
A Bite-Sized History of France
Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
A Bite-Sized History of France
Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment
About this book
A "delicious" (Dorie Greenspan), "genial" (Kirkus Reviews), "very cool book about the intersections of food and history" (Michael Pollan)—as featured in the New York Times
"The complex political, historical, religious and social factors that shaped some of [France's] . . . most iconic dishes and culinary products are explored in a way that will make you rethink every sprinkling of fleur de sel."
—The New York Times Book Review
Acclaimed upon its hardcover publication as a "culinary treat for Francophiles" (Publishers Weekly), A Bite-Sized History of France is a thoroughly original book that explores the facts and legends of the most popular French foods and wines. Traversing the cuisines of France's most famous cities as well as its underexplored regions, the book is enriched by the "authors' friendly accessibility that makes these stories so memorable" (The New York Times Book Review). This innovative social history also explores the impact of war and imperialism, the age-old tension between tradition and innovation, and the enduring use of food to prop up social and political identities.
The origins of the most legendary French foods and wines—from Roquefort and cognac to croissants and Calvados, from absinthe and oysters to Camembert and champagne—also reveal the social and political trends that propelled France's rise upon the world stage. As told by a Franco-American couple (Stéphane is a cheesemonger, Jeni is an academic) this is an "impressive book that intertwines stories of gastronomy, culture, war, and revolution. . . . It's a roller coaster ride, and when you're done you'll wish you could come back for more" (The Christian Science Monitor).
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Our Ancestors, the Gauls
- 2. The Virgin of the Kidney
- 3. Barbarians at the Plate
- 4. Ode to Gluttony
- 5. Left Behind: The Goats of Poitou
- 6. The Sweetest King
- 7. They Came from the Sea
- 8. Feudal Fare
- 9. Of Monks and Men
- 10. Fighting for Plums
- 11. The Wine That Got Away
- 12. The Vegetarian Heresy
- 13. A Papal Red
- 14. The White Gold of Guérande
- 15. Legacy of a Black Prince
- 16. The Vinegar of the Four Thieves
- 17. The Cheese of Emperors and Mad Kings
- 18. La Dame de Beauté and the Mushroom Mystery
- 19. Fruits of the Renaissance
- 20. The Mother Sauces
- 21. Conquest and Chocolate
- 22. The Culinary Contributions of Madame Serpent
- 23. A Chicken in Every Pot
- 24. The Chestnut Insurgency
- 25. The Bitter Roots of Sugar
- 26. The Liquor of the Gods
- 27. The Crescent Controversy
- 28. War and Peas
- 29. The Devil’s Wine
- 30. An Enlightened Approach to Food
- 31. Revolution in the Cafés
- 32. Pain d’Égalité
- 33. The Potato Propagandist
- 34. The Pyramid Provocation
- 35. The Man Who Abolished the Seasons
- 36. The Fifth Crêpe
- 37. The King of Cheeses
- 38. A Revolutionary Banquet
- 39. The End of the Oyster Express
- 40. Revelation in a Bottle
- 41. The Curse of the Green Fairy
- 42. Siege Gastronomy
- 43. The Peanut Patrimony
- 44. Gastronomads on the Sun Road
- 45. A Friend in Difficult Hours
- 46. A Mutiny and a Laughing Cow
- 47. “Bread, Peace, and Liberty”: The Socialist Baguette
- 48. Couscous: The Assimilation (or Not) of Empire
- 49. The Forgotten Vegetables
- 50. Canon Kir Joins the Resistance
- 51. France and the United States: From Liberation to Exasperation
- 52. Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Bibliography
- Notes
- Index