Instead of your usual cookery books full of recipes and ideas, this book is a history of our kitchens.
In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer Bee Wilson provides a wonderful and witty tour of the evolution of cooking around the world, revealing the hidden history of everyday objects we often take for granted.
KnivesĀperhaps our most important gastronomic toolĀpredate the discovery of fire, whereas the fork endured centuries of ridicule before gaining widespread acceptance; pots and pans have been around for millennia, while plates are a relatively recent invention. Many once-new technologies have become essential elements of any well-stocked kitchenĀmortars and pestles, serrated knives, stainless steel pots, refrigerators.
Blending history, science, and anthropology, Wilson reveals how our culinary tools and tricks came to be, and how their influence has shaped modern food culture. The story of how we have tamed fire and ice and wielded whisks, spoons, and graters, all for the sake of putting food in our mouths, Consider the Fork is truly a book to savor.
No Comments
Heard her talking on Radio 4 “Woman’s Hour” recently…interesting topic. Teaching “English Afternoon Tea” and proper baking I always include the TOOLS required for preparing cake mixtures as so many recipes these days simply tell the reader to place ingredients into a food processor….that is NOT the way to make a cake!
The tools are not complicated but they ARE part of the preparation process…move on to a processor if you really want to…but learn the hand-made way first…you can see the mixture develop.
http://www.englishafternoontea.com
Thanks Carolyn for your interesting comment. Message me with your cookery courses and I can put them on the blog. š
All in the aid of feeding humans.
Can’t live without our food at the end of the day and can’t cope with chop sticks so the old knife and fork are fine by me :))
Me too! Chopsticks is a piano piece. LOL