[Sca-cooks] Booklist for Culinary Novices-- Non Recipe texts

[Johnna Holloway]

So... What are your favorite SECONDARY sources?

> Pax, Aoghann
>
This is my current short list of favorites---
These are in print or can be easily found. They are books that a novice is
likely to come across in a large Borders or on through online searching.

Albala, Ken. Eating Right in the Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. Best book on dietary advice in the Renaissance.

<> Albala, Ken. Food in Early Modern Europe. Greenwood Press, 2003. More 
or less a textbook but a well done one on food history. Starts at 1500, 
so it covers the Voyages of Discovery and what was introduced to Europe 
in the 16th century, like turkey and pumpkins.<>

Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford Univ. 
Press, 1999. Paperback edition from 2002 is titled: The Penguin 
Companion to Food. Best one volume food history encyclopedia out on the 
market. Worth having on the shelf just to read and enjoy.

Hammond, P. W. Food and Feast in Medieval England. 1993. Paperback ed. 1997. Worth reading. Bibliography.

Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery. Edited by Karen Hess. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. 
Paperback edition with an awful cover featuring George Washington. 
This is comprised of two Tudor Jacobean manuscripts that ended up being owned by Martha Washington. 
No modern recipes, but lots of commentaries and notes on foods of the day, etc. as well as all the original recipes taken from the manuscripts. Worth owning for the commentary.

<> McGee, Harold J. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the 
Kitchen. New York: Scribner, 2004. This is the brand new “completely 
revised, fully updated” edition of the 1984 kitchen classic. 884 pages 
of lore and facts about cooking & foods. Highly Recommended.<>

Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe. A Book of Essays. Edited by 
Melitta Weiss Adamson. New York: Routledge, 2002. Expensive, but worth 
reading. Each chapter offers an essay on the medieval cuisine of a 
region or country. Hieatt on Britain; Scully on France; Lambert on 
Southern France; Low Countries by van Winter, etc. Bibliography.<>

Scully, Terence. The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. 1995. Reissue. 
Boydell & Brewer, 1997. An academic exploration of food in the medieval 
society. Expensive but worth borrowing to read.

 Tannahill, Reay. Food in History. 1973. This was the first general market food history book
and was used as a textbook in several social history courses. Penguin in the U.
K. re-released Food in History in a
“New, Fully Revised and Updated Edition” in 1988. A U.S. revised paperback edition was released in April 1995.
Do use the revised edition, as Tannahill corrected and updated information
provided in the 1973 original edition. Dated but still valuable.

Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. History of Food. Translated into English by Anthea Bell. London: Blackwell Reference, 1992. Also in paperback. Available one volume history of food as seen from the French point of view. 

<> Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and 
Table from 1300 to 1789. Originally by The University of Pennsylvania 
Press, 1983. Numerous hardback and paperback editions, Wheaton includes 
material on medieval & renaissance French cuisine. Selection of original 
recipes with adaptations. Excellent bibliography and notes.

Willan, Anne. Great Cooks and Their Recipes. From Taillevent to Escoffier. First published in 1977. Pavilion Books in the U.K. released a “new, expanded edition, redesigned and enriched” with the photography of Michael Bay in 1990. A U.S. expanded edition followed in 1992 with a paperback being released in 2000. Covers the work of Taillevent, Martino, Scappi, La Varenne, and Robert May among others. With recipes and great pictures. 

<> Wilson, C. Anne. Food & Drink in Britain : From the Stone Age to the 
19th Century. 1973. Numerous UK and US editions. Revised in 1991. Highly 
recommended Reference!!! Wilson is great for reading and reference as 
regards the English and their diet. Recipes are embedded in the text. 
The book really concentrates on the earlier centuries from Pre-Roman 
through Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Tudor, and only touches the Modern 
18th century.

THL Johnnae llyn Lewis, CE