Food through the Ages: A Popular History
Written for food aficionados everywhere, this book provides an entertaining look at the history and development of the key foods we eat every day. Mike Gibney, Professor Emeritus of Food and Health at University College Dublin, traces the story of food from early hunter gatherers through settled agriculture to the migration across Europe, and examines the influence early trading, imperial conquests and medieval exploration had on the food chain.

Along the way Food through the Ages uncovers some fascinating nuggets:
- Indian rice is fluffy to eat with the hand, while Chinese rice is sticky to eat with chopsticks.
- In the Middle Ages it became fashionable to stuff small, boned birds into bigger birds into even bigger birds and so on. This process, known as engastration, is still popular today in Cajun cuisine with Turducken, a hen in a duck in a turkey.
- A passion for tea led two great powers, China and England, to engage in warfare.
- The popularity of the potato accounted for about 25% of the population growth in Europe from 1700 to 1900.
- The Arabs brought pasta to Italy, but the popular shaped pastas were most often produced in religious orders by nuns.
- The Jesuits and Dominicans argued bitterly over the perceived magical yet sinful attributes of Aztec chocolate.

Professor Gibney explains the origins of commonplace foods, including bread, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, sugar, tea, chocolate and of course Ireland’s beloved potato. He defines a well-stocked larder and shows how the kitchen has changed over thousands of years, getting cleaner, less smelly, more reliable, less dangerous and more accessible to all.
1139570516
Food through the Ages: A Popular History
Written for food aficionados everywhere, this book provides an entertaining look at the history and development of the key foods we eat every day. Mike Gibney, Professor Emeritus of Food and Health at University College Dublin, traces the story of food from early hunter gatherers through settled agriculture to the migration across Europe, and examines the influence early trading, imperial conquests and medieval exploration had on the food chain.

Along the way Food through the Ages uncovers some fascinating nuggets:
- Indian rice is fluffy to eat with the hand, while Chinese rice is sticky to eat with chopsticks.
- In the Middle Ages it became fashionable to stuff small, boned birds into bigger birds into even bigger birds and so on. This process, known as engastration, is still popular today in Cajun cuisine with Turducken, a hen in a duck in a turkey.
- A passion for tea led two great powers, China and England, to engage in warfare.
- The popularity of the potato accounted for about 25% of the population growth in Europe from 1700 to 1900.
- The Arabs brought pasta to Italy, but the popular shaped pastas were most often produced in religious orders by nuns.
- The Jesuits and Dominicans argued bitterly over the perceived magical yet sinful attributes of Aztec chocolate.

Professor Gibney explains the origins of commonplace foods, including bread, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, sugar, tea, chocolate and of course Ireland’s beloved potato. He defines a well-stocked larder and shows how the kitchen has changed over thousands of years, getting cleaner, less smelly, more reliable, less dangerous and more accessible to all.
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Food through the Ages: A Popular History

Food through the Ages: A Popular History

by Mike Gibney
Food through the Ages: A Popular History

Food through the Ages: A Popular History

by Mike Gibney

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$24.95 
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Overview

Written for food aficionados everywhere, this book provides an entertaining look at the history and development of the key foods we eat every day. Mike Gibney, Professor Emeritus of Food and Health at University College Dublin, traces the story of food from early hunter gatherers through settled agriculture to the migration across Europe, and examines the influence early trading, imperial conquests and medieval exploration had on the food chain.

Along the way Food through the Ages uncovers some fascinating nuggets:
- Indian rice is fluffy to eat with the hand, while Chinese rice is sticky to eat with chopsticks.
- In the Middle Ages it became fashionable to stuff small, boned birds into bigger birds into even bigger birds and so on. This process, known as engastration, is still popular today in Cajun cuisine with Turducken, a hen in a duck in a turkey.
- A passion for tea led two great powers, China and England, to engage in warfare.
- The popularity of the potato accounted for about 25% of the population growth in Europe from 1700 to 1900.
- The Arabs brought pasta to Italy, but the popular shaped pastas were most often produced in religious orders by nuns.
- The Jesuits and Dominicans argued bitterly over the perceived magical yet sinful attributes of Aztec chocolate.

Professor Gibney explains the origins of commonplace foods, including bread, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, sugar, tea, chocolate and of course Ireland’s beloved potato. He defines a well-stocked larder and shows how the kitchen has changed over thousands of years, getting cleaner, less smelly, more reliable, less dangerous and more accessible to all.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781838359379
Publisher: The Liffey Press
Publication date: 12/03/2021
Pages: 300
Product dimensions: 6.70(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mike Gibney is Professor Emeritus of Food and Health at University College Dublin. He served as chair of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and received the 2019 lifetime achievement award from the European Nutrition Society.

Table of Contents

Preface vi

Acknowledgements viii

1 The Great Descent 5

2 Bread and Breakfast 19

3 Soup 39

4 The Delights of Dairy 50

5 Meat and Poultry 68

6 Fish and Shellfish 87

7 The Garden, Orchard, Hedgerow and Forest 104

8 Rice and Noodles 119

9 Tea, Theft and Opium 132

10 Sugar: Sweet and Slavery 150

11 Buds, Berries, Beans and Brews: The Story of Coffee 165

12 Pasta 180

13 Biscuits, Cakes and Pastries 200

14 The Potato 215

15 Chocolate: Sins, Priests and Magic 228

16 The Columbian Exchange: A Miscellany of Foods 244

17 Building the Larder 262

Epilogue 278

References 281

Index 290

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