Food Is Culture

Nonfiction, History, Civilization, Food & Drink, Food Writing
Cover of the book Food Is Culture by Massimo Montanari, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Massimo Montanari ISBN: 9780231510783
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: November 21, 2006
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Massimo Montanari
ISBN: 9780231510783
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: November 21, 2006
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Elegantly written by a distinguished culinary historian, Food Is Culture explores the innovative premise that everything having to do with food—its capture, cultivation, preparation, and consumption—represents a cultural act. Even the "choices" made by primitive hunters and gatherers were determined by a culture of economics (availability) and medicine (digestibility and nutrition) that led to the development of specific social structures and traditions.

Massimo Montanari begins with the "invention" of cooking which allowed humans to transform natural, edible objects into cuisine. Cooking led to the creation of the kitchen, the adaptation of raw materials into utensils, and the birth of written and oral guidelines to formalize cooking techniques like roasting, broiling, and frying.

The transmission of recipes allowed food to acquire its own language and grow into a complex cultural product shaped by climate, geography, the pursuit of pleasure, and later, the desire for health. In his history, Montanari touches on the spice trade, the first agrarian societies, Renaissance dishes that synthesized different tastes, and the analytical attitude of the Enlightenment, which insisted on the separation of flavors. Brilliantly researched and analyzed, he shows how food, once a practical necessity, evolved into an indicator of social standing and religious and political identity.

Whether he is musing on the origins of the fork, the symbolic power of meat, cultural attitudes toward hot and cold foods, the connection between cuisine and class, the symbolic significance of certain foods, or the economical consequences of religious holidays, Montanari's concise yet intellectually rich reflections add another dimension to the history of human civilization. Entertaining and surprising, Food Is Culture is a fascinating look at how food is the ultimate embodiment of our continuing attempts to tame, transform, and reinterpret nature.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Elegantly written by a distinguished culinary historian, Food Is Culture explores the innovative premise that everything having to do with food—its capture, cultivation, preparation, and consumption—represents a cultural act. Even the "choices" made by primitive hunters and gatherers were determined by a culture of economics (availability) and medicine (digestibility and nutrition) that led to the development of specific social structures and traditions.

Massimo Montanari begins with the "invention" of cooking which allowed humans to transform natural, edible objects into cuisine. Cooking led to the creation of the kitchen, the adaptation of raw materials into utensils, and the birth of written and oral guidelines to formalize cooking techniques like roasting, broiling, and frying.

The transmission of recipes allowed food to acquire its own language and grow into a complex cultural product shaped by climate, geography, the pursuit of pleasure, and later, the desire for health. In his history, Montanari touches on the spice trade, the first agrarian societies, Renaissance dishes that synthesized different tastes, and the analytical attitude of the Enlightenment, which insisted on the separation of flavors. Brilliantly researched and analyzed, he shows how food, once a practical necessity, evolved into an indicator of social standing and religious and political identity.

Whether he is musing on the origins of the fork, the symbolic power of meat, cultural attitudes toward hot and cold foods, the connection between cuisine and class, the symbolic significance of certain foods, or the economical consequences of religious holidays, Montanari's concise yet intellectually rich reflections add another dimension to the history of human civilization. Entertaining and surprising, Food Is Culture is a fascinating look at how food is the ultimate embodiment of our continuing attempts to tame, transform, and reinterpret nature.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Ultimate Stallone Reader by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Progress and Values in the Humanities by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Struggle on Their Minds by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Confronting Postmaternal Thinking by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Wondrous Brutal Fictions by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Unmaking Love by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book The Frontier Within by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book The Art of War by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Landscape of the Mind by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Truth and the Past by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book What China and India Once Were by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Our Forest, Your Ecosystem, Their Timber by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book The Work of Art by Massimo Montanari
Cover of the book Governance in the New Global Disorder by Massimo Montanari
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy