A History of Food in 100 Recipes

William Sitwell

• Publisher: Collins
• Year: 2012
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9780007412013
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

The ingredients, cooks, techniques and tools that have shaped our love of food.

We all love to eat and most of us have a favourite ingredient or dish. In today's world we can get the food we want, when we want it, but how many of us really know where our much-loved recipes come from, who invented them and how they were originally cooked? In this book William Sitwell, culinary expert on BBC2's 'A Question of Taste' and editor of Waitrose Kitchen magazine, takes us on a colourful, whirlwind journey as he explores the fascinating history of cuisine.

This book is a celebration of the great dishes, techniques and above all brilliant cooks who have, over the centuries, created the culinary landscape we now enjoy. Any lover of fine food who has ever wondered about the origins of the methods and recipes we now take for granted will find A History of Food in 100 Recipes required reading. As well as shining a light on food's glorious past, there are contributions from a glittering array of stars of British cuisine, including Marco Pierre White, Delia Smith, Heston Blumenthal, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver.

In an incisive and humorous narrative, Sitwell enters an Egyptian tomb to reveal the earliest recipe for bread and discovers the greatest party planner of the Middle Ages. He uncovers the extraordinary and poetic roots of the roast dinner and tells the heart-rending story of the forgotten genius who invented the pressure cooker. And much, much more.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• A note on the recipes
• 1 – Ancient Egyptian bread, 1958–1913 BC
• 2 – Kanasu broth (Meat and vegetable stew), circa 1700 BC
• 3 – Tiger nut sweets, circa 1400 BC
• 4 – Fish baked in fig leaves, 350 BC
• 5 – To salt ham, 160 BC
• 6 – Roast goat, 30 BC
• 7 – Another sauce for fowl, AD 10
• 8 – Honeyed cheesecakes, circa AD 200
• 9 – Congee, AD 636
• 10 – Dried fish, circa AD 800
• 11 – Manchet bread, circa 1070
• 12 – Pasta, 1154
• 13 – Rummaniyya (Meatballs in pomegranate sauce), 1250
• 14 – Pear of pies, 1379
• 15 – Erbolate (Baked eggs with herbs), 1390
• 16 – Green porray, 1392
• 17 – Party planning, 1420
• 18 – Muscules in shelle (Mussels in white wine sauce), 1440
• 19 – Lese fryes (Cheese tart), circa 1450
• 20 – Ravioli for non-Lenten times, 1465
• 21 – For to bake quinces, 1500
• 22 – Hippocras jelly, 1530
• 23 – Turkey tomales, circa 1540
• 24 – Hot chocolate, 1568
• 25 – To prepare a thick broth called zabaglione, 1570
• 26 – Earth apples (Potatoes fried and simmered with bacon bits), 1581
• 27 – Trifle, 1596
• 28 – Prince-biskets (Prince biscuits), 1602
• 29 – To butter crawfish, 1604
• 30 – An Englishman discovers the fork, 1611
• 31 – Spargus with white sauce, 1651
• 32 – A good supper dish (Mutton baked in breadcrumbs), 1664
• 33 – Peas soope, 1669
• 34 – Roast fillet of beef, 1671
• 35 – Fish experiment XIII, 1681
• 36 – Tomato sauce in the Spanish style, 1692
• 37 – Salad dressing, 1699
• 38 – Ice cream, 1718
• 39 – Puff past (Puff pastry), 1739
• 40 – Little foie gras pastries with truffles, 1740
• 41 – A Yorkshire pudding, 1747
• 42 – To make chip marmalade, 1783
• 43 – Sandwiches, 1787
• 44 – A buttered apple pie, 1796
• 45 – Soufflé, 1816
• 46 – Spring fruit pudding, 1817
• 47 – Pheasant Brillat-Savarin, 1825
• 48 – Cupcake, 1828
• 49 – Petits soufflés à la rose, 1833
• 50 – Brussels sprouts, 1845
• 51 – Kedgeree or kidgeree, an Indian breakfast dish, 1845
• 52 – Welsh rarebit, 1852
• 53 – Cauliflower & cheese, 1860
• 54 – Roly-poly jam pudding, 1861
• 55 – Eggs à la Benedick, 1894
• 56 – Hollandaise sauce, 1895
• 57 – Strawberry shortcake, 1896
• 58 – Preparation of peas, 1902
• 59 – Peach Melba, 1903
• 60 – Scotch barley broth, 1907
• 61 – Onion butter sauce, 1908
• 62 – Croque monsieur, 1915
• 63 – Chocolate cake, 1916
• 64 – Spaghetti à la Campbell, 1916
• 65 – Creamed mushrooms, 1919
• 66 – Strawberry ice-cream soda 1927
• 67 – Toad-in-the-hole, 1927
• 68 – Quick oatmeal cookies, 1931
• 69 – Omelette, 1937
• 70 – Elderberry & apple jam, 1940
• 71 – French creamed oysters, 1941
• 72 – Rice Krispies treats, 1941
• 73 – Victoria sandwich cake, 1948
• 74 – Cassoulet toulousain, 1950
• 75 – Syrup tart, 1950
• 76 – Boeuf bourgignon (Beef stew in red wine, with bacon, onions and mushrooms), 1961
• 77 – Watercress soup for one, 1963
• 78 – A large cocktail crush for 40, 1965
• 79 – Négresse sans chemise, 1966
• 80 – Cheese fondue, 1970
• 81 – Mediterranean lemon soup with Middle Eastern tacos, 1971
• 82 – Lamb korma, 1973
• 83 – Ginger cake, 1974
• 84 – Salmon fish cakes, 1976
• 85 – Classic bouillabaisse, 1984
• 86 – Sweet & sour pork, 1984
• 87 – Giura (Slow-braised beef), 1986
• 88 – Tagliatelle of oyster with caviar, 1987
• 89 – Chicken & goat’s cheese mousse with olives, 1987
• 90 – Quails with couscous, 1990
• 91 – Individual sausage, tomato & artichoke-heart pizzas, 1995
• 92 – Pecan waffles with pecan & banana syrup, 1998
• 93 – Fairy cakes, 2000
• 94 – Bacon, leek & potato gratin, 2001
• 95 – Spiced prawns, 2001
• 96 – Smoked mackerel pâté, 2004
• 97 – Asian salad with ponzu ginger dressing & wasabi peas, 2006
• 98 – Steamed salmon with tomato basil couscous, 2009
• 99 – Stewed rhubarb, 2010
• 100 – Meat fruit (or fois gras & chicken liver parfait), 2011
• Select bibliography
• Searchable Terms
• Text credits
• Acknowledgements
• From the Reviews of A History of Food in 100 Recipes
• About the Author
• About the Publisher