The Oxford Companion to Food (Hardcover)

Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food has been over 20 years in the assembling, but here it is; and it is superlatively worth the wait. In fact, superlatives fall silent. A huge and authoritative dictionary of 2,650 entries on just about every conceivable foodstuff, seasoning, cuisine, cooking method, historical survey, significant personage, and explication of myth, it is supplemented by some 40 longer articles on key items. Davidson himself (no relation to this reviewer) contributes approximately 80 percent of the 2,650 entries, thereby guaranteeing high levels of erudition, readability, and deadpan feline wit. Since this is a monument intended to last, nothing so frivolous as a recipe is included. A decision taken early in the development of the project to abjure issues whose significance is largely topical has also ensured an agreeable high-mindedness--nothing on those crucial but essentially dreary topics of BSE and GM foods, for example.

If a fault could be found, it would only be that it's often difficult to read to the end of an entry, as the abundant cross-referencing all too easily sends one off to another entry, thence bouncing off to another, and all too soon the original is forgotten. A random alphabet of seductions might include: Aardvark, Botulism, Cup Cake, David (Elizabeth), Enzymes, Fat-Tailed Sheep, Gender/Sex and Food, Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, Ice Cream Sundae, Jewish Dietary Laws, Kangaroos, Lobscouse, Microwave Cooking, Norway, Offal, Puffin, Queen of Puddings, Roti, Scurvy, Termite Heap Mushroom (or Taillevant), Umeboshi, Vegetarianism, Washing up (a very elegant little article), sadly no X, Yin-yang, and Zabaglione. As this might show, Alan Davidson's aim, borrowed from Dumas's great Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, that his work would appeal not only to persons of "serious character" but also those "of a much lighter disposition," is utterly fulfilled. --Robin Davidson, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This outstanding culinary reference is destined to become a classic, and Davidson, the book's editor and the author of many of its entries, deserves the eternal gratitude of researchers everywhere. With its 2650 alphabetically arranged entries as well as 39 longer articles on staples such as rice, the range of the work is impressive. Everything from individual ingredients, cooking terms, and prepared dishes to national cuisines and cookbooks and their authors is covered. Each entry is written in a clear, engaging style often seasoned with a dash of wit. The result is a perfect complement to another standard culinary reference work, Larousse Gastronomique (Crown, 1988. reprint), edited by Jennifer H. Lang. While there is some overlap, libraries will need both titles in their reference collections since each has its own strengths. Larousse includes recipes with many of its entries and often provides cooking hints, while Oxford provides more extensive treatment of plants, herbs, and even insects used in cooking and usually has more information on national cuisines. Even when the same topic is featured, such as ancient Greek cooking, there is enough difference in information between these two sources that readers will want to consult both. Highly recommended.AJohn Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

There is no better way to stave off the winter blues than the second edition of Alan Davidson's The Oxford Companion to Food. Tom Jaine has taken over from the late Davidson and he is a worthy heir. This gem of food reference retains the wit, elegance, erudition and style that made the first edition so memorable. Tom Parker Bowles, Mail on Sunday (Live - Night and Day) Seriously fascinating Cathy Pryor, Independent No kitchen should be without The Oxford Companion to Food 2nd Edition. An absorbing culinary reference book, worth its weight in foie gras. Image magazine Ireland, Extraordinarily comprehensive and detailed. As a reference book it is unlikely to be surpassed but it is also a fun book to dip into and every page includes masses of startling and original information. Tom Jaine, Country Landowner Magazine The Oxford Companion to Wine - like the Food Companion it is detailed, scholarly and endlessly fascinating. Tom Jaine, Country Landowner Magazine essential reference guide Daily Express Brilliantly original An astonishing encyclopaedia of food, food history and culinary knowledge...Enjoyable to read, enlivened by Alan Davidson's easy wit and humour... This book will appeal to anyone with a serious interest in food - Especially if they like their facts spiced with a little humour Food magazine

`Review from previous edition an awe-inspiring work of love and dedication to the one thing that unites all of us human beings - our daily food. From haute to humble, spice to ice, Asian to Inuit, cannibalism to veganism, it is all here, gathered eloquently, wittily, deliciously and irresistibly between two covers.' Sophie Grigson

`A food book for all time. The canon of great food literature just got one fat volume greater ... A must-have for any serious food follower' Gourmet

`Many things about the Companion are extremely impressive, but this sheer range is almost dumbfounding.' John Lancaster, Evening Standard

`a magnificent feast, over 20 years in gestation, eagerly awaited and well worth the wait.' Philippa Davenport, Financial Times

`the best food reference work ever to appear in the English language ... read it and be dazzled' Bee Wilson, New Statesman

`a strange and delicious guide to all things edible' Elizabeth Gleick, Independent on Sunday

`a major and serious work, but engagingly eccentric around the edges .... The main problem in using it is that one thing leads to another' Christopher Hirst, Independent

`The publishing event of the year if not the decade ... Alan Davidson, the legendarily learned (and eccentric) former British diplomat and international authority on seafood ... and godfather of food scholars around the world, has written most of the 2,650 entries, in itself a stupendous feat .... Everyone seriously interested in food must own this book .... A great achievement.' Corby Kummer, New York Times Book Review

`This massive volume is nothing short of the grandest of smorgasbords .... For serious food historians, this will no doubt become an irreplaceable companion. For those amateurs who are merely fascinated by food and who appreciate lucid and witty writing that seeks to deflate the pretentions of your average gastronome, it will provide hours of amusement.' Elizabeth Gleick, Time Magazine

`A masterly work with a variety of voices, from the straightforward, almost dry to the the quirky and witty .... It's hard not to be awed by 892 pages dense with extremely thorough and well-written entries, enhanced by cross-references and indexes and larded with anecdotes and strong opinions.' Florence Fabricant, New Tork Times

"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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This is one that's destined to find its way onto the bookshelf of everyone who's serious about food and wine. Might as well buy it now; you'll have to sooner or later. There are very few books that deserve to be called instant classics, but this is one of them. Full of information both utterly practical and delightfully obscure, it is written with an uncompromising eye for accuracy and a rich sense of detail. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Oxford Companion to Food has been twenty years in the making, but the wait was worth it....This is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Just thumbing through it and reading at random can provide hours of delicious entertainment....This is a fantastic book, loaded with knowledge that is essential to any person serious about food. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, first published in 1999, became, almost overnight, an immense success, winning prizes and accolades around the world. Its combination of serious food history, culinary expertise, and entertaining serendipity, with each page offering an infinity of perspectives, was recognized as unique. The study of food and food history is a new discipline, but one that has developed exponentially in the last twenty years. There are now university departments, international societies, learned journals, and a wide-ranging literature exploring the meaning of food in the daily lives of people around the world, and seeking to introduce food and the process of nourishment into our understanding of almost every compartment of human life, whether politics, high culture, street life, agriculture, or life and death issues such as conflict and war. The great quality of this Companion is the way it includes both an exhaustive catalogue of the foods that nourish humankind - whether they be fruit from tropical forests, mosses scraped from adamantine granite in Siberian wastes, or body parts such as eyeballs and testicles - and a richly allusive commentary on the culture of food, whether expressed in literature and cookery books, or as dishes peculiar to a country or community. The new edition has not sought to dim the brilliance of Davidson's prose. Rather, it has updated to keep ahead of a fast-moving area, and has taken the opportunity to alert readers to new avenues in food studies.

An A-to-Z food reference packs 2,650 entries on meats, eggs, dairy products, nuts, aquatic plant food, cereals, edible plants, and every other edible substance imaginable into a single volume, with thirty-nine feature articles on feature foods and special sections on drinks, food preparation and preservation, food science, culture, and religion. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Covers plant products, meats, poultry, dairy products and how to use them. Also nuts, cereals, all seafoods and exotic foods. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Around 175 line drawings

AUTHOR Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic serivice - after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador - to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are North Atlantic Seafood and Mediterrranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture. EDITOR Tom Jaine is an independent writer and publisher, specializing in food and food history. He is the author of numerous books, including Cooking in the Country, Making Bread at Home, and Traditional Country House Cooking. He frequently writes for The Times, The Guardian, the Sunday Telegraph, the Evening Standard, and many magazines and journals. He was editor of The Good Food Guide from 1989 to 1994, has presented 'The Food Programme' on Radio 4, and has participated in discussions of food on radio and television. CONSULTANT EDITOR Jane Davidson underpinned the author, her husband, during the twenty years he devoted to the first edition of this book. She was also translated and edited Dumas on Food with him. She was a founding partner of Petits Propos Culinaire, the innovative journal on food history, writing many of the book reviews, and a director of Prospect Books Ltd. She is trustee of the Sophie Coe Memorial Trust, and patron of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. RESEARCH DIRECTOR Helen Saberi was Alan Davidson's personal assistant, and worked very closely with him on the first edition of the Companion, as contributor, researcher, fact-checker, and proofreader. She is the author of Noshe Djan: Afghan Food and Cookery, and co-author with Alan Davidson of Trifle.