Around the Tuscan Table: Food, Family, and Gender in Twentieth Century Florence

by Counihan,Carole M.

• ISBN13: 9780415946735
• ISBN10: 0415946735
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2004-03-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Renowned food scholar Carole Counihan serves up a delicious narrative about family and food in twentieth-century Florence. By looking at how family, and especially gender relations, have changed in Florence since the ending of World War II and continuing on to an examination of current food practices today,Around the Tuscan Tableoffers a portrait of the changing nature of modern life as exemplified through food. How food is produced, distributed, and consumed speaks volumes about a given culture, and this compelling and artfully narrated book aims to preserve, propagate, and interpret Florentines' world-renowned cuisine and culture. At the market, in the kitchen, and around the table, Counihan gives readers a taste of everyday life in this region of Italy: how eating together unites the family; how the production of food is gendered; how food is a key tool of socialization, and how culture forms aesthetic tastes. With more than 20 illustrations and age-old family recipes, this is atreat for the senses and the intellect.

Author Biography

Carole M. Counihan is Professor of Anthropology at Millersville University in Pennsylvania

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
Preface and Acknowledgments	ix
1 Food as Voice in Twentieth-Century Florence	1	(16)
2 Florentine Cuisine and Culture	17	(18)
3 Historical Roots of Florentine Food, Family, and Gender	35	(22)
4 Florentine Diet and Culture	57	(22)
5 Food Production, Reproduction, and Gender	79	(18)
6 Balancing Gender Differences	97	(20)
7 Commensality, Family, and Community	117	(22)
8 Parents and Children: Feeding and Gender	139	(18)
9 Food and Gender: Toward the Future	157	(20)
10 Conclusion: Molto, Ma Buono?	177	(16)
Appendices
Appendix A-Life Synopses of Subjects in 1984	193	(4)
Appendix B-Glossary of Italian Terms	197	(8)
Appendix C-Recipe List: Recipes Collected from All Subjects	205	(6)
Appendix D-Recipes	211	(12)
Notes	223	(12)
Bibliography	235	(10)
Index	245