Bibliograph

The secret history of food, strange but true stories about the origins of everything we eat, Matt Siegel

Type

Label

The secret history of food, strange but true stories about the origins of everything we eat, Matt Siegel

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-249) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The secret history of food

Nature of contents

bibliography

Responsibility statement

Matt Siegel

Sub title

strange but true stories about the origins of everything we eat

Summary

Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually, English? "As a species, we're hardwired to obsess over food," Matt Siegel explains as he sets out "to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths." Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths--and realities, of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis. The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical, cultural, scientific, sexual, and, yes, culinary subcultures of this most essential realm

Table Of Contents

A history of swallowing -- Pie, progress, and Plymouth Rock -- Breakfast of champions -- Children of the corn -- Honey laundering -- The vanilla of society -- The ghosts of Cockaigne past -- The choices of a new generation -- Forbidden berries (or appetite for distraction) -- Attack of the killer tomatoes

Classification