A Cultural History of Food in the Renaissance

by Albala, Ken; Scholliers, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780857850256
• ISBN10: 0857850253
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-17
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

Food and attitudes toward it were transformed in Renaissance Europe. The period between 1300 and 1600 saw the discovery of the New World and the cultivation of new foodstuffs, as well as the efflorescence of culinary literature in European courts and eventually in the popular press, and most importantly the transformation of the economy on a global scale. Food became the object of rigorous investigation among physicians, theologians, agronomists and even poets and artists. Concern with eating was, in fact, central to the cultural dynamism we now recognize as the Renaissance.

A Cultural History of Food in the Renaissance presents an overview of the period with essays on food production, food systems, food security, safety and crises, food and politics, eating out, professional cooking, kitchens and service work, family and domesticity, body and soul, representations of food, and developments in food production and consumption globally.

Author Biography

Ken Albala is Professor of History at the University of the Pacific, USA and author of many
books, including Eating Right in the Renaissance; Food in Early Modern Europe; The Banquet:
Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe; Beans: A History; and The Lost Art of
Real Cooking. He is editor of Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia and coeditor of the
journal, Food, Culture & Society.

Table of Contents

Series Preface

Introduction
Ken Albala, University of the Pacific, USA

1 Food Production 29
Allen J. Grieco, Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Centre for Italian Renaissance Studies, Italy

2 Food Systems: Pepper, Herring, and Beer
Michael Krondl, Independent Scholar, USA

3 Food Security, Safety, and Crises
Philip Slavin, McGill University, Canada

4 Food and Politics
Eric R. Dursteler, Brigham Young University, USA

5 Eating Out
Paul Freedman, Yale University, USA

6 Professional Cooking, Kitchens, and Service Work
Ken Albala, University of the Pacific, USA

7 Family and Domesticity
Alison A. Smith, Wagner College, USA

8 Body and Soul
Joan Fitzpatrick, Loughborough University, UK

9 Food in Painting
Gillian Riley, Independent Scholar

10 World Developments
Fabio Parasecoli, The New School, NYC, USA

Notes
Bibliography
Notes on Contributors
Index