You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Ripe, sensuous, irresistible: the cherry tree and its stunning blossoms conjure up many literal, metaphorical, and visceral sensations. We enjoy cherry picking, a cherry on top, and even, on occasion, losing one’s cherry. Cherries have been consumed since prehistoric times, reaching great popularity among the ancient Romans. They have come to symbolize such divergent concepts as fertility, innocence, and seductiveness, inspiring Dutch still-life paintings, Freudian theory, contemporary pop artists, and one of the first food emojis. In Japan and other Asian cultures, the short-lived but beautiful cherry blossoms are important elements throughout art and literature. In this intriguing natural and cultural history, Constance L. Kirker and Mary Newman recount the origins, legends, celebrations, production, and health benefits of this beloved tree.
Most of us like to look at them, but why on earth would anyone want to eat them? As Constance L. Kirker and Mary Newman show in this book, however, flowers have a long history as a tasty ingredient in a variety of cuisines. The Greeks, Romans, Persians, Ottomans, Mayans, Chinese, and Indians all knew how to cook with them for centuries, and today contemporary chefs use them to add something special to their dishes. Edible Flowers is the fascinating history of how flowers have been used in cooking, from ancient Greek dishes to the today’s molecular gastronomy and farm-to-table restaurants. Looking at flowers’ natural qualities: their unique and beautiful appearance, their pungent fragranc...
From Viking fisheries to Portuguese bacalao and beyond, a delectable and informative journey through cod fact, cuisine, and lore. This is the first culinary history of a truly remarkable fish. Elisabeth Townsend follows cod around the globe, showing how its pursuit began with the Vikings, and exploring its influence on human affairs ever since. The book looks at the different ways cod has been caught, cooked, and eaten, often by the descendants of explorers, enslaved people, and traders. Cod examines the fish in the myths and legends of the North Atlantic, the West Indies, South America, West and Southeast Africa, and across the Indian Ocean to the Far East. It is a fascinating journey through cod fact and lore and features delectable historical and contemporary recipes that showcase the myriad ways cod can be consumed.
From curries to creamy piña coladas, a delectable global history of the many culinary incarnations of the coconut. The flavor and image of the coconut are universally recognizable, conjuring up sweet, exotic pleasures. Called the “Swiss army knife” of the plant world, the versatile coconut can be an essential ingredient in savory curries, or a sacred element in Hindu rituals or Polynesian kava ceremonies. Coconut’s culinary credentials extend far beyond a sprinkling on a fabulous layer cake or cream pie to include products such as coconut vinegar, coconut sugar, coconut flour, and coconut oil. Complete with recipes, this book explores the global history of coconut from its ancient origins to its recent elevation to super-food status.
This text provides a comprehensive analysis of Sudan's unresolved struggle between supporters of the majoritarian vision who seek to create a cohesive Arab-Islamic state and the pluralists who strive for equality before the law.BR> North America: Indiana U Press
A guide to the cultural history of liqueurs from a celebrated spirits journalist. The original recreational spirit, liqueurs traveled the Silk Road, awaited travelers at the Fountain of Youth, and traversed the globe from ancient times through the industrial revolution and beyond. In this thrilling exploration of liqueur’s global history, Lesley Jacobs Solmonson describes how a bitter, medicinal elixir distilled by early alchemists developed into a sugar- and spice-fueled luxury for the rich before garnishing a variety of cocktails the world over. The book invites readers on a multi-faceted journey through culinary history, driven by humanity’s ages-long desire for pleasure.
What’s your favorite cookie (or biscuit, for any British baking show buffs)? Chocolate chip, ginger spice, or Oreo? Oatmeal-and-raisin, black-and-white, digestive, or florentine? Or do you just prefer the dough? Our choice biscuits and cookies are as diverse as the myriad forms and flavors these chewy treats take, and well they should be. These baked delights have a history as rich as their taste: evidence of biscuit-making dates back to around 4000 BC. In Biscuits and Cookies, Anastasia Edwards explores the delectable past of these versatile snacks, from their earliest beginnings through Middle Eastern baking techniques, to cookies of Northern Europe in the Middle Ages, and on into the New World. From German lebkuchen to the animal cracker (more than half a billion of which are produced each year in the United States alone), from brownies and sugar cookies in the United States to shortbread and buttery tea biscuits in the United Kingdom, to Anzac and Girl-Guide biscuits in New Zealand and Australia, this book is crammed with biscuit and cookie facts, stories, images, and recipes from around the world and across time. And there’s no need to steal from the cookie jar.
Innovative exploration of how medical knowledge was shared between and across diverse societies tied to the Atlantic World around 1800.
A global history of breakfast cereal, from the first grain porridges to off-brand Cheerios. Simple, healthy, and comforting, breakfast cereals are a perennially popular way to start the day. This book examines cereal’s long, distinguished, and surprising history—dating back to when, around 10,000 years ago, the agricultural revolution led people to break their fasts with wheat, rice, and corn porridges. Only in the second half of the nineteenth century did entrepreneurs and food reformers create the breakfast cereals we recognize today: Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Cheerios, and Quaker Oats, among others. In this entertaining, well-illustrated account, Kathryn Cornell Dolan explores the history of breakfast cereals, including many historical and modern recipes that the reader can try at home.
A fascinating guide to the natural and cultural significance of mosses and lichens. Moss and Lichen is a celebration of the extraordinary biology, beauty, and resilience of two unassuming organisms. Endowed with unique abilities to thrive in extreme habitats, mosses and lichens defy easy categorization. Mosses, which are integral to the plant kingdom, and lichens, which are a kingdom unto themselves, colonize a variety of landscapes from rainforests to deserts to urban streets. Long neglected for lacking flowers, these organisms are now beloved for their significant role in maintaining the health of our world’s ecosystem. Elizabeth Lawson describes how mosses and lichens shape landscapes, prevent erosion, and sequester carbon, but she also offers a wide-ranging introduction to the biologists, artists, and writers inspired by their beauty. Moss and Lichen will inspire a newfound appreciation for these unsung heroes of the natural world.