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mkdupre's review against another edition
4.0
This is a highly researched, really fascinating history, not of the way people's eating habits have evolved, but the way in which our tools for cooking and implementing our diet has progressed (and in some ways, not changed at all) through the ages. Readers who are interested in the history of cooking, the science and technology behind food preparation, or even have a general interest in anthropology will find this book enjoyable. It is written in a conversational, very accessible style that invites readers to participate in a tangible, organic journey, rather than simply read a list of explicated facts. It is an engrossing read that, while perhaps will not revolutionize your cooking, will definitely offer useful and entertaining insight into the way we cook and eat. I would highly recommend this to foodies and people interested in people and technology.
jjshaffer's review against another edition
4.0
So, so, so, interesting. A lot of historic info that can require a bit of concentration. At times, maybe too much info packed in a small section. Understandable because the book covers the entire history of cooking. I loved it.
firstwords's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, similar to Salt, read earlier this year. The premise is interesting, and there were a lot of interesting factoids presented. Overall enjoyable. The book could have used some tighter editing, however, as sentences were repeated. I thought at first that repeating a fact many chapters later was there to reinforce/remind, and that may have been the case, but some of the tinier factoids did not bear repeating. If you are someone who finds home and comfort in the kitchen, and who would sleep with their Kitchen-Aid blender next to them if they could, then this book is for you. The author's style is quick and keeps you engaged. The structure could use a little tightening as well (delineating subject areas/areas of study).
Overall enjoyable, even for this non-foodie. Foodies and food hipsters will probably enjoy it even more.
Overall enjoyable, even for this non-foodie. Foodies and food hipsters will probably enjoy it even more.
twrafferty's review against another edition
4.0
thought-provoking book about how we eat, and how cooking developed
shekispeaks's review against another edition
5.0
This is a breeze to read. Must read for a cooking geek.
briecheezy's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, as a history nut and a lover of sociology. This book is both – a history of cooking methods and instruments, and how these cooking instruments have changed how we cook and what we now cook and eat. Something I never thought of until now – we eat what we do because of inventions that allow us to keep these foods (fridges, freezers, methods of preserving, and the tools to cook certain things).
I was at brunch with a friend and suddenly had this burning desire to know where the hell forks came from, why do they look like that, when did we start using them? My friend bought me this book and I was ecstatic. The answer is in this book, along with other histories and facts you've never thought of.
The book's chapters cover individual cooking methods:
1. Pots and Pans - examines the history of using pots for cooking and innovations made in cooking pots. This leads to the invention of boiling food, and the science behind conductive heat cooking (food on a pan)
2. Knife - from stone to metal, knives have been one of the oldest tools for hacking at meat. Knives have also shaped our social norms regarding knives and human anatomy.
3. Fire - Since the domestication of fire, it has been the primary way we cook food. It transformed food from hard and raw to cooked and more easily edible. The chapter examines how fire-cooked food impacts the lives of humans.
4. Measure - tracks the evolution of measuring devices, most common being the cup. It looks at how people have measured food and time using relative methods, like "the size of a walnut" or timing cooking by singing or praying, to our modern methods of precise measurements on cups and spoons, etc.
5. Grind - examines methods for how we have ground and beaten food, mortars and pestles being one of the oldest methods. It also looks at how a thing like a whisk evolved from a clutch of twigs to the balloon-shaped wire or plastic whisk we have now, and subsequently how the quest for other types of beaters (eggbeaters) have come about.
6. Eat - examines the oldest and most universal eating utensil, the spoon. The spoon exists in every culture on Earth, but the utensil divide is shown in the separation of fork and chopsticks. This is a very interesting chapter, in terms of the (East vs West) sociology.
7. Ice - the methods for food preservation have evolved from salt storing to fridges and freezers. This chapter is a more modern history of fridges, and how they have pervaded modern culture as the ultimate kitchen necessity and accessory.
8. Kitchen - the evolution of kitchens themselves as an architectural space. From one room cottages of medieval times, to specialized rooms in our houses, kitchens, and in particular kitchen design as a hobby or process, have become the room we most agonize over but also feel primal senses of home and happiness.
This book is not about the evolution of food, but HOW we cook it and eat it. I hadn't realized before that the only reason we can eat the foods we eat today is because of evolution in cooking methods that allows us to keep food longer, to prepare it in ways unthought of hundreds of years ago.
It is written very accessibly, with humor and an appreciation for cooking. It is largely Western-based (America and Britain) with generous inclusions of the Far East, but it does include other cultures where appropriate. Overall a very enjoyable read.
I was at brunch with a friend and suddenly had this burning desire to know where the hell forks came from, why do they look like that, when did we start using them? My friend bought me this book and I was ecstatic. The answer is in this book, along with other histories and facts you've never thought of.
The book's chapters cover individual cooking methods:
1. Pots and Pans - examines the history of using pots for cooking and innovations made in cooking pots. This leads to the invention of boiling food, and the science behind conductive heat cooking (food on a pan)
2. Knife - from stone to metal, knives have been one of the oldest tools for hacking at meat. Knives have also shaped our social norms regarding knives and human anatomy.
3. Fire - Since the domestication of fire, it has been the primary way we cook food. It transformed food from hard and raw to cooked and more easily edible. The chapter examines how fire-cooked food impacts the lives of humans.
4. Measure - tracks the evolution of measuring devices, most common being the cup. It looks at how people have measured food and time using relative methods, like "the size of a walnut" or timing cooking by singing or praying, to our modern methods of precise measurements on cups and spoons, etc.
5. Grind - examines methods for how we have ground and beaten food, mortars and pestles being one of the oldest methods. It also looks at how a thing like a whisk evolved from a clutch of twigs to the balloon-shaped wire or plastic whisk we have now, and subsequently how the quest for other types of beaters (eggbeaters) have come about.
6. Eat - examines the oldest and most universal eating utensil, the spoon. The spoon exists in every culture on Earth, but the utensil divide is shown in the separation of fork and chopsticks. This is a very interesting chapter, in terms of the (East vs West) sociology.
7. Ice - the methods for food preservation have evolved from salt storing to fridges and freezers. This chapter is a more modern history of fridges, and how they have pervaded modern culture as the ultimate kitchen necessity and accessory.
8. Kitchen - the evolution of kitchens themselves as an architectural space. From one room cottages of medieval times, to specialized rooms in our houses, kitchens, and in particular kitchen design as a hobby or process, have become the room we most agonize over but also feel primal senses of home and happiness.
This book is not about the evolution of food, but HOW we cook it and eat it. I hadn't realized before that the only reason we can eat the foods we eat today is because of evolution in cooking methods that allows us to keep food longer, to prepare it in ways unthought of hundreds of years ago.
It is written very accessibly, with humor and an appreciation for cooking. It is largely Western-based (America and Britain) with generous inclusions of the Far East, but it does include other cultures where appropriate. Overall a very enjoyable read.
arielzeit's review against another edition
5.0
I was actually very sad to finish this book. I listened to it on audiobook and sometimes I would have to turn it off because I couldn't process any more info, but I kept going back, fascinated by the depth and breadth of knowledge displayed in a history of the technology of the kitchen and the table. The author divides the book into themes like fire, utensils, measurements, coldness, etc. and ranges from prehistory to futuristic contemporary tools. She discusses every continent, it is truly a tour de force.
thelasteast's review
5.0
This was a very informative microhistory of how people have prepared and consumed food over time. For example, before ovens had thermometers, people would put their hands in the oven to determine its readiness based on the level of pain they felt. Did you know that, to cook something for a specific amount of time, people once used the Lord’s Prayer as a form of measurement? Or that, in Japan, some believe chopsticks—since they go in one’s mouth—can absorb aspects of a person’s personality? As a result, chopsticks are not shared.
This was a very interesting book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in food beyond simply eating it.
This was a very interesting book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in food beyond simply eating it.