This classic work is an exploration and celebration of man’s relationship with food from earliest times to the present day. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat tells the story of cuisine and the social history of food, taking in fascinating, little-known byways along the journey. For instance, we learn that Aztecs enjoyed chocolate as a drink with chilli and honey; we discover the Iroquois origins of popcorn; we hear about the potential culinary and farming uses of lupin seeds. Toussaint-Samat looks at the transition from a vegetable-based to an increasingly meat-based diet, as well as at the relationship between people and what they eat, between particular foods and social behavior, and between dietary habits and methods of cooking.

This new expanded edition includes a foreword by food writer, Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn and Raising Steaks, a new final chapter covering recent developments in food production and consumption around the world, and an updated bibliography. Beautifully illustrated with nearly 70 illustrations and new color plates, A History of Food will continue to be read and enjoyed by a fresh generation of readers.

Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat

The author is an historian, journalist, and writer. She has written for a variety of periodicals in France and published over seventeen books on cuisine, history, and French regional culture. Her books on the Loire and Périgord received commendations from the Académie Française and the Académie du Périgord. Her principal historical interest is in the medieval and renaissance culture of Europe, in particular the domestic economy, food, and clothing. She pursues her research in association with the École des Hautes Études.