Richard Stevenson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199539352
- eISBN:
- 9780191724008
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199539352.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Flavour is arguably the most fascinating aspect of eating and drinking. It utilises a complex variety of senses and processes, that incredibly work together to generate a unified, and hopefully ...
More
Flavour is arguably the most fascinating aspect of eating and drinking. It utilises a complex variety of senses and processes, that incredibly work together to generate a unified, and hopefully pleasurable, experience. The processes involved are not just those involved in tasting at the time of eating, but also memory and learning processes — we obviously shun those foods of which we have a negative memory, and favour those we enjoy. Our understanding of the science of flavour has improved in recent years, benefiting psychology, cuisine, food science, oenology, and dietetics. This book describes what is known about the psychology and biology of flavour. The book is divided into two parts. The first explores what we know about the flavour system; including the role of learning and memory in flavour perception and hedonics; the way in which all the senses that contribute to flavour interact, and our ability to perceive flavour as a whole and as a series of parts. The later chapters examine a range of theoretical issues concerning the flavour system. This includes a look at multisensory processing, and the way in which the mind and brain bind information from discrete sensory systems. It also examines the broader implications of studying flavour for societal problems such as obesity.Less
Flavour is arguably the most fascinating aspect of eating and drinking. It utilises a complex variety of senses and processes, that incredibly work together to generate a unified, and hopefully pleasurable, experience. The processes involved are not just those involved in tasting at the time of eating, but also memory and learning processes — we obviously shun those foods of which we have a negative memory, and favour those we enjoy. Our understanding of the science of flavour has improved in recent years, benefiting psychology, cuisine, food science, oenology, and dietetics. This book describes what is known about the psychology and biology of flavour. The book is divided into two parts. The first explores what we know about the flavour system; including the role of learning and memory in flavour perception and hedonics; the way in which all the senses that contribute to flavour interact, and our ability to perceive flavour as a whole and as a series of parts. The later chapters examine a range of theoretical issues concerning the flavour system. This includes a look at multisensory processing, and the way in which the mind and brain bind information from discrete sensory systems. It also examines the broader implications of studying flavour for societal problems such as obesity.
Eric Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? This look at Japanese culinary history delves into the writings of medieval ...
More
How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? This look at Japanese culinary history delves into the writings of medieval and early modern Japanese chefs to answer these and other questions, and to trace the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. The book shows how medieval “fantasy food” rituals—where food was revered as symbol rather than consumed—were continued by early modern writers. It offers the first extensive introduction to Japanese cookbooks, recipe collections, and gastronomic writings of the period and traces the origins of dishes such as tempura, sushi, and sashimi while documenting Japanese cooking styles and dining customs.Less
How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? This look at Japanese culinary history delves into the writings of medieval and early modern Japanese chefs to answer these and other questions, and to trace the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. The book shows how medieval “fantasy food” rituals—where food was revered as symbol rather than consumed—were continued by early modern writers. It offers the first extensive introduction to Japanese cookbooks, recipe collections, and gastronomic writings of the period and traces the origins of dishes such as tempura, sushi, and sashimi while documenting Japanese cooking styles and dining customs.
Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226243238
- eISBN:
- 9780226243276
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226243276.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
French cuisine is such a staple in our understanding of fine food that we forget the accidents of history that led to its creation. This book brings these “accidents” to the surface, illuminating the ...
More
French cuisine is such a staple in our understanding of fine food that we forget the accidents of history that led to its creation. This book brings these “accidents” to the surface, illuminating the magic of French cuisine and the mystery behind its historical development. The book explains how the food of France became French cuisine. This culinary journey begins with Ancien Régime cookbooks and ends with twenty-first-century cooking programs. It takes us from Carême, the “inventor” of modern French cuisine in the early nineteenth century, to top chefs today, such as Daniel Boulud and Jacques Pépin. Not a history of French cuisine, this book focuses on the people, places, and institutions that have made this cuisine what it is today: a privileged vehicle for national identity, a model of cultural ascendancy, and a pivotal site where practice and performance intersect. With sources as various as the novels of Balzac and Proust, interviews with contemporary chefs such as David Bouley and Charlie Trotter, and the film Babette's Feast, the book maps the cultural field that structures culinary affairs in France and then exports its crucial ingredients. What's more, well beyond food, the intricate connections between cuisine and country, between local practice and national identity, illuminate the concept of culture itself.Less
French cuisine is such a staple in our understanding of fine food that we forget the accidents of history that led to its creation. This book brings these “accidents” to the surface, illuminating the magic of French cuisine and the mystery behind its historical development. The book explains how the food of France became French cuisine. This culinary journey begins with Ancien Régime cookbooks and ends with twenty-first-century cooking programs. It takes us from Carême, the “inventor” of modern French cuisine in the early nineteenth century, to top chefs today, such as Daniel Boulud and Jacques Pépin. Not a history of French cuisine, this book focuses on the people, places, and institutions that have made this cuisine what it is today: a privileged vehicle for national identity, a model of cultural ascendancy, and a pivotal site where practice and performance intersect. With sources as various as the novels of Balzac and Proust, interviews with contemporary chefs such as David Bouley and Charlie Trotter, and the film Babette's Feast, the book maps the cultural field that structures culinary affairs in France and then exports its crucial ingredients. What's more, well beyond food, the intricate connections between cuisine and country, between local practice and national identity, illuminate the concept of culture itself.
Massimo Montanari
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231160841
- eISBN:
- 9780231535083
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231160841.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This text tells the far-flung story of how local and global influences came to flavor Italian identity. The fusion of ancient Roman cuisine—which consisted of bread, wine, and olives—with the ...
More
This text tells the far-flung story of how local and global influences came to flavor Italian identity. The fusion of ancient Roman cuisine—which consisted of bread, wine, and olives—with the barbarian diet—rooted in bread, milk, and meat—first formed the basics of modern eating across Europe. From there, the book highlights the importance of the Italian city in the development of gastronomic taste in the Middle Ages, the role of Arab traders in positioning the country as the supreme producers of pasta, and the nation's healthful contribution of vegetables to the fifteenth-century European diet. Italy became a receiving country with the discovery of the New World, absorbing corn, potatoes, and tomatoes into its national cuisine. As disaster dispersed Italians in the nineteenth century, new immigrant stereotypes portraying Italians as “macaroni eaters” spread. However, two world wars and globalization renewed the perception of Italy and its culture as unique in the world, and the production of food constitutes an important part of that uniqueness.Less
This text tells the far-flung story of how local and global influences came to flavor Italian identity. The fusion of ancient Roman cuisine—which consisted of bread, wine, and olives—with the barbarian diet—rooted in bread, milk, and meat—first formed the basics of modern eating across Europe. From there, the book highlights the importance of the Italian city in the development of gastronomic taste in the Middle Ages, the role of Arab traders in positioning the country as the supreme producers of pasta, and the nation's healthful contribution of vegetables to the fifteenth-century European diet. Italy became a receiving country with the discovery of the New World, absorbing corn, potatoes, and tomatoes into its national cuisine. As disaster dispersed Italians in the nineteenth century, new immigrant stereotypes portraying Italians as “macaroni eaters” spread. However, two world wars and globalization renewed the perception of Italy and its culture as unique in the world, and the production of food constitutes an important part of that uniqueness.
Vanina Leschziner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780804787970
- eISBN:
- 9780804795494
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804787970.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This book is about the creative work of chefs at elite restaurants in New York City and San Francisco. Based on interviews with chefs and observation of their work in restaurant kitchens, the book ...
More
This book is about the creative work of chefs at elite restaurants in New York City and San Francisco. Based on interviews with chefs and observation of their work in restaurant kitchens, the book examines how and why chefs make choices about the dishes they put on their menus, and how they develop a culinary style. To answer the questions, the book analyzes chefs’ career paths, culinary classifications and categories, how chefs develop their culinary styles and reflectively manage their authorship, cognitive patterns and work processes involved in creating food, and status constraints. Elite chefs face competing pressures to create a distinctive and original culinary style, and conform to tradition as they navigate market forces to run a profitable business. They must make choices, and these limit their autonomy over time, because they constrain the dishes and career moves they can make in the future. Chefs occupy positions in a culinary field through their culinary styles, status, and social networks, and make choices about their food and career moves from such positions. In more general terms, the logic of creation of cultural products is embedded in the positions individuals occupy in a field. This book is about the process of creation, and complements an organizational analysis of the world of high cuisine with a phenomenological examination of chefs’ work. It uses the case study of high cuisine to analyze, more generally, how people in creative occupations navigate a context rife with uncertainty, high pressures, and contradicting forces.Less
This book is about the creative work of chefs at elite restaurants in New York City and San Francisco. Based on interviews with chefs and observation of their work in restaurant kitchens, the book examines how and why chefs make choices about the dishes they put on their menus, and how they develop a culinary style. To answer the questions, the book analyzes chefs’ career paths, culinary classifications and categories, how chefs develop their culinary styles and reflectively manage their authorship, cognitive patterns and work processes involved in creating food, and status constraints. Elite chefs face competing pressures to create a distinctive and original culinary style, and conform to tradition as they navigate market forces to run a profitable business. They must make choices, and these limit their autonomy over time, because they constrain the dishes and career moves they can make in the future. Chefs occupy positions in a culinary field through their culinary styles, status, and social networks, and make choices about their food and career moves from such positions. In more general terms, the logic of creation of cultural products is embedded in the positions individuals occupy in a field. This book is about the process of creation, and complements an organizational analysis of the world of high cuisine with a phenomenological examination of chefs’ work. It uses the case study of high cuisine to analyze, more generally, how people in creative occupations navigate a context rife with uncertainty, high pressures, and contradicting forces.
Michaela DeSoucey
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691154930
- eISBN:
- 9781400882830
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691154930.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Who cares about foie gras? As it turns out, many do. In the last decade, this French delicacy—the fattened liver of ducks or geese that have been force-fed through a tube—has been at the center of ...
More
Who cares about foie gras? As it turns out, many do. In the last decade, this French delicacy—the fattened liver of ducks or geese that have been force-fed through a tube—has been at the center of contentious battles between animal rights activists, artisanal farmers, industry groups, politicians, chefs, and foodies. This book takes the reader to farms, restaurants, protests, and political hearings in both the United States and France to reveal why people care so passionately about foie gras. Bringing together fieldwork, interviews, and materials from archives and the media on both sides of the Atlantic, the book offers a compelling look at the moral arguments and provocative actions of pro- and anti-foie gras forces. It combines personal stories with fair-minded analysis of the social contexts within which foie gras is loved and loathed. From the barns of rural southwest France and the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, to exclusive New York City kitchens and the government offices of Chicago, the book demonstrates that the debates over foie gras involve heated and controversial politics. The book draws attention to the cultural dynamics of markets, the multivocal nature of “gastropolitics,” and the complexities of what it means to identify as a “moral” eater in today's food world. Investigating the causes and consequences of the foie gras wars, the book illuminates the social significance of food and taste in the twenty-first century.Less
Who cares about foie gras? As it turns out, many do. In the last decade, this French delicacy—the fattened liver of ducks or geese that have been force-fed through a tube—has been at the center of contentious battles between animal rights activists, artisanal farmers, industry groups, politicians, chefs, and foodies. This book takes the reader to farms, restaurants, protests, and political hearings in both the United States and France to reveal why people care so passionately about foie gras. Bringing together fieldwork, interviews, and materials from archives and the media on both sides of the Atlantic, the book offers a compelling look at the moral arguments and provocative actions of pro- and anti-foie gras forces. It combines personal stories with fair-minded analysis of the social contexts within which foie gras is loved and loathed. From the barns of rural southwest France and the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, to exclusive New York City kitchens and the government offices of Chicago, the book demonstrates that the debates over foie gras involve heated and controversial politics. The book draws attention to the cultural dynamics of markets, the multivocal nature of “gastropolitics,” and the complexities of what it means to identify as a “moral” eater in today's food world. Investigating the causes and consequences of the foie gras wars, the book illuminates the social significance of food and taste in the twenty-first century.
Nir Avieli
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520290099
- eISBN:
- 9780520964419
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520290099.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
Drawing on ethnography conducted in Israel since the late 1990s, this book considers how power is produced, reproduced, negotiated, and subverted in the contemporary Israeli culinary sphere. The book ...
More
Drawing on ethnography conducted in Israel since the late 1990s, this book considers how power is produced, reproduced, negotiated, and subverted in the contemporary Israeli culinary sphere. The book explores issues such as the definition of Israeli cuisine (a defining element of which is large portions of “satisfying” dishes made from mediocre ingredients), the ownership of hummus, Israel's Independence Day barbecues, the popularity of Italian food in Israel, the privatization of communal Kibbutz dining rooms, and food at a military prison for Palestinian detainees to show how cooking and eating create ambivalence concerning questions of strength and weakness and how power and victimization are mixed into a sense of self-justification that maintains internal cohesion among Israeli Jews. The book concludes by presenting two culinary trends in contemporary Israel that emerge at the intersection of food and power.Less
Drawing on ethnography conducted in Israel since the late 1990s, this book considers how power is produced, reproduced, negotiated, and subverted in the contemporary Israeli culinary sphere. The book explores issues such as the definition of Israeli cuisine (a defining element of which is large portions of “satisfying” dishes made from mediocre ingredients), the ownership of hummus, Israel's Independence Day barbecues, the popularity of Italian food in Israel, the privatization of communal Kibbutz dining rooms, and food at a military prison for Palestinian detainees to show how cooking and eating create ambivalence concerning questions of strength and weakness and how power and victimization are mixed into a sense of self-justification that maintains internal cohesion among Israeli Jews. The book concludes by presenting two culinary trends in contemporary Israel that emerge at the intersection of food and power.
Wendy Bracewell
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199827657
- eISBN:
- 9780199950461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827657.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the complex culture of food consumption in postwar Yugoslavia, primarily through the window of cookbooks. Following the evolution of cookbooks as officially produced and ...
More
This chapter examines the complex culture of food consumption in postwar Yugoslavia, primarily through the window of cookbooks. Following the evolution of cookbooks as officially produced and popularly consumed texts, Wendy Bracewell argues that these texts held significant clues to the politics, dilemmas and contradictions of the Yugoslav kitchen. In the early post war years, for example, cookbooks routinely suggested the use of ingredients that were not always available. The implication was that women—the clear audience for the instructional tone of such texts—were supposed to improvise and make do in a time of severe shortages of basic food items. In spite of communist lip-service to women’s equality, cookbooks continued to operate under traditional assumptions that domestic cookery was “women’s work.” Such tensions were also present in the ethnic politics of cookbooks, which promoted “Yugoslav brotherhood and unity” in the kitchen, while labeling and systematizing recipes on a national basis. While such contradictions persisted, cookbooks also increasingly reflected Yugoslav abundance and eclectic culinary culture. In periods of plenty, such texts sold cooking as a “fulfilling leisure pursuit”, which also meant higher expectations for culinary prowess among Yugoslav women. To a large degree Yugoslavia was exceptional in terms of abundance and openness to global culinary culture. Ultimately, however, Yugoslav plenty, like multi-national brotherhood, was not sustainable.Less
This chapter examines the complex culture of food consumption in postwar Yugoslavia, primarily through the window of cookbooks. Following the evolution of cookbooks as officially produced and popularly consumed texts, Wendy Bracewell argues that these texts held significant clues to the politics, dilemmas and contradictions of the Yugoslav kitchen. In the early post war years, for example, cookbooks routinely suggested the use of ingredients that were not always available. The implication was that women—the clear audience for the instructional tone of such texts—were supposed to improvise and make do in a time of severe shortages of basic food items. In spite of communist lip-service to women’s equality, cookbooks continued to operate under traditional assumptions that domestic cookery was “women’s work.” Such tensions were also present in the ethnic politics of cookbooks, which promoted “Yugoslav brotherhood and unity” in the kitchen, while labeling and systematizing recipes on a national basis. While such contradictions persisted, cookbooks also increasingly reflected Yugoslav abundance and eclectic culinary culture. In periods of plenty, such texts sold cooking as a “fulfilling leisure pursuit”, which also meant higher expectations for culinary prowess among Yugoslav women. To a large degree Yugoslavia was exceptional in terms of abundance and openness to global culinary culture. Ultimately, however, Yugoslav plenty, like multi-national brotherhood, was not sustainable.
Massimo Montanari
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231160841
- eISBN:
- 9780231535083
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231160841.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter considers Pellegrino Artusi's genuine “national” cookbook La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene (1891), which set out to unify the country's gastronomic practices. Artusi ...
More
This chapter considers Pellegrino Artusi's genuine “national” cookbook La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene (1891), which set out to unify the country's gastronomic practices. Artusi searched local traditions for recipes that he deemed acceptable to a wide audience. He then printed the book at his own expense, and sold it by mail from his home in Florence. The Artusian cookbook suggests a mutual understanding of practices and products, including diversity as an indivisible element of national identity. In his codification of the primo—or first course—as an opening dish, an Italian meal model was established. Artusi certified the birth of a modern Italian cuisine that established itself not only among the urban middle class, but among the popular classes as well.Less
This chapter considers Pellegrino Artusi's genuine “national” cookbook La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene (1891), which set out to unify the country's gastronomic practices. Artusi searched local traditions for recipes that he deemed acceptable to a wide audience. He then printed the book at his own expense, and sold it by mail from his home in Florence. The Artusian cookbook suggests a mutual understanding of practices and products, including diversity as an indivisible element of national identity. In his codification of the primo—or first course—as an opening dish, an Italian meal model was established. Artusi certified the birth of a modern Italian cuisine that established itself not only among the urban middle class, but among the popular classes as well.
Tim Lang, David Barling, and Martin Caraher
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198567882
- eISBN:
- 9780191724121
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567882.003.0007
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter focuses on the behavioural and cultural aspects of food. It argues that food behaviour can be located within a social process in which consumers are but one set of actors in the food ...
More
This chapter focuses on the behavioural and cultural aspects of food. It argues that food behaviour can be located within a social process in which consumers are but one set of actors in the food system, and where contexts and social interactions may be set and inherited through wider culture, geography and history, as well as family or domestic circumstance. Policies are engaged with all these levels, factors, and drivers.Less
This chapter focuses on the behavioural and cultural aspects of food. It argues that food behaviour can be located within a social process in which consumers are but one set of actors in the food system, and where contexts and social interactions may be set and inherited through wider culture, geography and history, as well as family or domestic circumstance. Policies are engaged with all these levels, factors, and drivers.
Nir Avieli
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520290099
- eISBN:
- 9780520964419
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520290099.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on the definition and characterization of Israeli cuisine. Based on interviews with dozens of chefs, restaurateurs, and food critics, and defying existing conventions of Israeli ...
More
This chapter focuses on the definition and characterization of Israeli cuisine. Based on interviews with dozens of chefs, restaurateurs, and food critics, and defying existing conventions of Israeli cuisine as an amalgam of diasporic Jewish cuisines, local produce, and (according to some) local Palestinian cuisine, the chapter argues that a defining element of Israeli food is large portions of “satisfying” dishes made from mediocre ingredients. Satiety, in this sense, is explained as a cultural rather than physiological trait. The implications of this tendency for excessive portions are discussed in personal, social, and national contexts. The chapter shows how the meanings Israelis attribute to their desire for large portions shed light on hidden aspects of contemporary Israeliness.Less
This chapter focuses on the definition and characterization of Israeli cuisine. Based on interviews with dozens of chefs, restaurateurs, and food critics, and defying existing conventions of Israeli cuisine as an amalgam of diasporic Jewish cuisines, local produce, and (according to some) local Palestinian cuisine, the chapter argues that a defining element of Israeli food is large portions of “satisfying” dishes made from mediocre ingredients. Satiety, in this sense, is explained as a cultural rather than physiological trait. The implications of this tendency for excessive portions are discussed in personal, social, and national contexts. The chapter shows how the meanings Israelis attribute to their desire for large portions shed light on hidden aspects of contemporary Israeliness.
Hayley Saul, Aikaterini Glykou, and Oliver E. Craig
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265758
- eISBN:
- 9780191771965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265758.003.0011
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
In the last two decades scientific techniques have opened up new avenues in archaeological studies of food. In particular, biomolecular approaches generate datasets with fundamentally different ...
More
In the last two decades scientific techniques have opened up new avenues in archaeological studies of food. In particular, biomolecular approaches generate datasets with fundamentally different resolutions compared to traditional macro-remains. Equipped with these datasets, the authors probe the possibility for discussing new themes in food studies, through an investigation of cuisine. Following a critical review of theoretical approaches to subsistence and prestige food economies, they suggest that cuisine is a social expression of past food evaluation processes. By reconstructing pottery use at two sites that span the transition from foraging to farming in northern Europe (c.4,000 cal BC) using organic residue analysis, they suggest that understanding how food was valued is important in explaining the wider economic changes during this period. The foodstuffs that were carefully chosen to be processed in pottery fulfilled contingent social purposes beyond economic necessity.Less
In the last two decades scientific techniques have opened up new avenues in archaeological studies of food. In particular, biomolecular approaches generate datasets with fundamentally different resolutions compared to traditional macro-remains. Equipped with these datasets, the authors probe the possibility for discussing new themes in food studies, through an investigation of cuisine. Following a critical review of theoretical approaches to subsistence and prestige food economies, they suggest that cuisine is a social expression of past food evaluation processes. By reconstructing pottery use at two sites that span the transition from foraging to farming in northern Europe (c.4,000 cal BC) using organic residue analysis, they suggest that understanding how food was valued is important in explaining the wider economic changes during this period. The foodstuffs that were carefully chosen to be processed in pottery fulfilled contingent social purposes beyond economic necessity.
Jean Bottéro
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748613878
- eISBN:
- 9780748653584
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748613878.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter discusses the existence of the oldest cuisine in the world. There remains Mesopotamia. It establishes an impressive inventory of the goods that formed the ancient Mesopotamians' everyday ...
More
This chapter discusses the existence of the oldest cuisine in the world. There remains Mesopotamia. It establishes an impressive inventory of the goods that formed the ancient Mesopotamians' everyday fare: cereals, various vegetables, fruit. All these indigenous ingredients were so varied that the Mesopotamians never imported from abroad, so to speak, in spite of the intensity and geographical extent of their trade even before the third millennium. Archaeologists have unearthed many remains of a very abundant range of kitchen utensils, with the names of several containers and culinary utensils of all kinds. These are all data which enable one, a priori to some extent, to assume that very diversified techniques and almost infinite combinations of treatments for preparing food were used in that ancient country: in short, an authentic ‘cuisine’.Less
This chapter discusses the existence of the oldest cuisine in the world. There remains Mesopotamia. It establishes an impressive inventory of the goods that formed the ancient Mesopotamians' everyday fare: cereals, various vegetables, fruit. All these indigenous ingredients were so varied that the Mesopotamians never imported from abroad, so to speak, in spite of the intensity and geographical extent of their trade even before the third millennium. Archaeologists have unearthed many remains of a very abundant range of kitchen utensils, with the names of several containers and culinary utensils of all kinds. These are all data which enable one, a priori to some extent, to assume that very diversified techniques and almost infinite combinations of treatments for preparing food were used in that ancient country: in short, an authentic ‘cuisine’.
Jean Bottéro
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748613878
- eISBN:
- 9780748653584
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748613878.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
In Mesopotamia, it is perfectly clear that it was first and foremost the wealthy, the beneficiaries of the haute cuisine, who enjoyed sumptuous and frequent banquets – to say nothing of the gods, a ...
More
In Mesopotamia, it is perfectly clear that it was first and foremost the wealthy, the beneficiaries of the haute cuisine, who enjoyed sumptuous and frequent banquets – to say nothing of the gods, a great part of whose worship was concerned with the servicing of their table. From Mari, for instance, several hundred calendar tablets bearing the list of provisions supplied, day after day for several years, mainly by shops selling cereal products, oil and dried fruits, but also by ‘butchers’, for the daily fare of the king, who seems to have had a very comfortable life. On more than one occasion the feasts given by rulers, especially for their staff and troops, are evoked for us. These ‘great banquets’ were often accompanied by distributions of reward-presents, perfumed unguents for a toilette that would be worthy of the ceremony.Less
In Mesopotamia, it is perfectly clear that it was first and foremost the wealthy, the beneficiaries of the haute cuisine, who enjoyed sumptuous and frequent banquets – to say nothing of the gods, a great part of whose worship was concerned with the servicing of their table. From Mari, for instance, several hundred calendar tablets bearing the list of provisions supplied, day after day for several years, mainly by shops selling cereal products, oil and dried fruits, but also by ‘butchers’, for the daily fare of the king, who seems to have had a very comfortable life. On more than one occasion the feasts given by rulers, especially for their staff and troops, are evoked for us. These ‘great banquets’ were often accompanied by distributions of reward-presents, perfumed unguents for a toilette that would be worthy of the ceremony.
Eric C. Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This book traces the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. It discusses previous research on Japanese foodways, as well as cuisine in other historical settings and the ideas of a few ...
More
This book traces the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. It discusses previous research on Japanese foodways, as well as cuisine in other historical settings and the ideas of a few contemporary chefs working in Kyoto, Japan's present-day self-proclaimed “culinary capital.” The book examines the work of the most elite culinary experts in late medieval and early modern Japan, the hōchōnin, who traced their lineages and art back to the earliest periods of Japanese history. Their vocation crystallized in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when they formulated distinct styles of food preparation and began to write treatises on culinary art. The chapter also describes a collection of recipes inspired by Iberian foodways, considers ruptures in the old culinary practices that were facilitated by the introduction of foreign ingredients and cooking techniques, and discusses the rise of a publishing business which produced different types of cookbooks for a wider audience. It also comments on the use of menus found in published collections in the early modern period as vehicles for the imagination.Less
This book traces the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. It discusses previous research on Japanese foodways, as well as cuisine in other historical settings and the ideas of a few contemporary chefs working in Kyoto, Japan's present-day self-proclaimed “culinary capital.” The book examines the work of the most elite culinary experts in late medieval and early modern Japan, the hōchōnin, who traced their lineages and art back to the earliest periods of Japanese history. Their vocation crystallized in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when they formulated distinct styles of food preparation and began to write treatises on culinary art. The chapter also describes a collection of recipes inspired by Iberian foodways, considers ruptures in the old culinary practices that were facilitated by the introduction of foreign ingredients and cooking techniques, and discusses the rise of a publishing business which produced different types of cookbooks for a wider audience. It also comments on the use of menus found in published collections in the early modern period as vehicles for the imagination.
Eric C. Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Shōsekiken Sōken, in his book Collected Writings on Cuisine and an Outline on Seasonings, included definitions of technical terms for cooking, model menus, recipes, and serving suggestions for ...
More
Shōsekiken Sōken, in his book Collected Writings on Cuisine and an Outline on Seasonings, included definitions of technical terms for cooking, model menus, recipes, and serving suggestions for ingredients, and gave miscellaneous comments about food preparation. His model menus follow a format of dining called honzen, or main table dining, which is rarely seen today. According to scholars of Japanese food, there is a much wider conceptual gap between the meals eaten in Shōsekiken's time and today. Japanese cuisine is as much about what modern Japanese people think about themselves as a group and as a nation as it is about food. This chapter traces the development of the Japanese's fantasy with food and how it culminated, in the early modern era, with the publication of cookbooks, which disseminated earlier customs and made new fantasies possible. It describes Kyoto as a city of restaurants, its chefs and cuisine, food ingredients, the importance of water to Kyoto cuisine, the evolution of different styles of cooking, and the importance of uneaten foods in Japan.Less
Shōsekiken Sōken, in his book Collected Writings on Cuisine and an Outline on Seasonings, included definitions of technical terms for cooking, model menus, recipes, and serving suggestions for ingredients, and gave miscellaneous comments about food preparation. His model menus follow a format of dining called honzen, or main table dining, which is rarely seen today. According to scholars of Japanese food, there is a much wider conceptual gap between the meals eaten in Shōsekiken's time and today. Japanese cuisine is as much about what modern Japanese people think about themselves as a group and as a nation as it is about food. This chapter traces the development of the Japanese's fantasy with food and how it culminated, in the early modern era, with the publication of cookbooks, which disseminated earlier customs and made new fantasies possible. It describes Kyoto as a city of restaurants, its chefs and cuisine, food ingredients, the importance of water to Kyoto cuisine, the evolution of different styles of cooking, and the importance of uneaten foods in Japan.
Eric C. Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
At the same time that chefs in the employ of shoguns, elite warlords, and aristocrats in the fifteenth century were developing the arts of cooking and banqueting, they were also doing other, less ...
More
At the same time that chefs in the employ of shoguns, elite warlords, and aristocrats in the fifteenth century were developing the arts of cooking and banqueting, they were also doing other, less conventional things with food in demonstrations called “knife ceremonies,” which produced inedible food sculptures. Studying inedible dishes such as these might seem counterintuitive in a history of cuisine, which explains why most culinary historians of Japan mention them only in passing, if at all. Knife ceremonies were one of several entertainments, like singing, storytelling, juggling, and the more serious Noh theater, performed to entertain the elite at banquets. Due to their long history and prominence in elite food culture, knife ceremonies are an important starting point for showing the connections between food and fantasy—raw ingredients and thinking about them—that were the ingredients for premodern Japanese cuisine. Moreover, knife ceremonies have religious significance, particularly in Buddhism and Shinto.Less
At the same time that chefs in the employ of shoguns, elite warlords, and aristocrats in the fifteenth century were developing the arts of cooking and banqueting, they were also doing other, less conventional things with food in demonstrations called “knife ceremonies,” which produced inedible food sculptures. Studying inedible dishes such as these might seem counterintuitive in a history of cuisine, which explains why most culinary historians of Japan mention them only in passing, if at all. Knife ceremonies were one of several entertainments, like singing, storytelling, juggling, and the more serious Noh theater, performed to entertain the elite at banquets. Due to their long history and prominence in elite food culture, knife ceremonies are an important starting point for showing the connections between food and fantasy—raw ingredients and thinking about them—that were the ingredients for premodern Japanese cuisine. Moreover, knife ceremonies have religious significance, particularly in Buddhism and Shinto.
Eric C. Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
In premodern Japan, the knife ceremonies enabled “men of the carving knife” (hōchōnin) to showcase their occupational skills at banquets in brilliant displays of carving fish and fowl, as both an ...
More
In premodern Japan, the knife ceremonies enabled “men of the carving knife” (hōchōnin) to showcase their occupational skills at banquets in brilliant displays of carving fish and fowl, as both an entertainment and a religious ritual. The most formal of these banquets was the shikishō ryōri, which might be translated as “ceremonial cuisine” or “ceremonial style of cooking.” The early and detailed culinary writings (ryōrisho) of hōchōnin include information not only about knife ceremonies but also recipes, model banquets, table manners, and the significant role of inedible dishes in banquets as markers of artistry and metaphor. The characteristics of medieval culinary texts can be described in terms of what these writings lack in comparison to modern cookbooks or even early modern culinary books. This chapter describes how Japanese cuisine is served at ceremonial banquets. It describes the Culinary Text of the Yamanouchi House, which contains an example of a honzen meal. The chapter also discusses shikisankon, inedible snacks that accompany ceremonial drinking, as well as shikisankon and sake, decorative servings, serving shapes, and a soup called zōni.Less
In premodern Japan, the knife ceremonies enabled “men of the carving knife” (hōchōnin) to showcase their occupational skills at banquets in brilliant displays of carving fish and fowl, as both an entertainment and a religious ritual. The most formal of these banquets was the shikishō ryōri, which might be translated as “ceremonial cuisine” or “ceremonial style of cooking.” The early and detailed culinary writings (ryōrisho) of hōchōnin include information not only about knife ceremonies but also recipes, model banquets, table manners, and the significant role of inedible dishes in banquets as markers of artistry and metaphor. The characteristics of medieval culinary texts can be described in terms of what these writings lack in comparison to modern cookbooks or even early modern culinary books. This chapter describes how Japanese cuisine is served at ceremonial banquets. It describes the Culinary Text of the Yamanouchi House, which contains an example of a honzen meal. The chapter also discusses shikisankon, inedible snacks that accompany ceremonial drinking, as well as shikisankon and sake, decorative servings, serving shapes, and a soup called zōni.
Eric C. Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
The Southern Barbarians' Cookbook is a culinary text that speaks to important changes in Japan's foodways in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Written in the seventeenth century, if not ...
More
The Southern Barbarians' Cookbook is a culinary text that speaks to important changes in Japan's foodways in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Written in the seventeenth century, if not earlier, the book is a collection of Portuguese and Spanish recipes, making it unique among premodern culinary writings in Japan. Accordingly, it offers insight into historical developments outside of cooking and is the missing link in the transition from culinary texts to culinary books. The Barbarians' Cookbook also reveals broader developments in foodways in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It describes the introduction of new food ingredients, cooking techniques, and dishes that would reshape the Japanese cuisine. The book may not have been widely circulated until modern times, but it offers a chance to examine the links and the gaps between the elite medieval culinary world and the developing popular trends in the Edo period in terms of ingredients (food) and thinking about food (fantasy).Less
The Southern Barbarians' Cookbook is a culinary text that speaks to important changes in Japan's foodways in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Written in the seventeenth century, if not earlier, the book is a collection of Portuguese and Spanish recipes, making it unique among premodern culinary writings in Japan. Accordingly, it offers insight into historical developments outside of cooking and is the missing link in the transition from culinary texts to culinary books. The Barbarians' Cookbook also reveals broader developments in foodways in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It describes the introduction of new food ingredients, cooking techniques, and dishes that would reshape the Japanese cuisine. The book may not have been widely circulated until modern times, but it offers a chance to examine the links and the gaps between the elite medieval culinary world and the developing popular trends in the Edo period in terms of ingredients (food) and thinking about food (fantasy).
Eric C. Rath
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262270
- eISBN:
- 9780520947658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262270.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
The rise of the publishing business has been called the most important cultural development in early modern Japan. The mid-seventeenth century saw the rise of a new form of culinary writing, the ...
More
The rise of the publishing business has been called the most important cultural development in early modern Japan. The mid-seventeenth century saw the rise of a new form of culinary writing, the printed culinary book (ryōribon). Hōchōnin, the knife specialists serving high-ranking samurai and aristocrats, continued to write culinary texts (ryōrisho) in the Edo period, but as in previous centuries these works were privately disseminated manuscripts not widely read and, before the twentieth century, seldom published. This makes the published culinary books, beginning with the 1643 work Tales of Cookery, the first popular media for information about cooking and dining. This chapter offers some general comments on what culinary books reveal about the interplay between food and fantasy that constitutes the definition of Japanese cuisine in the early modern period. Culinary books popularized ideal forms of cooking and dining premised on the idea that these could be enjoyed as forms of vicarious pleasure in the same way in which popular literature and guidebooks offered readers descriptions of exotic locations they might never travel to in real life.Less
The rise of the publishing business has been called the most important cultural development in early modern Japan. The mid-seventeenth century saw the rise of a new form of culinary writing, the printed culinary book (ryōribon). Hōchōnin, the knife specialists serving high-ranking samurai and aristocrats, continued to write culinary texts (ryōrisho) in the Edo period, but as in previous centuries these works were privately disseminated manuscripts not widely read and, before the twentieth century, seldom published. This makes the published culinary books, beginning with the 1643 work Tales of Cookery, the first popular media for information about cooking and dining. This chapter offers some general comments on what culinary books reveal about the interplay between food and fantasy that constitutes the definition of Japanese cuisine in the early modern period. Culinary books popularized ideal forms of cooking and dining premised on the idea that these could be enjoyed as forms of vicarious pleasure in the same way in which popular literature and guidebooks offered readers descriptions of exotic locations they might never travel to in real life.
