and traditional pharmacopoeia. The history of the humble chile in China is a fascinating one, especially as viewed through Brian R. Dott’s affectionate yet scholarly lens. -- Carolyn Phillips, author of \u003ci\u003eAll Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA learned as well as lively book with many surprises. How chile peppers came to China from the New World just starts a story involving taste, regionalism, adaptation, and folklore. Chiles were key to Chinese cuisine’s subtlety and variety, and not just in Sichuan and Hunan either. -- Paul Freedman, author of \u003ci\u003eFood: The History of Taste\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTen Restaurants That Changed America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is an absolutely wonderful book. It combines scholarship and good food writing—the enormous amount of effort in compiling the databases is duly and modestly cloaked in good prose. -- Eugene Anderson, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Food of China\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA valuable resource for anyone interested in Chinese culinary culture or the global history of the chilli as symbol — ‘vitamin, vegetable, preservative and spice’. Dott’s research is extensive, while his writing is entertaining, digestible and peppered with much fascinating information. -- Fuchsia Dunlop * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eIt reminds us to look for culinary innovation not only where we often do, in the flashy kitchens of professional chefs, but also in the long-term historical processes of everyday life, the contributions to which, like the chile in China, may be ‘found everywhere.’ * Gastronomica *\u003cbr\u003eA book that can be easily understood and enjoyed by casual readers, something not all academic non-fiction books can say. -- Jason Flatt * But Why Tho? *\u003cbr\u003eThere is much to praise about the book: its painstaking research, its sensitivity to the diversities of regional and historical contexts within China, and the top-notch storytelling. On the last point, Dott deserves special mention.\u003ci\u003e The Chile Pepper in China\u003c\/i\u003e will be one of the few books that will be read and savored by academics and civilians alike. * Twentieth-Century China *\u003cbr\u003eWith its lucid, lively style, copious illustrations, and recipes this book could be a model for studies of the assimilation of other New World ingredients, especially in India and China. It will be of great value to students and academics and anyone with an interest [in] Chinese cuisine and culture. * Food, Culture, and Society *\u003cbr\u003eA satisfying history to [chiles] origins as well as their cultural significance in China. * Asian Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eThe definitive English-language study of how the pepper arrived in China, how it became part of local cuisine and medical practice, and how it even established itself as a core part of identity formation in southwest China. But one of its most provocative contributions has little to do with China and everything do with the chili pepper's unique relationship to globalization. * The Cleaver and the Butterfly *\u003cbr\u003eIt all adds up to a compelling case for how a foreign plant became a national spice. * Economic Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eChinese Dynasties and Regimes\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e1. Names and Places: How the Chile Found Its Way “Home” to China\u003cbr\u003e2. Spicing Up the Palate\u003cbr\u003e3. Spicing Up the Pharmacopeia\u003cbr\u003e4. Too Hot for Words: Elite Reticence Toward Chile Peppers \u003cbr\u003e5. Chiles as Beautiful Objects and Literary Emblems\u003cbr\u003e6. Mao’s Little Red Spice: Chiles and Regional Identity Conclusion\u003cbr\u003eAppendix A. Late Imperial Recipe Collections\u003cbr\u003eAppendix B. Medical Texts Consulted\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003cbr\u003eColor Plates","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49400348180823,"sku":"9780231195331","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780231195331.jpg?v=1730470456","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-chile-pepper-in-china-9780231195331","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}