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Vegetables : a biography / Evelyne Bloch-Dano ; translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: French Publication details: Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, [2012]Description: 112 p. ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 9780226059945 (cloth)
  • 0226059944 (cloth)
Uniform titles:
  • Fabuleuse histoire des légumes. English
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • SB320.5 .B6613 2012
Contents:
A little history -- "Good to eat, good to think about" -- A matter of taste -- Some vegetable histories -- The cardoon and the artichoke -- The Jerusalem artichoke -- The cabbage -- The parsnip -- The carrot -- The pea -- The tomato -- The bean -- The pumpkin -- The chili pepper.
Summary: From Michael Pollan to locavores, Whole Foods to farmer's markets, today cooks and foodies alike are paying more attention than ever before to the history of the food they bring into their kitchens, and especially to vegetables. Whether it is an heirloom tomato, curled cabbage, or succulent squash, from a farmer's market or a backyard plot, the humble vegetable offers more than just nutrition, it also represents a link with long tradition of farming and gardening, nurturing and breeding. In this book, those veggies finally get their due. In capsule biographies of eleven different vegetables such as artichokes, beans, chard, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, chili peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, pumpkins, and tomatoes, the author explores the world of vegetables in all its facets, from science and agriculture to history, culture, and, of course, cooking. From the importance of peppers in early international trade to the most recent findings in genetics, from the cultural cachet of cabbage to Proust's devotion to beef-and-carrot stew, to the surprising array of vegetables that preceded the pumpkin as the avatar of All Hallow's Eve, the author takes readers on a tour of the stories behind our daily repasts.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 107-112).

A little history -- "Good to eat, good to think about" -- A matter of taste -- Some vegetable histories -- The cardoon and the artichoke -- The Jerusalem artichoke -- The cabbage -- The parsnip -- The carrot -- The pea -- The tomato -- The bean -- The pumpkin -- The chili pepper.

From Michael Pollan to locavores, Whole Foods to farmer's markets, today cooks and foodies alike are paying more attention than ever before to the history of the food they bring into their kitchens, and especially to vegetables. Whether it is an heirloom tomato, curled cabbage, or succulent squash, from a farmer's market or a backyard plot, the humble vegetable offers more than just nutrition, it also represents a link with long tradition of farming and gardening, nurturing and breeding. In this book, those veggies finally get their due. In capsule biographies of eleven different vegetables such as artichokes, beans, chard, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, chili peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, pumpkins, and tomatoes, the author explores the world of vegetables in all its facets, from science and agriculture to history, culture, and, of course, cooking. From the importance of peppers in early international trade to the most recent findings in genetics, from the cultural cachet of cabbage to Proust's devotion to beef-and-carrot stew, to the surprising array of vegetables that preceded the pumpkin as the avatar of All Hallow's Eve, the author takes readers on a tour of the stories behind our daily repasts.

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