| Beans: A History Contributor(s): Albala, Ken (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 1845204301 ISBN-13: 9781845204303 Publisher: Berg Publishers OUR PRICE: $57.95 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 2007 Annotation: Whether refried, baked, falafelled, or complementing a nice Chianti, the humble bean has long been a part of gourmet and everyday food culture around the globe. As Ken Albala shows, though, over its history the bean has enjoyed more controversy than its current ubiquity lets on. From the bean's status as seat of the soul (at least, that's what Pythagoras thought) to seed of sin (or so said St. Jerome, who forbade nuns to eat beans because they "tickle the genitals"), "Beans" is a ripping tale of a truly magical fruit. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | World - General - Gardening | Vegetables - Cooking | History |
| Dewey: 641.356 |
| LCCN: 2007015769 |
| Physical Information: 1.07" H x 6.34" W x 7.7" (1.00 lbs) 256 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Winner of The 2008 Jane Grigson Award, issued by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Winner of the 2008 Cordon d' Or Culinary Literature - History Culinary Academy Award. This is the story of the bean, the staple food cultivated by humans for over 10,000 years. From the lentil to the soybean, every civilization on the planet has cultivated its own species of bean. The humble bean has always attracted attention - from Pythagoras' notion that the bean hosted a human soul to St. Jerome's indictment against bean-eating in convents (because they tickle the genitals), to current research into the deadly toxins contained in the most commonly eaten beans. Over time, the bean has been both scorned as poor man's meat and praised as health-giving, even patriotic. Attitudes to this most basic of foodstuffs have always revealed a great deal about a society. Beans: A History takes the reader on a fascinating journey across cuisines and cultures. |