Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, Tom Jaine (Editor), Helen Saberi (Director)

From the Publisher

Twenty years in the making, the first edition of Alan Davidson's magnum opus appeared in 1999 to worldwide acclaim. Its combination of serious food history, culinary expertise, and entertaining serendipity was recognized as utterly unique. Including both an exhaustive catalogue of the foods that nourish humankind-fruit from tropical forests, mosses scraped from adamantine granite in Siberian wastes, or ears, eyeballs and testicles from a menagerie of animals-and a richly allusive commentary on the culture of food, whether expressed in literature and cookbooks, or as dishes peculiar to a country or community, the Oxford Companion to Food immediately found distinction.
The study of food and food history was a new discipline at the time, but one that has developed exponentially in the years since. There are now university departments, international societies, and academic journals, in addition to a wide range of popular literature exploring the meaning of food in the daily lives of people around the world.
Alan Davidson famously wrote eighty percent of the first edition, which was praised for its wit as well as its wisdom. Tom Jaine, the editor of the second edition, worked closely with Jane Davidson and Helen Saberi to ensure that new contributions continue in the same style. The result is an expanded volume that remains faithful to Davidson's peerless work. The text has been updated where necessary to keep pace with a rapidly changing subject, and Jaine assiduously alerts readers to new avenues in food studies. Agriculture; archaeology; food in art, film, literature, and music; globalization; neuroanatomy; and the Silk Road are covered for the first time, and absorbing newarticles on confetti; cutlery; doggy bags; elephant; myrrh; and potluck have also found their way into the Companion.

Wall Street Journal - Paul Levy

Serendipity is a rewarding way to negotiate this colossal volume. Some day the field of food history or culinary history or gastronomy or foodways, or whatever it may be called, will achieve full academic status and respectability. This will be largely thanks to Mr. Davidson's labors and The Oxford Companion to Food. And thanks to him, too, it need never be a dull subject.

Library Journal

The first edition of Davidson's award-winning Oxford Companion to Food appeared in print in 1999. With the second edition of this culinary classic, food writer and publisher Tom Jaine takes editorial charge. While keeping true to Davidson's distinctive and entertaining writing style, Paine has updated many of the approximately 3000 original entries in the book and added 70 new topics (e.g., "Globalization," "Olives"). Covering everything from individual ingredients and cooking techniques to food celebrities and national cuisines, the authoritative and engaging The Oxford Companion to Food is one of the best basic culinary reference books available. In the latest update of The Oxford Companion to Wine, first published in 1994, not only have hundreds of the book's original 3000 entries been revised but over 400 new entries, such as "Coastal Region," "Heritage Varieties," and "Icon Wine," have been added to this superb reference book. Wine expert, journalist, and author Robinson and her contributors continue to write with zesty enthusiasm about everything from the different varieties of grapes to the world's great wineries and geographic areas of production. Bottom Line Both of these reasonably priced classic books are highly recommended for academic and public libraries, especially those that do not already own previous editions; The Oxford Companion to Wine remains the essential wine resource for most any library's collection. John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

The New York Times - Florence Fabricant

The book, an outgrowth, of the annual Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery, lives up to the highest expectations. It is a masterly work with a variety of voices, from the straightforward, almost dry, to the quirky and witty....It's not hard to be awed by the 892 pages dense with extremely thorough and well-written entries, enhanced by cross-references and indexes and larded with anecdotes and strong opinions.

People Magazine

Not a cookbook so much as a cook's book, this long-awaited encyclopedia will thrill food fanatics who can lift it. The latest in Oxford's Companion series, Food features comprehensive entries on 2,650 subjects, from the mouthwatering to the weird. Elephant Garlic? Sure, but also Elephant, a delicacy in Egypt. Broader topics—like Mushroom—rate expanded articles.

Alan Davidson, a former British ambassador to Laos and a food expert, spent 20 years assembling this authoritative volume (with contributions from other writers). No recipes but 178 handsome illustrations.

Foreword Magazine - Seth McEvoy

The Oxford Companion to Food is astounding in breadth and thoroughness, including 2,650 A-Z (dictionary-like) entries, detailing international food products and their preparation. London food historian Davidson persevered twenty years to complete this tome with the help of fifty regional specialists. His skill is best measured both by the usefulness and intrigue of his descriptions....amateurs and professionals alike will relish this work.

Mens Journal

The more than 2,000 entries in the 892-page tour de force will enlighten you as to the history, cultivation, and flavor of every edible you've ever heard of and hundreds that you never even knew existed. If you want to learn how to roast termites like a Banana Island native (in an iron pot over a gentle fire) or where to sample monkey brains (Southeast Asia), this book is for you.

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents