Consider the Fork

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Technology in the kitchen does not just mean the Pacojets and sous vide of the modernist kitchen It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks.Since prehistory, humans have braved sharp knives, fire, and grindstones to transform raw ingredients into something delicious or at least edible Tools shape what we eat, but they have also transformed how we consume, and how we think about, our food Technology in the kitchen does not just mean the Pacojets and sous vide of the modernist kitchen It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks In Consider the Fork, award winning food writer Bee Wilson provides a wonderful and witty tour of the evolution of cooking around the world, revealing the hidden history of everyday objects we often take for granted Knives perhaps our most important gastronomic tool predate the discovery of fire, whereas the fork endured centuries of ridicule before gaining widespread acceptance pots and pans have been around for millennia, while plates are a relatively recent invention Many once new technologies have become essential elements of any well stocked kitchen mortars and pestles, serrated knives, stainless steel pots, refrigerators Others have proved only passing fancies, or were supplanted by better technologies one would be hard pressed now to find a water powered egg whisk, a magnet operated spit roaster, a cider owl, or a turnspit dog Although many tools have disappeared from the modern kitchen, they have left us with traditions, tastes, and even physical characteristics that we would never have possessed otherwise Blending history, science, and anthropology, Wilson reveals how our culinary tools and tricks came to be, and how their influence has shaped modern food culture The story of how we have tamed fire and ice and wielded whisks, spoons, and graters, all for the sake of putting food in our mouths, Consider the Fork is truly a book to savor. New Download [ Consider the Fork ] Author [ Bee Wilson ] – kino-fada.fr i am making my way back into the land of reviewing.i don t read a lot of nonfiction but if i am really into the subject matter, i will take the plunge, and when it is narrative nonfiction, told with verve and humor, that makes it all the better however, it turns out, i aminterested in food itself than in the utensils and machines that facilitate food preparation and storage Consider the fork is an exploration of th...Well, that was fun Technology is defined properly here, in its broadest sense, from the discovery of fire and the first stone knives through some of thearcane 21st Century gadgetry, with plenty of stops along the way The practical cooking anecdotes unsurprisingly tend to the Anglo centric every once in a while I would be taken aback by the alien terminology or assumptions about everyday things, which is probably good for me.Very rich This sort of social history throws into high relief Well, that was fun Technology is defined properly here, in its broadest sense, from the discovery of fire and the first stone knives through some of thearcane 21st Century gadgetry, with plenty of stops along the way The practical cooking anecdotes unsurprisingly tend to the Anglo centric every once in a while I would be taken aback by the alien terminology or assumptions about everyday things, which is probably good for me.Very rich This sort of social history throws into high relief just how much of human experience standard hist...When I started the book, I wasn t crazy about the author s anecdotes being added to what I had hoped was a fairly serious book on food, but from the angle of equipment and culture I ve got used to her style now and it is interesting I ve read about 100 pages and so far we...An interesting history of all things cooking and kitchen, in the tradition of Bill Bryson s AT HOME Wilson covers everything from taming fire to the adoption of table forks, with fascinating detours into topics like how the way we eat has affected orthodontia we all have over erupted incisors because we don t grab and tear meat with our front teeth any and fear of new kitchen technologies refrigeration raised eyebrows because then sellers could pass off old food as fresh She discusses An interesting history of all things cooking and kitchen, in the tradition of Bill Bryson s AT HOME Wilson covers everything from taming fire to the adoption of table forks, with fascinating detours into topics like how the way we eat has affected orthodontia we all have over erupted incisors because we don t grab and tear meat with our front teeth any and fear of new kitchen technologies refrigeration raised eyebrows because then sellers could pass off old food as fresh She discusses food fashions and how technology determines food culture Wilson investigates the claim ...I love food history, and I try to read a lot of it This is the first book that I can remember reading that was mostly about the tools, the ways and means of cooking And for me, it was fascinating There s an awful lot covered here, but the progression from one item to the next does make sense Wilson writes enthusiastically and conversationally about food, and I enjoyed her writing It would have been greatly improved with some pictures, though I d like to see what she s talking a...The overriding impression of this book is that it is very, very British Not entirely because of the reader, Alison Larkin who is very British , or because of too much of an Anglo centric focus in the history it covers maybe a bit, but not enough to take issue with but mostly because of well, there s the casual and frequent mention of kebabs and the ahem wrong use of chips and so on, but mostly it s the almost patronizing tone taken about the United States.Everything was going along ju The overriding impression of this book is that it is very, very British Not entirely because of the reader, Alison Larkin who is very British , or because of too much of an Anglo centric focus in the history it covers maybe a bit, but not enough to take issue with but mostly because of well, there s the casual and frequent mention of kebabs and the ahem wrong use of chips and so on, but mostly it s the almost patronizing tone taken about the United States.Everything was going along just fine I was entertained and informed, always my favorite combination till I hit the chapter on measurements According to the author, the US is the only first world country to inexplicably cling to the bizarre and impossibly inaccurate method of measurement standardized by Fanny Farmer, using cups and teaspoons and tablespoon...This is a well written, informative and humorous look at the history of cooking and food implements throughout history Lots of interesting facts and tie ins the mortar and pestle is the oldest food prep tool still in exist...A cider owl A turnspit dog A water powered egg whisk This narrative of what we use to cook and eat takes you through some historical and hilarious culinary dead ends A great book for the true foodie, and an interesting perspective on cultural history.This was a joy to read The author has a light hearted voice and an arbitrary but unfailingly appropriate sense of organization She surveys, not what humans eat, but the technology used to prepare food Her main focus is on how it s done in the home, but she explains those old kitchens with warm hearth and the hanging pans as where the servants worked to produce the meals their betters ate She segways into restaurant cooking now and then too, particularly as it influences the home cook Her or This was a joy to read The author has a light hearted voice and an arbitrary but unfailingly appropriate sense of organization She surveys, not what humans eat, but the technology used to prepare food Her main focus is on how it s done in the home, but she explains those old kitchens with warm hearth and the hanging pans as where the servants worked to produce the meals their betters ate She segways into restaurant cooking now and then too, particularly as it influences the ho...I was so excited to read this book Sadly, the delivery of the material didn t live up to the subject matter There is little I lovethan the growth of civilization and a discussion of how innovation facilitated that growth Wilson reached far back to when our ancestors cooked over fire and then proceeded forward to show how we ...

Consider the Fork
  • English
  • 26 November 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 327 pages
  • 046502176X
  • Bee Wilson
  • Consider the Fork