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A review by purplemuskogee
Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain by Pen Vogler
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Did you know that tomatoes, introduced to Europe from the New World, took longer to become popular than potatoes? Or that when forks were introduced, from Italy, they did not immediately become popular as they were seen to be too "effeminate"? Do you want to see the first (and not very good) curry recipes adopted by middle-class housekeepers?
This is a great book to learn all these fun facts - and more - covering the history of food and food practices in Britain, from the Middle Ages to nowadays. The chapter on trends was fascinating - it covered almond milk, and details how Dame Alice, living in 1392, would order 18kg of almonds yearly to make the drink, which was drunk during Lent; the chapter on vegetarians explains how the Church rules on Lent and fast days allowed for food and calves to grow; the chapter on foraging was really interesting too. It was engaging, well-researched and accessible.
This is a great book to learn all these fun facts - and more - covering the history of food and food practices in Britain, from the Middle Ages to nowadays. The chapter on trends was fascinating - it covered almond milk, and details how Dame Alice, living in 1392, would order 18kg of almonds yearly to make the drink, which was drunk during Lent; the chapter on vegetarians explains how the Church rules on Lent and fast days allowed for food and calves to grow; the chapter on foraging was really interesting too. It was engaging, well-researched and accessible.