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lost_hitsu's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pleasant read although the narrative got a bit meandering at times and I found it difficult to follow some of the leaps between unrelated topics.
tuai's review
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Full of interesting insights on how food shaped how we lived and life shaped how we ate. It's a fascinating topic and I loved the organization of the chapters, from the mortar and plestle to the cuisinart, from the open fire to the convection oven. This is exactly the kind of knowledge I seek, so I can be in the kitchen with someone and say "actually, did you know that English cooking sucks because they simply had too much wood for making fires?" and become the most annoying person at the party.
yaarnvark's review against another edition
5.0
really interesting, did make me think about utensils in a very different way!
bibliovermis's review against another edition
5.0
bibliovermis.com Illustrated Review
Consider the Fork is not just a history of the kitchen. It’s an overview of human innovation, of changing cultural mores reflected in kitchen gadgets, and of the global influence of various cooking styles and techniques. With chapters nominally focusing on one…
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jerihurd's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed that. Entertaining and informative. And now I’ll never forget that though food in Tin cans was invented in 1816, it took another 50 years to invent the can opener.
As a complete side note, this author really loves the colon. I also wish it had included photos of the tools and gadgets discussed. I spent a lot of time googling!
As a complete side note, this author really loves the colon. I also wish it had included photos of the tools and gadgets discussed. I spent a lot of time googling!
mcrews's review against another edition
3.0
This book is really well researched and written, but I still zoned out for large chunks of it. Wilson makes some great observations about society, technology, humanity and food. I would tell anyone to read the Introduction as well as the chapter on the fork and refrigeration.
I thought it was a good point that with new technology something is gained but something is lost. It was exciting when we got to eat tomatoes all year round, but it doesn't mean they are worth eating all year round.
The chapter on the refrigerator is short but great. Wilson states that the idea of the refrigeration this method of cooling food is so deeply American, which I had not thought about before. I love her bit about how we constantly open the refrigerator door and stare in for some kind of answer about what we should be doing at that moment or maybe even with our lives.
There were plenty of historical factoids that absolutely blew my mind, like the amount of time the average American woman is spending in the kitchen has not changed since the 1920s?! How is this possible?!
Overall, it is worth skimming.
I thought it was a good point that with new technology something is gained but something is lost. It was exciting when we got to eat tomatoes all year round, but it doesn't mean they are worth eating all year round.
The chapter on the refrigerator is short but great. Wilson states that the idea of the refrigeration this method of cooling food is so deeply American, which I had not thought about before. I love her bit about how we constantly open the refrigerator door and stare in for some kind of answer about what we should be doing at that moment or maybe even with our lives.
There were plenty of historical factoids that absolutely blew my mind, like the amount of time the average American woman is spending in the kitchen has not changed since the 1920s?! How is this possible?!
Overall, it is worth skimming.
lucy1375's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating look at the history of cooking gadgets, appliances and gadgetry. It's easy to forget the domino effect of invention: how creating one thing creates need for several others. Bee's book reminds us of how far we have come in cooking and yet at the same time, how closely what we use to cook resembles the tools our ancestors used.
mlhahn's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating history of how our kitchen technologies and tools, in tandem with the foods we eat, have changed us as humans.
ralphz's review against another edition
4.0
Here's one I just finished, Sept. 2020. It's a look at the ways we've developed our cooking and eating habits.
This covers the gamut, from the first time people tried something other than roasting food (boiling, they think), and the ways we did it - starting from pits to pots.
This history also looks at cookware, the development of ovens and stoves, cookbooks, measuring and even how we started manufacturing ice (a very American obsession).
And of course, a look at spoons, knives and forks.
It's better than I was expecting, right up there with anything Mark Kurlansky would write, like Salt and Cod.
Totally worthy, and a recommended one from me.
Check out more of my reviews at Ralphsbooks.
This covers the gamut, from the first time people tried something other than roasting food (boiling, they think), and the ways we did it - starting from pits to pots.
This history also looks at cookware, the development of ovens and stoves, cookbooks, measuring and even how we started manufacturing ice (a very American obsession).
And of course, a look at spoons, knives and forks.
It's better than I was expecting, right up there with anything Mark Kurlansky would write, like Salt and Cod.
Totally worthy, and a recommended one from me.
Check out more of my reviews at Ralphsbooks.