Cooking through History: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Food with Menus and Recipes [2 volumes]

by Melanie Byrd (Editor), John P. Dunn (Editor)

Overview

From the prehistoric era to the present, food culture has helped to define civilizations. This reference surveys food culture and cooking from antiquity to the modern era, providing background information along with menus and recipes.

Food culture has been central to world civilizations since prehistory. While early societies were limited in terms of their resources and cooking technology, methods of food preparation have flourished throughout history, with food central to social gatherings, celebrations, religious functions, and other aspects of daily life. This book surveys the history of cooking from the ancient world through the modern era.

The first volume looks at the history of cooking from antiquity through the Early Modern era, while the second focuses on the modern world. Each volume includes a chronology, historical introduction, and topical chapters on foodstuffs, food preparation, eating habits, and other subjects. Sections on particular civilizations follow, with each section offering a historical overview, recipes, menus, primary source documents, and suggestions for further reading. The work closes with a selected, general bibliography of resources suitable for student research.

• Timelines help users identify key events related to the history of cooking
• Topical essays cover important subjects across cultures
• Sections on particular civilizations, regions, and countries provide historical coverage of cooking methods and food culture
• Recipes, sample menus, and other documents give readers important information about cooking methods and food history within particular societies
• Suggestions for further reading direct users to additional sources of information

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610694551
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/02/2020
Pages:	816
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.60(h) x 2.25(d)

About the Author

Melanie Byrd is professor of history at Valdosta State University, where she teaches courses on world civilizations. She has published in such journals as Napoleonic Scholarship and Napoleon: His Life, His Wars, His World.

John P. Dunn is professor of history at Valdosta State University, where he teaches a wide range of history courses. His previous books include Khedive Ismail's Army.