The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink

by Andrew F. Smith (Editor)

Overview

Offering a panoramic view of the history and culture of food and drink in America with fascinating entries on everything from the smell of asparagus to the history of White Castle, and the origin of Bloody Marys to jambalaya, the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink provides a concise, authoritative, and exuberant look at this modern American obsession. Ideal for the food scholar and food enthusiast alike, it is equally appetizing for anyone fascinated by Americana, capturing our culture and history through what we love most--food! Building on the highly praised and deliciously browseable two-volume compendium the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, this new work serves up everything you could ever want to know about American consumables and their impact on popular culture and the culinary world. Within its pages for example, we learn that Lifesavers candy owes its success to the canny marketing idea of placing the original flavor, mint, next to cash registers at bars. Patrons who bought them to mask the smell of alcohol on their breath before heading home soon found they were just as tasty sober and the company began producing other flavors. Edited by Andrew Smith, a writer and lecturer on culinary history, the Companion serves up more than just trivia however, including hundreds of entries on fast food, celebrity chefs, fish, sandwiches, regional and ethnic cuisine, food science, and historical food traditions. It also dispels a few commonly held myths. Veganism, isn't simply the practice of a few "hippies," but is in fact wide-spread among elite athletic circles. Many of the top competitors in the Ironman and Ultramarathon events go even further, avoiding all animal products by following a strictly vegan diet. Anyone hungering to know what our nation has been cooking and eating for the last three centuries should own the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199885763
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/01/2007
Series:	Oxford Companions
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Andrew F. Smith teaches culinary history and professional food writing at The New School University in Manhattan. He serves as a consultant to several food television productions (airing on the History Channel and the Food Network), and is the General Editor for the University of Illinois Press' Food Series. He also edited the highly acclaimed 2-volume Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America and has written several books on food, including The Tomato in America, Pure Ketchup, Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America.

Editorial Reviews

Smith (culinary history & professional food writing, New Sch.) edited The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America(OEFDA), which he uses as the main ingredient in his latest culinary reference work; but by adding subjects not found in that book, he creates a useful and entertaining new literary dish. The approximately 1000 A-to-Z entries, each ranging from a paragraph to several pages in length, are written by 200-plus experts. Complemented by 200 mostly black-and-white illustrations, they cover everything from foods (e.g., the cauliflower, the tomato) to companies (e.g., Borden, Nabisco) to biographies of such famous individuals as cookbook authors Fannie Farmer and Eliza Leslie. Most entries contain a bibliography of additional sources, and there are some valuable appendixes dedicated to food-themed festivals, organizations, museums, and web sites. Similar information can be found in other standard culinary reference sources-e.g., the classic Larousse Gastronomiqueand The Oxford Companion to Food(2006. 2d ed.)-but Smith's work creates its own valuable niche not only by combining all these subjects and more into one book but also by focusing on the ways in which they are specifically connected to American food culture and history.
—John Charles

Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-This encyclopedic work is a shorter version of Smith's acclaimed two-volume TheOxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America(2004), in terms of breadth of coverage and article length. More than 200 professional food writers, chefs, and professors contributed nearly 1000 alphabetically arranged, signed entries that each include a bibliography, and range from "Chuck E. Cheese Pizza" to "Nestlé" and "Irradiation" to "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups" (with a sidebar on "Reese's Pieces" and E. T.). Most articles are briefer rewrites of those in the Encyclopedia, while others have been included as is. Longer entries include pieces that give historical overviews of specific eras ("Colonial Period to the Revolutionary War," "World War II"). Entries devoted to name brands and franchises abound. Briefly captioned archival reproductions (most previously published in the Encyclopedia) appear throughout. Two eight-page sections of color plates inserted for visual appeal contain no direct references to or from corresponding entries. Historical and cultural context is addressed within individual entries and reinforced through an opening topical outline that assigns them to one or more of 17 subject categories ("Ethnic and Cultural Cuisines," "Food and Society"). Appendixes include food and drink bibliographies and lists of food-related festivals, museums, periodicals, organizations, and Web sites. Clearly written and concisely presented, this volume will be an affordable multidisciplinary resource for large collections that do not own The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America(2004).-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, PrairieVillage, KS

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School Library Journal

"Nearly 700 pages of Americana on the table, this reference work is the gift for the culinary student, chef or Food Network groupie on your list. It's fun to flip through - 'the mimosa is one of America's first designer cocktails' - or burrow into (the 'pies and tarts' entry goes on for three pages)."—The Denver Post

"Clearly written and concisely presented, this volume will be an affordable multidisciplinary resource"—School Library Journal

"When it comes to American food, there's no better resource than the new Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.This monster-size tome weighs enough to work your biceps and contains more than 1,000 entries that should answer every last one of your culinary curiosities."-New York Post

"Amateur and professional food historians will join lovers of culinary trivia in alternately marveling and chuckling over The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, which tells just about everything you ever wanted to know on the subject, and then some.... Overall, it's a fun and informative read."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Whether you want to learn for learning's sake, dazzle friends with observations on the cocktail you're holding ("Did you know that Bourbon is a style of whiskey that can legally be made only in the United States?") or beef up your chances on a game show ("I'll take 'Drive-Ins' for $100, Alex"), editor Andrew F. Smith's efforts should not fail to deliver. Many reference books fall short because they're, well, b-o-r-i-n-g. This one isn't."—Chicago Tribune

"Unique, fascinating, fun and indispensable, The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink is a must for anyone interested in the food culture of America, from the professional chef to the food writer to the lover of the table."—Jacques Pépin, star of Fast Food My Way and author of The Apprentice

"Here are the facts. This impressive Oxford Companion presents a complex subject without fuss or frills."—Anne Willan, director of La Varenne at Château du Feÿ, author of La Varenne Pratique and The Good Cook

"I've always wondered what American food and drink was exactly. Now that I've read the Oxford Companion, it's clear and understandable. And what a story! Filled with unusual twists and turns and peopled with ordinary and extraordinary cooks, chefs, farmers, inventors, scientists, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs, I found it, like good food, quite irresistible."—Burt Wolf

"Erudite, witty, and stuffed with gems"—The Daily Telegraph (London)

From the Publisher