Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet Volume 51

Name: Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet Volume 51
Price: 60.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780520277373

✍️ Bentley, Amy

Reader Score

4.6

(1 review)

$60.00

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📜

Food Writing & History

📚 EDITORIAL REVIEW

“This is a must-read for food historians, sociologists, and curious home cooks fascinated by how American eating habits are formed. If you are looking for infant recipes or feeding tips, you will be disappointed, as this explores cultural history rather than practical kitchen advice.

— Editorial Team

Author

Bentley, Amy

📚 all books by this author (2) →

🏛 University of California Press 📅 2014 📔 Hardcover ISBN: 9780520277373

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📝 Description: Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet Volume 51

"Amy Bentley's engaging, brilliantly researched book is a revelation. Who knew that all those little baby food jars could tell us so much about the commercial, cultural, and personal history of food in America. Inventing Baby Food is an instant food studies classic." --Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics "Food scholars who think infant feeding means burping babies on their mothers' shoulders should think again. Bentley shows how the corporate approach to babies' appetites rested on a shallow conception of babyhood and human taste. She also devotes attention to the changes in the past few decades, as longer breastfeeding and home-prepared foods have gained modest purchase. Her book leaves us better informed, perhaps even a little more optimistc." --Sidney Mintz, William L. Straus Jr. Professor Emeritus, Anthropology, Johns Hopkins

💎 Expert review

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🍳

Eatbook Family editorial team

Cookbook desk

Amy Bentley offers an engaging, brilliantly researched entry in food studies, praised by luminaries like Marion Nestle and Sidney Mintz for uncovering how small jarred meals illuminate massive commercial shifts. It suits readers seeking an academic examination of taste, health, and corporate influence on early American dining habits. It does NOT suit cooks looking for practical baby food recipes, kitchen techniques, meal preparation guides, or light culinary memoirs, as this is a rigorous scholarly exploration of culinary history rather than a functional kitchen manual.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Eatbook Family —

⭐ eatbookfamily.com editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

This is a must-read for food historians, sociologists, and curious home cooks fascinated by how American eating habits are formed. If you are looking for infant recipes or feeding tips, you will be disappointed, as this explores cultural history rather than practical kitchen advice.

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Eatbook Family editorial team

Amy Bentley offers an engaging, brilliantly researched entry in food studies, praised by luminaries like Marion Nestle and Sidney Mintz for uncovering how small jarred meals illuminate massive commercial shifts. It suits readers seeking an academic examination of taste, health, and corporate influence on early American dining habits. It does NOT suit cooks looking for practical baby food recipes, kitchen techniques, meal preparation guides, or light culinary memoirs, as this is a rigorous scholarly exploration of culinary history rather than a functional kitchen manual.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No, this is an analytical food studies text exploring the history of baby food rather than a practical cookbook with recipes.

The focus is primarily on deep historical research and academic analysis rather than a heavy layout of food photography.

📖 Who should read this

📜 Historical context

Rooted in the evolution of American culinary culture and industrial food production, this work examines how corporate manufacturing shaped infant nutrition. It explores the fascinating intersection of commerce, public health, and cultural norms surrounding what we feed our youngest citizens, tracing how commercial interests heavily influenced modern dietary expectations.