Why We Eat What We Eat: How Columbus Changed the Way the World Eats

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, 1993 - Cookery - 254 pages
"When Christopher Columbus stumbled upon America in 1492, the Italians had no pasta with tomato sauce, the Chinese had no spicy Szechuan cuisine, and the Aztecs in Mexico were eating tacos filled with live insects instead of beef. In this lively, always surprising history of the world through a gourmet's eyes, Raymond Sokolov explains how all of us -- Europeans, Americans, Africans, and Asians -- came to eat what we eat today. He journeys with the reader to far-flung ports of the former Spanish empire in search of the points where the menus of two hemispheres merged. In the process he shows that our idea of "traditional" cuisine in contrast to today's inventive new dishes ignores the food revolution that has been going on for the last 500 years. Why We Eat What We Eat is an exploration of the astonishing changes in the world's tastes that let us partake in a delightful, and edifying, feast for the mind."--Publisher's description.
 

Contents

Introduction
9
PART I
19
PART
25
PART IV
105
Key Limes
165
Turkey
172
Chowder
183
Olives
197
Cherimoyas
210
PART VI
217
PART VII
239
page 241
255
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information