A History of Food, 2nd, New and Expanded Edition

Foreword to the New Expanded Edition by Betty Fussell xiii

Preface xv

List of Illustrations xvi

Acknowledgements xix

Introduction 1

Part I: Collecting Gathering Hunting 9
From Fire to the Pot

1 Collecting Honey 14

Honey in the Golden Age 14

A Taste of Honey 16

Honey in Legend 18

Honey in Nature and History 21

Honey-Cakes, Spice-Bread, Gingerbread 28

Mead and Sacramental Intoxication 30

2 The History of Gathering 35

The Ancient Pulses 35

The Symbolism of Beans 40

The Etymology (and Entomology) of Haricot Beans 41

The Holy War of Cassoulet 45

Soya: the Most Widely Eaten Plant in the World 46

Soya: Nutritional Facts and Figures 50

Mushrooms and Fungi 50

Roots 57

Table of Vegetable Nutrition 65

3 Hunting 66

The Great Days and the Decline of Game 66

Nutritional Facts and Figures about Game 79

Part II: Stock-breeding Arable Farming: Meat, Milk, Cereals 83
The Evidence of Occupied Sites

4 The History of Meat 85

The Birth of Stock-breeding and Society 85

Table of Areas of Origin of the First Domestic Animals 88

Meat-Eating: Likes and Dislikes 89

The Horse, the Spirit of Corn 95

Fat Oxen and Prosperous Butchers 95

5 The History of Dairy Produce 103

Cheese and Curds 103

Yoghurt: Fermented Milk 108

Butter: the Cream of the Milk 109

The Symbolism of Butter 113

6 The History of Cereals 114

Cereals as Civilizers 114

The Symbolism of Wheat 117

Table of the Long March of Cereals 118

Imperialist Cereals 119

The Myth of Demeter 126

Everyday Cereals 127

Harvest Festivals 133

Strategic Cereals 134

Rice in the East 139

The Symbolism of Rice 149

Maize in the West 149

Why Maize is Called ‘I Have No More Gumbo’ 159

Why Corn-Cobs are Thin and Small 160

Zuni Legend of Maize Flour 160

From Porridge to Beer 161

The Technique of Brewing Beer 167

The History of Pasta 170

The History of Grain Spirits 176

Part III: The Three Sacramental Foods: Oil, Bread, Wine 183
The Fundamental Trinity

7 The History of Oil 185

Olive Oil 185

The Dietary History of Olive Oil 187

Olive Oil in Legend and Symbolism 191

Making Olive Oil 193

Other Oils 196

Margarine 199

8 The History of Bread and Cakes 201

The Bread on the Board 201

The Symbolism of Bread and Cakes 207

Four Stages in the Development of Bread-Making 209

The Taste of Bread 210

The Technique of Bread-Making 214

Our Daily Bread 215

Special Cakes for Sundays 218

9 The History of Wine 223

From the Vine to Wine 223

Dessert Grapes 230

The Technique of Wine-Making 231

The Symbolism of Wine 233

The Legend of Dionysus 235

The Proper Use of Wine 236

Cooking with Wine 249

Wine and God 251

A Wine of Revolution 258

Part IV: The Economy of the Markets 265
The Centre of the City

10 The History of Fish 268

The Fish of the Ancient World 268

A Who’s Who of Sea Fish 272

The Salmonidae: a family of aristocrats 273

Fishing in Legend 277

Extravagance and Economy in Eating Fish 277

The Symbolism of Fish 281

Uses for Less Profitable Fish 284

The Providential Nature of Salt Fish 287

Drying, Salting and Smoking Fish; an Age-Old Procedure 293

Table of the Nutritional values of Fish 294

Aquaculture and Pisciculture: Fish Farming 294

Blue Europe, or the Common Fish Market 298

From Fishing to Our Plates 301

Table of the Economic and Social Potential of a Common Fishing Zone 302

11 The History of Poultry 305

Facts about Poultry 305

Choosing Poultry 312

The Symbolism of Poultry 319

Eggs: their Uses and Customs 322

Part V: Luxury Foods 333
The Revels of the Gauls

12 Treasures from the Sea 338

The History of Garum 338

The History of Caviare 339

A Who’s Who of caviare 345

How to Keep Caviare Happy 347

The History of Shellfish and Crustaceans 348

Facts about Crustaceans 356

The History of Shellfish-Farming 359

The Biology of the Oyster 366

The Biology of the Mussel 368

13 The Treasure of the Forests 369

The History of Pork and Charcuterie 369

About Ham 378

Sausages 381

The Symbolism of the Pig 384

The History of Foie Gras 385

Facts about Foie Gras 392

The Symbolism of Liver 393

The History of Truffles 394

Part VI: The Era of the Merchants 403
Making a Good Profit

14 An Essential Food 414

The History of Salt 414

The Symbolism of Salt 429

The Technique of Winning Salt 430

15 Spice At Any Price 433

About Spices 433

The Secrets of Spices 437

Cinnamon 439

Pepper 441

Ginger 446

Turmeric and Cardamom 450

Cloves 453

The Great Trading Companies 458

Nutmeg and Mace 461

Chillies and Sweet Peppers 464

Aromatics and the Imagination 467

Saffron 467

Vanilla 471

Everyday Condiments and Herbs 473

Herbs 478

The Proper Use of Spices, Aromatics and Condiments 481

The Grocer’s Trade 488

Part VII: New Needs: Sugar, Chocolate, Coffee, Tea 493
Gluttony and Greed for Gain

16 The Lure of Sugar 496

Rum, A Sugar Spirit 504

The Legend of Sugar 505

17 Confectionery and Preserves 507

18 Chocolate and Divinity 515

Definitions of Chocolate 519

19 Coffee and Politics 521

Coffee from the Islands 530

Coffee in Legend 532

20 Tea and Philosophy 535

Tea in Legend 543

The Symbolism of Tea 544

Part VIII: Orchards and Kitchen Gardens 547
Instructions for the Garden

21 The Tradition of Fruits 558

The Symbolism of the Apple 558

Grafting 561

Dessert Apples 562

Table of Production of Apples in EC Countries, 1982–3 564

Cider and Calvados 567

Pears 572

Plums 575

Peaches 578

The Peach in Legend 581

Apricots 582

The Dietetics of Apricots 584

Cherries 584

The Dietetics of Cherries 585

Strawberries 586

Melons 590

Oranges 593

Growing and Selling Oranges 600

A Who’s Who of Oranges 602

Grapefruit 602

Figs 603

The Symbolism of Figs and The Fig Tree 607

Dates 607

Pineapples 609

Bananas 610

Avocados 612

22 The Evolution of Vegetables 620

Cabbages 622

Cauliflowers 625

Salad 626

Chicory and Endive 629

Watercress 630

Asparagus 631

Growing Asparagus 633

Artichokes 636

Tomatoes 637

23 The Potato Revolution 641

Sweet Chestnuts 645

Potatoes 646

Soufflé Potatoes 653

Part IX: Science and Conscience in the Diet 659
The Hows and Whys of Quality

24 Preserving by Heat 662

Canned Sardines 668

The Technique of Canning 670

Food Preservation 671

Pasteurized Milk 673

25 Preserving by Cold 675

Quick-Freezing 677

26 The Reassurance of Dietetics 680

Vitamins 683

Chronology of Dietary Progress 684

27 A Reassuring Future 690

Notes 706

Select Bibliography of Recent English-Language Works 723

Bibliography to Original Edition 729

Index 733