A culinary history of the seven food staples that have shaped human
history, including 63 original recipes
The Seven Culinary Wonders of the World is a global culinary history
told through the stories of seven essential ingredients found in
cuisines all over the world: honey, salt, chile, pork, rice, cacao, and
tomato. Each of these foundational ingredients has played a long and
valuable role in human foodways and culture, and each has its own
fascinating history.
This engagingly illustrated book traces the journeys of these foodstuffs
as they were transported from their regions of origin to faraway
cultures and countries, there to take up starring roles in new cuisines.
The Seven Culinary Wonders of the World explores each food in depth,
beautifully illustrated by specially commissioned artworks, and views
them through a number of prisms--social, cultural, historical, and
botanical--to offer readers fresh, informative insights into seemingly
everyday foods that reveal themselves as wondrous. The rich and diverse
cultural stories of these seven ingredients are also told, from the
magical and aphrodisiac powers associated with cacao in Mesoamerican
culture to the introduction of tomatoes to Europe by the Spanish
conquistadors in the sixteenth century and the earliest cultivation of
rice in China's Pearl Valley. Readers can take the seven ingredients
into their own kitchens via 63 original recipes for dishes both
traditional and innovative.
