Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History of Mythology, Allure, and Absessions,Perils, Taboos of an Ordinary Meal by Margaret Visser

This book has not been indexed yet...

Notes about this book

This book does not currently have any notes.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

This book does not currently have any reviews.

  • ISBN 10 0020088515
  • ISBN 13 9780020088516
  • Published Oct 01 1988
  • Format Paperback
  • Page Count 352
  • Language English
  • Publisher Macmillan

Publishers Text

Winning unanimous praise on its publication and now available in paperback from Grove Press, Much Depends on Dinner is a delightful and intelligent history of the food we eat. Presented as a meal, each chapter represents a different course or garnish. Borrowing from Byron's classic poem "Don Juan" for her title ("Since Eve ate apples, much depends on dinner"), writer Margaret Visser looks to the most ordinary American dinner for her subject -- corn on the cob with butter and salt, roast chicken with rice, salad dressed in lemon juice and olive oil, and ice cream -- submerging herself in the story behind each food. In this indulgent and perceptive guide we hear the history of Corn Flakes, why canned California olives are so unsatisfactory (they're picked green, chemically blackened, then sterilized), and the fact that in Africa, citrus fruit is eaten rind and all. For food lovers of all kinds, this unexpectedly funny and serious book is a treasure of information, shedding light on one of our most favorite pastimes.

Other cookbooks by this author