Food in England

by Dorothy Hartley

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0749942150
• ISBN13: 9780749942151
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Piatkus Books
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Classic work: critics say "never equalled"

...and they are right! Dorothy Hartley was a cultural historian and she brings both readability and a historian's tools of analysis to this book. I learned a great deal about real English food from these pages and I learned a great deal about food culture, different methods of harnessing fire to the purpose of preparing meals, different cooking appliances and even some classic recipes. Persons who want to "feel" they are living in Victorian (and earlier) times will love this book as much as so many of us have. This quality is what maintains "Food In England" continuously in print.

The history of cooking in engaging detail.

'Food In England' is not just a book about the many recipes the Brits are known for: pies, casseroles, breads, and preserves, it's also about how and where items became 'food' and how food was prepared. Before stoves and refrigerators there were pots hanging over open fires that were never empty, sides of pork hanging from the rafters to be 'smoked,' and bread was made in a large communal brick oven outside. This book combines the history of cooking with the history of how our favourite dishes got started, like, roast beef, roast chicken, bacon, a variety of veggies and fruits, and how all these delicious preparations became the basic staples of our diets today. This is not a 'cookery' book as such - it's the history of cooking and how the best dishes were handed down to us today.