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Loading... New Larousse Gastronomiqueby Hamlyn
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This reference work is a cookery encyclopaedia, known for its authoritative and comprehensive account of the culinary world, past and present. It covers nearly every ingredient and cooking style in history, offers advice on appliances and recipes, and presents developments in nutrition. It includes recipes and a recipe index. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)641.503Technology Home and family management Food And Drink Cooking, cookbooks > Dictionaries And EncyclopediasRatingAverage:
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This work is touted to be "the world's most famous culinary reference book" and to provide comprehensive coverage of "every aspect of cookery". This includes history and traditions of foods and eating, biographies of chefs, cooking terms, and culinary techniques. For example, how to filet a fish, or make beurre blanc. How to store and use ingredients. Provides over 3,800 recipes, many of which are classic and non-obvious.
Prosper Montagne published the first edition in Paris in 1938. This revised English edition features 90 new biographies and expands the global scope. There is emphasis on techniques of contemporary cuisine -- alongside simmering, braising, roasting and baking, we now find induction or plancha cooking and the use of liquid nitrogen and creating foams. New ingredients such as cactus, eddo, haloumi, potmarron and tonka beans, along with new recipes such as chocolate avocado souffles. With over 800 illustrations and 400 photographs.
Under "Abattoir" is a small section on "Slaughtering in former times", with a surprising observation that "in the language of Homer, to express the idea of the slaughter of livestock, there are no verbs other than those relating to offering up sacrifices to the gods".
What a wonderful thing to repeat -- to recall the days when our food animals were treated with respect, even "religiously". Today, we eat creatures produced in factories and torture chambers. Chickens who live to scratch the earth, are pinned in cages and never touch the ground. Calves are locked in pens and have never spent their youth gamboling the meadows! We have fished to near extinction species we once ate in abundance. We are doing this WRONG. J'Accuse!
Fortunately, many people "care" about food. My takeaway on the attitude of the many authors of this encyclopedia is that transparency, planning and integrity must attend what we eat. Every professional and every consumer should insist that great "care" be taken of our food. ( )