Edible – serie

Like a rich plum pudding, Pudding: A Global History is bursting with choice morsels. From cookbooks and family recipes to novels, poems, songs and cartoons, it tells the story of puddings and how they developed from early savoury, sausage-like mixtures to today’s sweet and sticky confections. Tracing the development of a range of puddings and explaining how advances in kitchen equipment have changed them over time, award-winning author Jeri Quinzio describes the many ways cooks from around the world have made them, from black pudding to the festive Christmas pudding.Whether you make them or just indulge in them; whether your interest is history, culture or cooking; whether your favourite is Yorkshire pudding or rice pudding: if you love a good story and a good pudding, this book is for you.

Look. Swirl. Sniff. Taste. Savour. Whether you’re tasting a refreshing white or an aromatic red, these well-known steps are the only proper way to take the first sip of wine.How did wine surpass all other beverages to achieve global domination? In Wine, Marc Millon travels back to the origins of modern man to find the answer, discovering that this heady drink is intertwined with the roots of civilization itself. Wine traces the long history of the most complex, mysterious and magical of the world’s beverages. It takes us from the Transcaucasus some 8,000 years ago across the Mediterranean Sea and throughout Europe with classical civilization, to the New World with the conquistadors, on to the distant lands of Australia and New Zealand and now to the burgeoning economies of India and China, where wine culture has exploded in the past decade.Wine explains winemaking techniques past and present, looking at every part of the process from vine-growing to bottling and marketing, as well as exploring the culture – and character – of wines around the world. Crisp and concise, it is the perfect introduction for novices while offering an engaging chronicle for experts.

‘Too ravishing for mortal taste . . . like lovers’ kisses she biteth – she is a pleasure bordering on pain, from fierceness and insanity of her relish’, the poet Charles Lamb wrote of the pineapple, the fruit that seduced the world. From the moment Christopher Columbus encountered it in 1493, the pineapple became an object of desire: the first New World explorers thought it must be the fruit with which Eve tempted Adam.The fruit was first transported to Europe, where it could only be grown at great expense in hothouses. The pineapple was the ultimate status symbol – London society hostesses would even pay extravagantly to rent a pineapple for a single evening to be the centrepiece of a party. Beloved by George Washington, a favourite of kings and aristocrats, the pineapple quickly achieved an elite status among fruits that it retains today. It remained a seasonal luxury for the rich until developments in shipping and refrigeration allowed it to be brought to the major markets in Europe and America. Today, canning processes – and the discovery of the pineapple’s ideal home in Hawaii – have made it available and affordable throughout the year.Packed with vivid illustrations and irresistible recipes from around the world, Pineapple follows the world’s culinary romance with this exotic fruit.

Pilsners, blonde ales, India pale ales, lagers, porters, stouts: the varieties and styles of beer are endless. But as diverse as the drink is, its appeal is universal – beer is the most-consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. From pubs and inns to restaurants, bars and microbreweries, beer has made itself a staple drink around the globe. Celebrating the heritage of the world’s favourite tipple, Gavin D. Smith traces beer from its earliest days to its contemporary consumption.After exploring the evolution of brewing technology, the book travels from Mexico to Milwaukee, Beijing, Bruges and beyond, demonstrating the dazzling variety of beer styles and brewing processes to be found around the world. Once brewed in monasteries to be consumed as ‘liquid bread’ on fast days, beer is now the drink of choice at festivals and celebrations worldwide. Containing a wealth of detail in its concise, wonderfully illustrated pages, Beer will appeal to connoisseurs and casual fans alike.

From almonds and pecans to pistachios, cashews and macadamias, nuts are as basic as food gets – just pop them out of the shell and into your mouth. The original health food, the vitamin-packed nut is now used industrially in confectionery and in all sorts of cooking. The first book to tell the full story of how nuts came to be in almost everything, Nuts takes readers on a gastronomic, botanical and cultural tour of the world.After tackling the surprisingly difficult problem of defining a nut – some foods we think of as nuts are actually seeds and some are fruits – award-winning food writer Ken Albala provides a fascinating account of how nuts have been cooked, prepared and exploited through history and around the world, from cultivation and harvesting to processing and consumption – or non-consumption, in the case of those with nut allergies. With scrumptious recipes, surprising facts and fascinating nuggets inside, this entertaining and informative book will delight lovers of almonds, hazelnuts, chestnuts and more.

An aromatic spirit made from distilled wine and produced around the globe, brandy is a spirit loved by many. Long associated with refined taste and sophisticated consumption, today it has taken on a new life in the world of mixology. Cognac – an illustrious and elegant amber brandy – is currently one of the most fashionable components of high-end mixed drinks, consumed in the world’s coolest bars.Many cultures have played a part in the history of the beverage, from the Dutch who made brandewijn or ‘burnt wine’ to the Spanish colonials in Peru and California who produced the first brandies in the New World. Brandy takes readers on a journey from the alchemists of the Middle Ages to present-day mixology hotspots, chronicling the history of the drink and the beautiful locations in which it is produced. For those inclined to imbibe, the book offers advice on buying, storing and serving brandy, and features classic and new cocktail recipes for both connoisseurs and first-time drinkers to enjoy.

Figs, fresh and dried, have become the fruit of celebrations and festivities throughout the Western world, and have been typically associated with Christmastime since the nineteenth century.In Figs: A Global History, David C. Sutton examines the festive and celebratory importance of figs in many countries by placing this luscious and festive fruit in its historical context. Beginning with an account of the strange biology of the fig – which is botanically not a fruit at all, but rather a cluster of ingrowing flowers – Sutton moves on to consider the Arabian origins of figs, including the possibility that the earliest fig seeds were transported from Yemen to Mesopotamia in the dung of donkeys.Proposing that the ‘forbidden fruit’ eaten by Adam and Eve was in fact a fig rather than an apple, this book explores the history of the fruit in fascinating detail, from the Crusaders to the wonderful fig festivals of the modern world. Including numerous recipes both sweet and savoury, and countless facts, myths and stories about the fig, such as the bizarre tale of the American fig-wasp, Figs is a fascinating account of this unique and delicious food.

From sushi to risotto and from rice pudding to pilau, few foods are as ubiquitous as rice. A dietary staple and indispensable agricultural product from Asia to the Americas, rice can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants and family kitchens alike. Rice has played a significant role in society and the food economy as it journeyed from Asia and West Africa to global prominence.Trade in rice was powered both by profits from high-status export rice and by the use of lower-quality rice in feeding countless labourers. It came to be used in kitchens around the world because the culinary traditions of slaves and indentured labourers were taken up by the cuisines of their host countries. The rise of rice continues today as newer immigrant communities arrive. The pressures of urbanization, and increases in marketing and advertising, have also contributed to the rise of a processed rice industry that is continuing to expand. The result is that the kind of rice one eats is a clue to the cultural and ethnic groups one belongs to, and rice in its many forms has been celebrated in cultural rituals, literature, music, painting and poetry. Chock full of delicious recipes from across the globe, Rice is a fascinating look at how this culinary staple has defined us.Renee Marton interviewed by Leonard Lopate on WNYC Radio.

Sugar is one of the most beloved substances consumed by humans, and also one of the most reviled. It has come to dominate our diets – whether in candy, desserts, soft drinks or even bread and pasta sauces – for better and for worse. This fascinating history of this addictive ingredient reveals its incredible value as a global commodity and explores its darker legacies of slavery and widespread obesity.Sugar’s past is chock-full of determined adventurers: relentless sugar barons and plantation owners who worked alongside plant breeders, food processors, distributors and politicians to build a business based on our cravings. Exploring both the sugar cane and sugar beet industries, Andrew F. Smith tells story after story of those who have made fortunes and those who have met their demise because of sugar’s simple but profound hold on our palates. Delightful and surprisingly action-packed, this book offers a layered and definitive tale of sugar and the many people who have been caught in its spell, from barons to slaves, and from chefs to the countless among us born with that insatiable devil – the sweet tooth.

With its unique aroma and heady buzz – the perfect accompaniment to even the spiciest tacos – tequila has won its way into drinkers’ hearts worldwide. There are few places on earth besides Mexico that have the climate and terrain to evolve the agave plant from which tequila is made, and there are even fewer people who have the patience to wait the seven years or more that it takes ‘the tree of marvels’ to grow. Tequila is a lively history of this potent and popular drink.Mayans, Olmecs and Aztecs fermented a drink called pulque from the sap of the agave. It was reserved for pregnant women and priests – and their sacrifices. Later the Mexicans began to use distillation to make tequila and mescal and since its humble beginnings as a local firewater, it has exploded into global popularity.Ian Williams visits countless tequila producers, distributors and connoisseurs to tell the story of how tequila started in the agave lands of Mexico, became an icon of youthful inebriation and then developed into a truly artisanal product which today draws the most discerning drinkers.Including recipes for cocktails, as well as advice on the buying, storing, tasting and serving of tequila, mescal and other agave spirits, this book will delight beverage aficionados and anyone interested in the history of Mexico and its unique drinking culture.

For over a century, the banana has been the world’s favourite fruit. Quick and easy to eat, tasty and versatile, the banana is a staple of many diets around the globe. Its history, however, is more than simply a succession of happy family scenes and appealing exotic locations. The growth and development of the fruit we know and love today is entangled with colonial practices, capitalist enterprise, sexual politics and even horrific murders.Banana: A Global History takes us from the agricultural beginnings of the banana in New Guinea to its almost ubiquitous presence in culinary repertoires around the globe, from the United States to the Caribbean, from regions of Africa to the heart of Southeast Asia. The book gives us an insight into the life of the banana over millennia, focusing on our recent history and its cultural affair with the fruit. The global life of the banana is traced in cultural practices, advertising, commercial schemes and the unmissable icons of popular culture, from nineteenth-century medical manuals to cookbooks, songs, the famous ‘banana peel gag’ and the well-known Miss Chiquita icon.

Do you know your onions? From large, sweet onions to shallots, garlic, chives and leeks, the allium family contains some of the most popular vegetables in the world. Shy of the spotlight – except when repelling vampires, preserving mummies, curing heart disease or predicting the future – this lowly family of plants has been a friend to mankind from earliest times.Onions and Garlic follows the trail of these cherished plants through history and across the globe, tracing their story back to the earliest civilizations of the Fertile Crescent and the recipes of ancient Mesopotamia. Traders spread onion varieties through Central Asia and from there they moved across the world, as civilizations from the ancient Romans and Greeks to the Koreans and Japanese found this humble family of vegetables an indispensable part of their cuisines – and of their culture. The book reveals the close relationship between the allium and human worlds: the Welsh have proudly adopted the leek as their national symbol; in many societies, garlic has long been identified as a magical herb with supernatural origins; while onions symbolized the simple peasant life to French painters of the nineteenth century.Celebrated, denigrated, avoided or sought-after, the story of the allium family is filled with fine cuisine and art, peasants and kings, colonization and conquest, magic and medicine. But most of all, it’s the story of a very ordinary vegetable.

Despite their fearsome reputation, chillies have helped to shape the identities of innumerable world cuisines. Chillies traces the culinary journey of the spice and uncovers cultural and spiritual links between chillies and humans, from their use as an aphrodisiac, to the recent discovery that chilli heat shows promise as a treatment for neuropathic pain, prostate cancer and leukaemia. It also makes a compelling link between the history of global trade and conflict and the spread of spicy cuisine worldwide. Peppered with lively anecdotes and details of chilli taxonomy and ecology, this entertaining history is sure to spice up your bookshelf.

Few things in life have as much universal appeal as flowers. But why in the world would anyone eat them? Throughout history Greeks, Romans, Persians, Ottomans, Mayans, Chinese and Indian cooks have all recognized the feast for the senses that flowers brought to their dishes. Today, contemporary chefs and adventurous cooks are using ingredients like flowers in innovative ways, such as in molecular gastronomy and the farm-to-table movement.Edible Flowers is the fascinating history of how flowers have been used in cooking around the world, from ancient customs to modern kitchens. Exploring cultural, symbolic, and religious aspects, the book travels to the dining rooms of Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, serving up novel ways to prepare and eat soups, salads and stews, garnishes, desserts and beverages. Discover something new about the flowers all around you with this surprising history.To find out more about the authors, visit their website at constancekirker.com.

Juicy, crunchy, tart: with its multitude of seeds and juice akin to blood, it’s not hard to see why the pomegranate has so appealed to the imagination. After being held in high esteem in the rituals of the polytheistic religions of the ancient world, the pom-­egranate came to be revered in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This book explores how people throughout history interacted with pomegranates, featuring a cast of well-known characters from the Ashurnasirpal to Anne Boleyn, from Sandro Botticelli to Salvador Dalí. It is a cornucopia of strange and fascinating anecdotes about this very special fruit whose health benefits are so highly regarded today.

Since the dawn of time oysters have inhabited the earth. Naturally high in essential vitamins and minerals, they are one of the oldest known and most widely enjoyed foods consumed by humans. Varying in size from as small as a grape to as large as a dinner plate, the oyster has driven countries towards discovery and exploration. It has been the food of the rich and the sustenance of the poor. Renowned for its supposed aphrodisiac quality, it has inspired writers, poets, painters and lovers. Throughout history, it has also contributed to the spread of diseases such as typhoid and cholera. Follow the story from the prehistoric up to the present day, discovering how the oyster became the food of both paupers and kings, contributed to the building of empires and the demise of ecosystems, and why it may be the creature to help save the world’s dying coastal shorelines and reefs.

Pickles are a global food: from the fiery, fermented kimchi of Korea and Japan’s salty tsukemono, to the ceviche and escabeche of Latin America, Europe’s sauerkraut and America’s dill pickles. They are also a modern food. Growing interest in naturally fermented vegetables – pickles by another name – means that today, in the early twenty-first century, we are seeing a renaissance in the making and consumption of pickles.Across continents and throughout history, pickling has been relied upon to preserve foods and add to their flavour; and in these health-conscious times they have acquired a new significance. Traditionally fermented pickles are probiotic and possess anti-aging and anti-cancer properties; while pickle juice cures hangovers, prevents muscle cramps in athletes and reduces sugar spikes in diabetics. In Pickles, Jan Davison explores the cultural and gastronomic importance of pickles from the earliest civilisations to the present day. Discover the art of pickling mastered by the ancient Chinese, find out why Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon took fermented cabbage into space, learn how the Japanese pickle the deadly pufferfish, and uncover the pickling provenance of that most popular of condiments, tomato ketchup. In this globe-trotting book, Davison discovers how pickles have been omnipresent in our common quest, not only to conserve, but to create foods with relish.

How could a vegetable be so beloved, so universal, and at the same time so disdained? One of the oldest crops in the world, cabbage has provided European and Asian peoples with vitamins A and C, and even with babies – according to folk tales about infants found ‘under a cabbage leaf’, that is. It has appeared in senators’ speeches in ancient Rome and the luggage of South Korean astronauts. Cabbage is both a badge of poverty and an emblem of national pride; a food derided as cheap, common and crass, and an essential ingredient in iconic dishes from sauerkraut to kimchi. Cabbage is easy to grow because it contains sulphurous compounds that repel insect pests in the wild – and human diners indoors who smell its distinctive aroma. We can’t live without cabbage, but we don’t want to stand downwind of it.In this lively book, Meg Muckenhoupt traces cabbage’s culinary paradox, exploring the cultural and chemical basis for its smelly reputation and enduring popularity. Filled with fascinating facts and recipes for everything from French cabbage soup to sauerkraut chocolate cake, Cabbage is essential reading for both food lovers and historians around the globe.

Coffee is a global beverage: it is grown commercially on four continents, and consumed enthusiastically in all seven. There is even an Italian espresso machine on the International Space Station. Coffee’s journey has taken it from the forests of Ethiopia to the fincas of Latin America, from Ottoman coffee houses to ‘Third Wave’ cafés, and from the simple coffee pot to the capsule machine. In Coffee: A Global History, Jonathan Morris explains how the world acquired a taste for coffee, yet why coffee tastes so different throughout the world.Morris discusses who drank coffee, as well as why and where, how it was prepared and what it tasted like. He identifies the regions and ways in which coffee was grown, who worked the farms and who owned them, and how the beans were processed, traded and transported. He also analyses the businesses behind coffee – the brokers, roasters and machine manufacturers – and dissects the geopolitics linking producers to consumers. Written in an engaging style and featuring wonderful recipes, stories and facts, this book will fascinate foodies, food historians and the many people who regard the humble coffee bean as a staple of modern life.

Which is your favourite biscuit (or cookie, if you're from the USA)? Chocolate-chip, gingernut or oreo cookie? Oatmeal and raisin, black and white cookie, digestive or florentine? Biscuits and cookies have a myriad forms and flavours, and as well they have a rich and ancient history: evidence of biscuit-making exists from around 4000 BC.Biscuit/Cookie by Anastasia Edwards explores the abundant history of this versatile snack, from earliest beginnings through Middle Eastern baking to Northern Europe in the Middle Ages, and on into the New World. From German lebkuchen to the animal cracker, more than half-a-billion of which are produced each year in the United States alone. From brownies and sugar cookies in the US, to shortbread and rich tea biscuits in the UK, to Anzac and Girl-Guide biscuits in New Zealand and Australia, this book is crammed with biscuit and cookie facts, stories, images and recipes from around the world.

In the history of food, the tomato is a relative newcomer but it would now be impossible to imagine the food cultures of many nations without them. The journey taken by the tomato from its ancestral home in the southern Americas to Europe and back is a riveting story full of discovery, innovation, drama and dispute. Today it is at the forefront of scientific advances and heritage conservation, but the tomato has faced challenges every step of the way into our gardens and kitchens including the eternal question: is it a fruit or a vegetable?Clarissa Hyman charts the eventful history of this ubiquitous everyday item that is often taken for granted. Hyman discusses tomato soup and ketchup, heritage tomatoes, tomato varieties, breeding and genetics, nutrition, tomatoes in Italy, tomatoes in art, and tomatoes for the future. Featuring delicious modern and historical recipes, such as the infamous ‘man-winning tomato salad’, this is a juicy and informative history of one of our most beloved foods.

Whether grainy or smooth, spicy or sweet, Dijon, American or English, mustard accompanies our food and flavours our life around the globe. It has been a source of pleasure, health and myth from ancient times to the present day, its tiny seed a symbol of faith and its pungent flavour a testimony to refined taste. In this delightful global history, Demet Güzey takes readers on a tour of the ubiquitous mustard, exploring its origins, its use in medicine and in the kitchen, its place in literature, language and religion, and its strong symbolism of sharpness, perseverance and strength. There are stories of mustard plasters used to treat melancholy, runners eating mustard to prevent cramps, and Christians spreading mustard seeds along pilgrimage trails.Packed with entertaining mustard facts, anecdotes and images, as well as a selection of historic and modern recipes, this surprising history of one of the world’s most loved condiments will appeal to food history aficionados.

The avocado is the iconic food of the twenty-first century. It has gone from a little-known regional food to a social media darling in less than a hundred years. This is an astounding trajectory for a fruit that isn’t sweet, becomes bitter when it is cooked and has perhaps the oddest texture of any fruit or vegetable. But the idea that this rich and delicious fruit is also healthy despite being fatty and energy-dense gives it unicorn status among modern eaters, especially millennials.Through lively anecdotes, colourful pictures and delicious recipes, Jeff Miller explores the meteoric rise of the avocado, from its co-evolution with the megaherbivores of the Pleistocene to its acceptance by the Spanish conquistadores in Mexico and its current dominance of food consumers’ imagination.

Beans are considered a basic staple in most kitchen cupboards, yet these humble foodstuffs have a very long history: there is evidence that beans have been eaten for 9,000 years. Whether dried, frozen or canned, beans have substantial nutritional and environmental benefits, and can easily be made into a wholesome, satisfying meal. From garbanzos to lentils, and from favas to soybeans, Beans: A Global History narrates the rich story of these small yet mighty edibles. Featuring historic and modern recipes that celebrate the wide variety of bean cuisines, this book chimes with the modern trend for healthy eating, and takes readers on a vivid journey through the gastronomical, botanical, cultural and political history of beans.

Explore the dramatic history of the world’s most expensive spice in Saffron: A Global History. Literally worth their weight in gold, sunset-red saffron threads are prized internationally. Saffron can be found in cave art in Mesopotamia, in the frescoes of ancient Santorini, in the dyed wrappings of Egyptian mummies, in the saffron-hued robes of Buddhist monks, and in unmistakable dishes around the world. It has been the catalyst for trade wars, as well as smuggling schemes, and used in medicine and cosmetics.Complete with delicious recipes and surprising anecdotes, this book traces the many paths taken by saffron, revealing the allure of a spice sought globally by merchants, chefs, artists, scientists, clerics, traders, warriors and black market smugglers.

Intoxicating and evocative, vanilla is so much more than a spice rack staple. It is a flavour that has defined the entire world – and its roots reach deep into the past. With its earliest origins dating back 70 million years, the history of vanilla begins in ancient Meso-America and ends with its current significance. It has been used by nearly every culture as a spice, a perfume and even a potent aphrodisiac, while renowned figures from Louis xiv to Casanova to Thomas Jefferson have been captivated by its aroma and taste.Featuring recipes, facts and fables, Vanilla unravels the delightfully rich history, mystery and essence of a flavour that reconnects us to our own heritage.

Few ingredients inspire more high-soaring praise and provoke greater outrage than foie gras. Literally meaning ‘fat liver’, foie gras is traditionally produced by force-feeding geese or ducks, a process which has become the object of widespread controversy and debate. In Foie Gras: A Global History, Norman Kolpas strives to provide a balanced and engaging account of this luxurious ingredient’s history and production from ancient Egypt to modern times. Kolpas also explores how foie gras has inspired writers, artists and musicians including Homer, Melville, Asimov, Monet and Rossini. The book includes a guide to purchasing, preparing and serving foie gras as well as 10 easy recipes from classic dishes to contemporary treats.