Known for his entertaining investigations into culinary practice, Massimo Montanari turns his hungry eye to the phenomenon of food culture, food lore, cooking methods, and eating habits throughout history. An irresistible buffet of one hundred concise and engaging essays, this collection provides stimulating food for thought for those curious about one of life's most fundamental pleasures.Focusing on the selection, preparation, and mythology of food, Montanari traverses such subjec...

In his new history of food, acclaimed historian Massimo Montanari traces the development of medieval tastes—both culinary and cultural—from raw materials to market and captures their reflections in today's food trends. Tying the ingredients of our diet evolution to the growth of human civilization, he immerses readers in the passionate debates and bold inventions that transformed food from a simple staple to a potent factor in health and a symbol of social and ideological standing....

Massimo Montanari draws readers into 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, Montanari 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 countr...

**Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food Rules, How to Change Your Mind, and This is Your Mind on Plants explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen in Cooked."Having described what's wrong with American food in his best-selling The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006), New York Times contributor Pollan delivers a more optimistic but equally fascinating account of how to do it right. . . ....

**A James Beard Award–winning journalist reveals the surprising forces that shape our eating habits“Sax is great company, a writer of real and lasting charm.” —New York Times Book Review**In this eye-opening, witty work of reportage, David Sax uncovers the world of food trends: where they come from, how they grow, and where they end up. Traveling from the South Carolina rice plot of America’s premier grain guru to Chicago’s gluttonous Baconfest, Sax reveals a world...

Award-winning food writer Bee Wilson’s secret history of kitchens, showing how new technologies—from the fork to the microwave and beyond—have fundamentally shaped how and what we eat.**“Like having a long dinner table discussion with a fascinating friend ... A pure joy to read.” —**Los Angeles Times**"Delightful ... [An] ebulliently written and unobtrusively learned survey." -**Harper's MagazineSi...

" A fascinating journey [with] a few salient conclusions: primarily that we'd all be a lot better off if we ate like our great-great-great grandparents." — National PostThere are few areas of modern life that are as burdened by information and advice, often contradictory, as our diet and health. In 100 Million Years of Food, biological anthropologist Stephen Le explains how cuisines of different cultures are a result of centuries o...

"Intimate and far-reaching . . . Khosrova's ambitious project is a successful, fascinating account of a common dairy product" ( Publishers Weekly).It's a culinary catalyst, an agent of change, a gastronomic rock star. Ubiquitous in the world's most fabulous cuisines, butter is boss. Here, it finally gets its due.After traveling across three continents to stalk the modern story of butter, award-winning food writer and former pastry chef Elaine Khosrov...

A James Beard Foundation Book Award–winning study of how the Great Depression changed the way the United States eats."With a dinner plate as their lens, the authors explore one of America's darkest hours." — Wall Street JournalThe idea of America as a place of abundance is enshrined in our culture, from Jefferson's agrarian democracy to the immensity of our supermarkets. The Great Depression, which left a quarter o...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | THE BOOK BEHIND THE VIRAL TIKTOKOne tiny rock. One epic history.**"A must-have for any serious cook or foodie."—Anthony Bourdain"This is a "wow!" book: roving, startling, engaging.” —Washington Post“Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt.”—New York Times Book ReviewAn unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Milk! and Cod**...

One of the most iconic, beloved, and bestselling books of our time from the bestselling author of City of Girls and Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert.Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love touched the world and changed countless lives, inspiring and empowering millions of readers to search for their own best selves. Now, this beloved and iconic book returns in a beautiful 10th anniversary edition, complete with an updated introduction from the auth...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A gripping, triumphant adventure” (Los Angeles Times) from the bestselling author of The Circle—the incredible true story of a young Yemeni American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war.Mokhtar Alkhanshali is twenty-four and working as a doorman when he discovers the astonishing history of coffee and Yemen’s c...