Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America (American Crossroads)
With a uniquely balanced combination of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors, Thai food burst onto Los Angeles’s culinary scene in the 1980s. Flavors of Empire examines the rise of Thai food and the way it shaped the racial and ethnic contours of Thai American identity and community. Full of vivid oral histories and new material from the …
A History of Cookbooks looks at the cookbooks from a literary and historical perspective, providing an overview of how this genre was developed as an important part of food culture from the late middle ages onwards. Early brief notes with ingredients were gradually transformed into detailed recipes with particular structure, grammar, and vocabulary. But this book covers more …
In little more than a century, industrial mindsets have altered the cheesemaking process at every level, from the bodies of the animals, to the microbial strains that sour the milk, to the way in which cheese itself is made. Single-farm cheeses that convey a sense of place have given way to the juggernaut of homogenous factory production, and …
In this authoritative and immensely readable insider’s account, celebrated cookbook author and former chef Joyce Goldstein traces the development of California cuisine from its formative years in the 1970s to 2000, when farm-to-table, foraging, and fusion cooking had become part of the national vocabulary. Interviews with almost two hundred chefs, purveyors, artisans, winemakers, and food writers …
Unconstrained by tradition or viticultural regulation, California winemakers enjoy a freedom that has resulted in a remarkable range of world-class wines. Beautifully illustrated with original photographs and detailed color maps, this guide introduces California wine by exploring the best that the state has to offer from lush Sonoma Chardonnay to spicy Santa Barbara Syrah to heady Amador Zinfandel. …
The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia
“Every Georgian dish is a poem.”—Alexander Pushkin According to Georgian legend, God took a supper break while creating the world. He became so involved with his meal that he inadvertently tripped over the high peaks of the Caucasus, spilling his food onto the land below. The land blessed by Heaven’s table scraps …
The New Mediterranean Jewish Table: Old World Recipes for the Modern Home
For thousands of years, the people of the Jewish Diaspora have carried their culinary traditions and kosher laws throughout the world. In the United States, this has resulted primarily in an Ashkenazi table of matzo ball soup and knishes, brisket and gefilte fish. But Joyce Goldstein is now expanding that menu with this comprehensive collection of over four …
Secrets from the Greek Kitchen explores how cooking skills, practices, and knowledge on the island of Kalymnos are reinforced or transformed by contemporary events. Based on more than twenty years of research and the author’s videos of everyday cooking techniques, this rich ethnography treats the kitchen as an environment in which people pursue tasks, display expertise, and confront …
Combining the best of memoir, travel literature, and food writing, Christopher Bakken delves into one of the most underappreciated cuisines in Europe in this rollicking celebration of the Greek table. He explores the traditions and history behind eight elements of Greek cuisineolives, bread, fish, cheese, beans, wine, meat, and honeyand journeys through the country searching for the best …
Sought after by European aristocrats and a favorite of Napoleon Bonaparte, the sweet wines of Constantia in the Cape Colony were considered to be among the world’s best during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa began to re-emerge onto the international wine scene. Tim James, an expert on South African …