SC - Watermelon

[Philip W. Troy]

> I just picked up a copy of The Secret Life of Food by Martin Elkort at my
> local Library. I haven't had a chance to really look at it yet, but
> glancing through it I saw some interesting information on foods and when
> they were introduced. The bibliography for further reading lists two
> pages of books such as Tannahill's Food in History and books like
> Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, but I can't tell if these are
> what he bases his research on or if he used primary sources and is just
> suggesting these to casual readers. Has anyone read this book? Is it
> accurate?

Here's what Jaelle's annotated bibliography has to say:

   Tannahill, Reay. FOOD IN HISTORY. Stein and Day.1973. NOTE: there is a
   revised edition that came out in the past several years, but this is
   what I grabbed from my shelves. In 448 pages she tries to cover food
   throughout the world and throughout time. By the very nature of her
   subject and the size of the book, it is, at best, a cursory covering
   of the subject. OK for a start, but there are much better books out
   there. RECOMMENDED only if you can't get anything better.

> One reference he made in the first chapter caught my eye. He says that
> the first cookbook printed on a printing press was Kuchenmeisterey
> (Cooking Mastery) printed in Nuremberg in 1485 and that 56 editions of
> this book were printed. Has anyone heard of it? Is it available in
> English Translation?

These 2 are all that WorldCat has for it. Hm, looks like these are
both facsimilies.

OCLC Accession No.: 
      ocm28176143 
Title: 
      Kuchenmeisterey. 
Physical description: 
      [36] leaves : woodcut t.p. ; (4to) 
Publication info: 
      Strassburg : M. Hupfuff, 1507 
General note: 
      Not in Proctor. 
General note: 
      PUBLICATION TYPE: Book 
Holding Libraries: 
      LIBRARIES: STATE: EU LIBRARY: EMW 


OCLC Accession No.: 
      ocm13334185 
Title: 
      Kuchenmeisterey. 
Physical description: 
      [68] p. ; 21 cm. (4to) 
Publication info: 
      Getruckt vnnd volendet zu Strassburg : Von Mathis Hupfuff ..., 1507 
General note: 
      Imprint from colophon. 
General note: 
      Signatures: Ap6s Bp4s Cp6s D-Fp4s Gp6s. 
General note: 
      Includes index. 
General note: 
      PUBLICATION TYPE: Book 
Subject: 
      Cookery, German Early works to 1800. 
Holding Libraries: 
      LIBRARIES: STATE: IL LIBRARY: CGU