Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People

An illuminating account of how history shapes our diets—now in a new revised and updated Third Edition

Why did the ancient Romans believe cinnamon grew in swamps guarded by giant killer bats? How did African cultures imported by slavery influence cooking in the American South? What does the 700-seat McDonald's in Beijing serve in the age of globalization? With the answers to these and many more such questions, Cuisine and Culture, Third Edition presents an engaging, entertaining, and informative exploration of the interactions among history, culture, and food.

From prehistory and the earliest societies in the Fertile Crescent to today's celebrity chefs, Cuisine and Culture, Third Edition presents a multicultural and multiethnic approach to understanding how and why major historical events have affected and defined the culinary traditions in different societies. Now revised and updated, this Third Edition is more comprehensive and insightful than ever before.

    * Covers prehistory through the present day—from the discovery of fire to the emergence of television cooking shows
    * Explores how history, culture, politics, sociology, and religion have determined how and what people have eaten through the ages
    * Includes a sampling of recipes and menus from different historical periods and cultures
    * Features French and Italian pronunciation guides, a chronology of food books and cookbooks of historical importance, and an extensive bibliography
    * Includes all-new content on technology, food marketing, celebrity chefs and cooking television shows, and Canadian cuisine.

Complete with revealing historical photographs and illustrations, Cuisine and Culture is an essential introduction to food history for students, history buffs, and food lovers.

More to Explore From the book: Food Innovations During the Depression

Timeline
1929 Popcorn in movie theaters
1930 Howard Johnson’s—first restaurant franchise
1930 Ocean Spray Jellied and Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1930 Twinkies
1931 Joy of Cooking published
1931 General Mills markets Bisquick
1932 Frito’s Corn Chips
1933 Prohibition ends; soft drink manufacturers urge soda as mixers
1933 Miracle Whip dressing introduced at Chicago World’s Fair
1934 Ritz Crackers (Nabisco)
1934 Harry & David begin mail-order business for their pears
1934 Girl Scouts begin cookie sales
1934 Los Angeles Farmers Market opens at 3rd and Fairfax
1935 Alcoholics Anonymous founded
1936 Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rolled out
1936 John Tyson, truck driver, buys a chicken hatchery
1937 Pepperidge Farm begins; sells bread above market price
1937 Bama Pie Company incorporates; sells personal-size pies
1937 Toll House Cookies accidentally invented by Ruth Wakefield
1937 Parkay Margarine introduced
1937 Spam
1938 Lay’s Potato Chips
1939 Nestle makes Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

More to Explore From the book: Food Fable--How to Drink and Not Get Drunk

The ancient Greeks loved wine and were always searching for ways to drink without getting drunk. Creative thinking led them to what they thought was the antidote to the downside of Diosnysus: drinking purple wine from a purple vessel made of semi-precious stone would cause the two purples to cancel each other out and negate whatever was in the wine that caused drunkenness. In Greek, the prefix “a” means “not,” methyein means drunk (from methy--wine), so the Greek word for “not drunk” became the name of the purple stone the vessel was made of--amethyst.