Maestro Martino of Como has been called the first celebrity chef, and his extraordinary treatise on Renaissance cookery, The Art of Cooking, is the first known culinary guide to specify ingredients, cooking times and techniques, utensils, and amounts. This vibrant document is also essential to understanding the forms of conviviality developed in Central Italy during the Renaissance, as well as their sociopolitical implications. In addition to the original text, this first complete English translation of the work includes a historical essay by Luigi Ballerini and fifty modernized recipes by acclaimed Italian chef Stefania Barzini. The Art of Cooking, unlike the culinary manuals of the time, is a true gastronomic lexicon, surprisingly like a modern cookbook in identifying the quantity and kinds of ingredients in each dish, the proper procedure for cooking them, and the time required, as well as including many of the secrets of a culinary expert. In his lively introduction, Luigi Ballerini places Maestro Martino in the complicated context of his time and place and guides the reader through the complexities of Italian and papal politics. Stefania Barzini's modernized recipes that follow the text bring the tastes of the original dishes into line with modern tastes. Her knowledgeable explanations of how she has adapted the recipes to the contemporary palate are models of their kind and will inspire readers to recreate these classic dishes in their own kitchens. Jeremy Parzen's translation is the first to gather the entire corpus of Martino's legacy.

Eating right has been an obsession for longer than we think. Renaissance Europe had its own flourishing tradition of dietary advice. Then, as now, an industry of experts churned out diet books for an eager and concerned public. Providing a cornucopia of information on food and an intriguing account of the differences between the nutritional logic of the past and our own time, this inviting book examines the wide-ranging dietary literature of the Renaissance. Ken Albala ultimately reveals the working of the Renaissance mind from a unique perspective: we come to understand a people through their ideas on food. Eating Right in the Renaissance takes us through an array of historical sources in a narrative that is witty and spiced with fascinating details. Why did early Renaissance writers recommend the herbs parsley, arugula, anise, and mint to fortify sexual prowess? Why was there such a strong outcry against melons and cucumbers, even though people continued to eat them in large quantities? Why was wine considered a necessary nutrient? As he explores these and other questions, Albala explains the history behind Renaissance dietary theories; the connections among food, exercise, and sex; the changing relationship between medicine and cuisine; and much more. Whereas modern nutritionists may promise a slimmer waistline, more stamina, or freedom from disease, Renaissance food writers had entirely different ideas about the value of eating right. As he uncovers these ideas from the past, Ken Albala puts our own dietary obsessions in an entirely new light in this elegantly written and often surprising new chapter on the history of food.

This volume of papers presented at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery follows the pattern of previous collections. The Symposium entitled Food and Memory was held in September 2000 at St Antony's College, Oxford uner the joint chairmaship of Alan Davidson and Theodore Zeldin.

The most popular book by the Italian philosopher Platina (1421-81), in facing pages of Latin and English, is introduced with a 45-page biography, a 45-page account of the text and its revisions, and a chronological list of Platina's works. The text itself is highly annotated mostly with references to his sources. The introduction and text are indexed separately. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Prologue: a rendez-vous -- The cook -- Writer and author -- Origin and early development of modern cookbooks -- Printed cookbooks: diffusion, translation, and plagiarism -- Organizing the cookbook -- Naming the recipes -- Pedagogical and didactic aspects -- Paratexts in cookbooks -- The recipe form -- The cookbook genre -- Cookbooks for rich and poor -- Health and medicine in cookbooks -- Recipes for fat and lean days -- Vegetarian cookbooks -- Jewish cookbooks -- Cookbooks and aspects of nationalism -- Decoration, illusion, and entertainment -- Taste and pleasure -- Gender in cookbooks and household books -- Epilogue: cookbooks and the future.

Feasting as a window into medieval Italian culture

The Aesthetics of Food sets out the continuing philosophical debate about the aesthetic nature of food. The debate begins with Plato’s claim that only objects of sight and hearing could be beautiful; consequently, food as something we smell and taste could not be beautiful. Plato’s sceptical position has been both supported and opposed in one form or another throughout the ages. This book demonstrates how the current debate has evolved and critically assesses that debate, showing how it has been influenced by the changing nature of critical theory and changes in art historical paradigms (Expressionism, Modernism, and Post-modernism), as well as by recent advances in neuroscience. It also traces changes in our understanding of the sensory experience of food and drink, from viewing taste as a simple single sense to current views on its complex multi-sensory nature. Particular attention is paid to recent philosophical discussion about wine: whether an interest in a wine reflects only a subjective or personal preference or whether one can make objective judgments about the quality and merit of a wine. Finally, the book explores how the debate has been informed by changes in the cooking, presenting, and consuming of food, for example by the appearance of the restaurant in the early nineteenth century as well as the rise of celebrity chefs.

Vade-mecums are guide books you carry with you. They have been around forever and are common in Europe for all sorts of things. The Latin term literally means "go with me". Here, Dr. Montgomery invites you to go with him as he explores the literature of food and develops a theology of gastronomy. Along with being a theologian and philosopher, an attorney, a barrister, a French advocate, a teacher, a husband and many other things, Dr. Montgomery is a lover of fine dining and formally embraces its craft with care. In the age of the microwave, where food is either fast or frozen and almost always pre-prepared, he wants to introduce us to the glories of fine dining, where we can take joy in all our Father has provided to us beyond the simple requirements of sustenance. With Dr. Montgomery as your guide, you will meet great chefs, and travel across time and space with food as the focus, enjoying the views, flavors and smells (and recipes!) Everything Dr. Montgomery explores takes place in light of faith in a God who is now one of us, who made all the senses, loves variety, knows hospitality, and will culminate all of history in the best of wedding feasts to which every good meal points and of which every great meal participates.