Medieval Tastes: Food, Cooking, and the Table

Name: Medieval Tastes: Food, Cooking, and the Table
Price: 28.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780231167871

✍️ Montanari, Massimo

Reader Score

4.6

(1 review)

$28.00

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📜

Food Writing & History

📚 EDITORIAL REVIEW

“Ideal for home cooks who enjoy historical context in their kitchen, this book suits those with time to experiment and basic equipment. If you want quick weeknight meals or strictly metric measurements without narrative, you will be disappointed.

— Editorial Team

Author

Montanari, Massimo

📚 all books by this author (5) →

🏛 Columbia University Press 📅 2018 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9780231167871

📝 Description: Medieval Tastes: Food, Cooking, and the Table

Italy's best-known food historian travels back to the birth of "modern" cuisine and reveals the remarkable links between medieval tastes and our own. Massimo Montanari traces the development of medieval tastes--both culinary and cultural--and details how food transformed from a simple staple to a symbol of social and ideological standing.

💎 Expert review

“

🍳

Eatbook Family editorial team

Cookbook desk

Italy's best-known food historian presents a thoughtful examination of how medieval tastes shaped the culinary and cultural landscape we recognize today. It brilliantly details the transition of food into a marker of social standing. However, casual readers looking for a practical recipe collection or a light-hearted culinary romp will find this academic exploration too dense. It suits dedicated historians and serious food writers rather than home cooks seeking quick weeknight inspiration, rewarding patient readers with fascinating insights into the ideological weight of the medieval table.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Eatbook Family —

⭐ eatbookfamily.com editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

Ideal for home cooks who enjoy historical context in their kitchen, this book suits those with time to experiment and basic equipment. If you want quick weeknight meals or strictly metric measurements without narrative, you will be disappointed.

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Eatbook Family editorial team

Italy's best-known food historian presents a thoughtful examination of how medieval tastes shaped the culinary and cultural landscape we recognize today. It brilliantly details the transition of food into a marker of social standing. However, casual readers looking for a practical recipe collection or a light-hearted culinary romp will find this academic exploration too dense. It suits dedicated historians and serious food writers rather than home cooks seeking quick weeknight inspiration, rewarding patient readers with fascinating insights into the ideological weight of the medieval table.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No. As a historical analysis rather than a standard instructional manual, it focuses more on the cultural significance of food than on visual guides for plating or technique.

Some items may require specialty sourcing due to their historical nature. While many staples are common, you might need to hunt for specific period-appropriate spices or produce varieties not always found in standard supermarkets.

📖 Who should read this

📜 Historical context

This work explores the evolution of food culture during the medieval period, tracing how culinary practices shifted from mere sustenance to complex markers of social status. The author examines the intersection of eating habits and ideological standing in that era, revealing foundational elements that influenced subsequent developments in Western dining traditions without relying on specific modern restaurant accolades.