Food History Message Board

What? No cookbooks in the most commonly shared books? What's up?

What? No cookbooks in the most commonly shared books? What's up?

Very strange, eh?

I doubt most of my cookbooks are of interest to the group - but the subject's of enormous interest to me.

No, 'food writing' is appealing, but I haven't read much yet.

Question, though (which I'll also post in 'Tea!'): does anyone have or know of an especially good book on the early history of tea or coffee, particularly their introduction to Europe? Or even just a great book about the growth of coffee house culture in the 18th century? (If I'm not ranging too far off the mark.) Always curious.

I do like a couple of my American regional cookbooks: I Hear America Cooking or Baking Across America may not be scholarly, but the former, especially, makes wonderful reading.

The Devil's Cup which is in my library is about the history of Coffee - a good general introduction

Looks facinating, Megami; thank you.

Of the books I've posted on LT so far, I've only got 22 tagged "cookbook", but many of the housekeeping and advice books I have include cookbook sections or recipes for special occasions.

Aside from just loving food, I'm also interested in what the food we eat and how we prepare it says about us and the way we live. The first time I can remember thinking about it was when I was 13 or 14 years old and I came across a quote from Housekeeping in Old Virginia: "I would say to housewives, be not daunted by one failure, nor by twenty. Resolve that you *will* have good bread, and never cease striving after this result till you have effected it. If persons without brains can accomplish this, why cannot you?" It struck me for the first time how important bread making - and food preparation in general - had been before you could just run down to the store, and how not being able to make good bread would have been a real source of frustration for these women. I'm still in awe of the sheer amount of time and effort that went into food preparation and planning, particularly before convenience foods began to be available in the mid 20th century.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. :)

I have lots of cookbooks, many of which should be of interest to this group--I just haven't got them catalogued yet. I'll try to make that a priority!

PDeedbs - don't apologize. It was pertinent and interesting. Food preparation and housekeeping in the past fascinates me (- as does good bread)! It was a singularly essential, difficult kind of work - which to me seems much more important a responsibility in the past than it is now. And yes - unbelievably time-consuming and tiring. I look forward to more discussion on the topic...

I've got 171 books tagged so far as "cooking and food" -- mostly cookbooks, but also food writing. I've still some cookbooks left to add.

Thanks, Eurydice. I guess I'm just used to people's eyes glazing over whenever I start going on about The History of the Tomato, or How Flour Sacks Used to be made into Dresses. ;-)

Just as a pertinant review, finished Refined Tastes: Sugar, Confectionery, and Consumers in Nineteenth-Century America the other day. It is a great overview of the history of sugar in America, including the rise of ice creams, chocolate, and candies for children. I love the descriptions of the bonbon boxes that were more expensive than the candies! (You can buy an antique on on ebay)

islandisee, that looks very interesting. I'm adding it to my ever-growing wishlist. Thanks for recommending it.

Hi all; I haven't finished listing my cookbooks and housekeeping books but I do have some fairly old ones from my grandmother and mother, also some old French ones such as Le Livre de Cuisine de Mme de St-Ange.
To answer Eurydice's question about Tea: Mariage Frères in Paris have published a very attractive book about the history of tea, but itis no longer in my possession (I am a bookcrosser...)

You might be interested in Tastes of Paradise : a social history of spices stimulants and intoxicants isbn: 0394579844 by Wolfgang Schivelbusch. Tr. by David Jacobson, New York : Pantheon Books, 1992. Originally published in Germany as Das Paradies, der Geschmack und die Vernunft, 1980. Includes bibliography pp 229-236 . This is one of my favorites.

Anns, thank you, yes; that looks wonderful. As it covers so many interesting substances, it may come high on my list - as a sort of pleasurable multi-tasking. :)

Overthemoon - It will be wonderful to see your collection. I miss my books badly when they're loaned, even, but appreciate those who can part with them. I'll add the book to my growing list (from this and the Tea! group) of books about tea and coffee.

PDeedbs: I expect I could cause some glazing, myself! But personally, I love it, and that's what we're here for!

I've just catalogued my Culinaria books. These are from the German publisher Könemann, but readily available in the U.S. in English. They're oversized books full of gorgeous color photography and include lots of cultural and historical notes about the foods in various regions of the world. The recipes are authentic, and I suspect many have changed little over the past centuries.

Margad, I LOVE my (Culinaria) books! For me they are more than just recipes, they are history and culture and encouragement to eat well!

hey you guys. still haven't listed most of my books; will try to do this soon.

islandisee, i'll check out Refined Tastes: Sugar, Confectionery, and Consumers in Nineteenth-Century America; it should be a perfect to read after i finish salt: a world history by mark kurlansky. thanks for the recomm.

anikins,

Salt: a world history was great too! I keep meaning to pick up his earlier book on cod: Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. Great examples of the single-item history that seems to be so popular these days. Pure Ketchup: a History of America's National Condiment by Andrew F. Smith is another one to browse through.

Megami, do you ever use any of the recipes in the Culinaria books? I love the paella recipes in Culinaria, Spain, though I'm constitutionally incapable of ever following a recipe exactly.

I do use some of them, though I have to write them out first, as dragging a Culinaria book into the kitchen is not going to happen in my house.

Eurydice: I suggest The Empire of Tea:The Remarkable History of the Plant that Took Over the World

Thank you, hazelk! :)

I mentioned Mark Kurlansky's books earlier: Cod: a Biography of the Fish that changed the world and Salt: a world history. What I just found out is that he has done juvenile, picture-book style editions of both that look as fun to browse through as the originals. So if you are looking to inspire the children in your life to become addicted to food history, this might do it :-) They are called The Story of Salt and The Cod's Tale.

hey islandisee--kurlansky has kids books, too?! now that's cute. thanks a lot for the info! :)

anikins, I may have buy these for -myself- and pretend I have children to give them too :-)

I have often borrowed a few cook books of the past from the library. The most interesting were from the Tudor times. How they prepared and preserved the food back then is quite frightening. But some of the desserts sound delicious. Without all of the " modern " equipment we have today, they still made some very interesting and tasty-sounding dishes.

Scholar's Bookshelf has a great section of books on Culinary History. It's under the History tab. My wishlist has just grown incredibly...

http://www.scholarsbookshelf.com/

Please define for me, the difference between "food writing" and a "cookbook". Would it be for instance the difference between Clementine in the Kitchen and Joy of Cooking?

Yes, MrsLee!

Alright then, my favorite cookbooks are the ones which read as a book. Of course, some cookbooks read like a book just because of the introduction to each recipe, like The Prudhomme Family Cookbook. This tells so much about life in the early part of the twentieth century in the Cajun country. The only cookbook I haven't read in my collection is the Joy of Cooking, I use it as a reference.

What about The splendid table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper? If you have not read it, I strongly recommend it. It combines recipes and history.

I will keep my eyes open for it, just purchased a cookbook written by Dorothy Sayers when she was in advertising. She wrote it for the Coleman Mustard Company during their "Mustard Club" campaign. I bought it at their website. Can't wait 'til it arrives!

islandisee,

speaking of kurlansky... i recently got myself a softcover edition of his Choice Cuts: A Savory Selection of Food Writing Around the World. since these are snippets of other people's work, the collection is uneven. but there are treasures inside like pieces by Escoffier, MFK Fisher, Jeremy Wechsberg, Orwell, Hemingway, among others.

Just roaming through my library and here are some I enjoy:

American Food : The Gastronomic Story by Evan Jones

America Eats: Forms of Edible Folk Art by William Woys Weaver

The Seasonal Hearth: The Woman at Home in Early America
by Adelaide Hechtlinger

The Sensible Cook: Dutch Foodways in the Old and the New World
by Peter G Rose

And how about The Big Oyster, Kurlansky's latest food book?

I have lots of this type book and find them so enjoyable.

But I also have lots of the memoir type which which give insight into more individual history and I enjoy them as well.

Forgot this one and just came upon in while browsing my library.

Mennonite Foods & Folkways From South Russia
by Norma Jost Voth

I like the Voth book a lot, Buddy, and use it as a reference pretty often. How about A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove? I've enjoyed the first two chapters but haven't tried any of the recipes.

LLP, Have browsed ATYOAHS in one of my local bookstores and have it on my wish (make that yearn) list. I have pretty much totally read the Voth book but have not, at least consciously, used it as a reference. Would also very much like to get Voth's Vol II which, as far as I can tell, is stories but not necessarily recipes. I tried to get it from ABE, but there are only paperbacks and mine is a hardcover, and I would like them to match. Silly of me, I know, but guess I'll just keep looking.

I have both of the Voth books in hardback, if memory serves. The second one has some recipes -again, if I'm thinking straight - but more on the folkways.

Leaving USA for a moment: Has anyone information about recipes used in Europe during the 16th Century or thereabouts? I would love to see a thread about Renaissace European food in the new group:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/renaissanceeurope

What about this one, The Renaissance Cookbook? I don't have it, but am always deeply attracted to cookbooks of such periods.

http://www.mounthopebooks.com/si/17717.html

Both of these looked like useful or interesting sources, online:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html

http://www.godecookery.com/godeboke/godeboke.htm

Thrin, I will take a look at a couple of books I have at home. It might be mostly Italian Renaissance cuisine, though.

Thanks for those suggestions Eurydice, and 'mostly Italian Renaissance' sounds good to me aluvalibri... How about posting some ideas about these books/sites/etc. in the Renaissance Europe group?

http://www.librarything.com/groups/renaissanceeurope

Any recommendations for sources for Edwardian garden party-ish gatherings? We're looking either for menu suggestions or books that discuss such festivities, whether fiction or non.

You might want to try The Raj at Table: A Culinary History of the British in India. Some of it overlaps with the Edwardian era, and shows how India influenced British food.

>51 Thanks, varielle. The Edwardian tea went off quite well on 5/29 and included a curried chicken vol-au-vent as a nod to the Raj.