Joel S. Denker

The Carrot Purple and Other Curious Stories of the Food We Eat (eBook, PDF)

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

How many otherwise well-educated readers know that the familiar orange carrot was once a novelty? It is a little more than 400 years old. Domesticated in Afghanistan in 900 AD, the purple carrot, in fact, was the dominant variety until Dutch gardeners bred the young upstart in the seventeenth century. After surveying paintings from this era in the Louvre and other museums, Dutch agronomist Otto Banga discovered this stunning transformation. The story of the carrot is just one of the hidden tales this book recounts. Through portraits of a wide range of foods we eat and love, from artichokes to strawberries, The Carrot Purple traces the path of foods from obscurity to familiarity. Joel Denker explores how these edible plants were, in diverse settings, invested with new meaning. They acquired not only culinary significance but also ceremonial, medicinal, and economic importance. Foods were variously savored, revered, and reviled. This entertaining history will enhance the reader's appreciation of a wide array of foods we take for granted. From the carrot to the cabbage, from cinnamon to coffee, from the peanut to the pistachio, the plants, beans, nuts, and spices we eat have little-known stories that are unearthed and served here with relish.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 328
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Oktober 2015
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9798216214939
• Artikelnr.: 74831192

Autorenporträt

Joel Denker, a Washington-based food historian, is the author, among other books, of The World on a Plate: A Tour through the History of America's Ethnic Cuisine and Capital Flavors: Exploring Washington's Ethnic Restaurants. He has written for the Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and other publications. He has taught American History and a wide range of other subjects at George Washington University, Rutgers University, SUNY/College at Old Westbury, and other institutions. His rich background in educational innovation includes developing an early alternative high school in Washington, DC; teaching refugees in Tanzania; and organizing a labor studies degree at Washington's city university.

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction Anise: The Allure of Anise Apricot: "Moon of the Faith":
Appreciating the Apricot Artichoke: The Artichoke "Undressed" Arugula: The
"Lascivious Leaf": The Allure of Arugula Asparagus: Asparagus: Scents and
Non-Scents Avocado: The "Butter Pear": The Mysterious Avocado Banana: The
"Curiosity of the Indies": The Baffling Banana Basil: Holy Basil Broccoli:
"It's Not Broccoli. It's Andy Boy" Cabbage: Head of Its Class: The Cabbage
Caper: The Wild Caper Cardamom: From Arabia to Scandinavia: A Cardamom
Chronicle Carrot: The Carrot Purple Cashew: The Nutty Fruit: The Curious
Cashew Celery: The Celery Cure Chickpea: The Battle over the Bean: The
Curious Chickpea Chocolate: Food of the Gods: Chocolate Cinnamon: "Sweet
Wood": Cinnamon Clove: The "Nail Incense": Uncovering the Clove Coffee: The
"Wine of the Bean": Coffee Coriander: Saved from the "Two-Headed Serpent":
The Curious History of Coriander Cranberry: The "Bitter Berry": Reclaiming
the Cranberry Cucumber: The "Bilious" Cowcumber Cumin: Hidden Punch:
Cumin's Untold Story Dill: A Fine Feathered Friend: The Wonders of Dill
Eggplant: The "Mad Apple": The Terrifying Eggplant Fennel: The Truth about
Finocchio Garlic: The "Stinking Rose": The Wonders of Garlic Lentil: "Poor
Man's Meat": The Lentil Mint: Vigor and Venery: The Story of Mint Nutmeg:
The "Harem Tree": Nutmeg Olive: "A Taste as Old as Cold Water:" The Story
of the Olive Onion: Knowing Your Onions Orange: Sweet for Sour Oranges
Papaya: The "Fruit of Angels": The Papaya Peanut: Found a Peanut Pear: Gift
of the Gods: The Pear Pepper, Black: Hot Commodity: A Pepper Story
Pineapple: Yes, We Have No Ananas: The Pineapple Pistachio: The Princely
Pistachio Pomegranate: Persephone's Temptation: The Seductive Pomegranate
Potato: The "White Truffle": The Perplexing Potato Saffron: Hunting for
Gold: The Sage of Saffron Spinach: The "Prince of Leafy Greens": Spinach
Strawberry: Sex and the Single Strawberry Sweet Potato: Candy from the
Field: The Sweet Potato Tomatoes: "Home Grown Tomatoes" Vanilla: The Scent
of Vanilla Walnut: Cracking the Walnut Watermelon: "What the Angels Eat":
The Watermelon Bibliography