Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat
Bee Wilson (Author)
(60)

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Ancient

Since prehistory, humans have braved sharp knives, fire, and grindstones to transform raw ingredients into something delicious—or at least edible. Tools shape what we eat, but they have also transformed how we consume, and how we think about, our food. Technology in the kitchen does not just mean the Pacojets and sous-vide of the modernist kitchen. It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating: a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks.

In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer Bee Wilson provides a wonderful and witty tour of the evolution of cooking around the world, revealing the hidden history of everyday objects we often take for granted. Knives—perhaps our most important gastronomic tool—predate the discovery of fire, whereas the fork endured centuries of ridicule before gaining widespread acceptance; pots and pans have been around for millennia, while plates are a relatively recent invention. Many once-new technologies have become essential elements of any well-stocked kitchen—mortars and pestles, serrated knives, stainless steel pots, refrigerators. Others have proved only passing fancies, or were supplanted by better technologies; one would be hard pressed now to find a water-powered egg whisk, a magnet-operated spit roaster, a cider owl, or a turnspit dog. Although many tools have disappeared from the modern kitchen, they have left us with traditions, tastes, and even physical characteristics that we would never have possessed otherwise.

Blending history, science, and anthropology, Wilson reveals how our culinary tools and tricks came to be, and how their influence has shaped modern food culture. The story of how we have tamed fire and ice and wielded whisks, spoons, and graters, all for the sake of putting food in our mouths, Consider the Fork is truly a book to savor.

• Rank: #4602 in Books
• Published on: 2012-10-09
• Released on: 2012-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.20" h x 6.40" w x 9.40" l, 1.25 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Description #1 by ValoreBooks.com:

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat, ISBN-13: 9781452659572, ISBN-10: 1452659575

Description #2 by Overstock.com:

Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious-or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights into how we've prepared and consumed food over the centuries-and how those basic acts have changed our societies, our diets, and our very selves.

Description #3 by Kobo eBooks:

Buy Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson and Read this Book on Kobo's Free Apps. Discover Kobo's Vast Collection of Ebooks Today - Over 3 Million Titles, Including 2 Million Free Ones!