Food: A Cultural Culinary History

By: Ken Albala, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Ken Albala

Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."

In fact, civilization itself began in the quest for food. Humanity's transition to agriculture was not only the greatest social revolution in history, but it directly produced the structures and institutions we call "civilization."

In 36 fascinating lectures, award-winning Professor Albala puts this extraordinary subject on the table, taking you on an enthralling journey into the human relationship to food. With this innovative course, you'll travel the world discovering fascinating food lore and culture of all regions and eras - as an eye-opening lesson in history as well as a unique window on what we eat today.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

What an excellent story

I am blown away by how wonderful this course is and it's because of the professor. What a gifted story teller! This is by far my favorite book, lecture ever purchased on Audible. I hope that Professor Albala has more courses in the future. He leaves you wanting more!

Informative and full of interesting food facts

The performance was excellent, the professor uses enthusiasm and playful expressions to go through a time period covering fun facts while also providing crucial points in food history. I you like history and food, I recommend this book. The author provides a narrative that takes you on a fun adventure through each chapter. I do feel that some period got covered rather quick and would have enjoyed longer chapters, but I still enjoyed the class!

Great organization and information

I really enjoyed the all the information presented and the way the course is organized geographically as well as chronologically.

A Look at the History of Food

It really gave me a birds eye view of different culinary culture, the origins of food and eating/cooking techniques. It gave me a different perspective when I eat and cook now, which is really intellectual and cool!

Awesome

This book is wonderful, the autor make it so interesting and engaging for whoever, enjoyable and easy to follow the story.

Enthusiastic and informative

This is an entertaining and comprehensive course with lots of information and interpretation. Dr. Albala talks about major ideological movements, influential people, and origins of food and how they came to be used when and where, which I found to be very nice additions. He has very thorough coverage of Europe and North America, but not as much coverage as I would have liked of India and Africa. it's a wonderful resource, which I enjoyed listening too immensely, but it leaves much to be desired in its coverage of the food histories of people of color. To be fair to Dr. Albala, that may be a consequence of the limited availability of reliable sources and accurate research into the histories of people of color in general, and not an omission on his part. The elision of the food cultures throughout Africa and India is the one singular thing I didn't like. Everything else about this course is amazing!

He gives a lot of information on agriculture revolutions and talks about the variety of factors that influence a culture's cuisine, making this practically a history/agriculture/anthropology/sociology course of the world. I really enjoyed learning how trade contributed to the diet of the Romans and Vikings, how mores of the time shaped Japanese cuisine, and how applied science has affected modern food. I think this course is a great way to deliver history to a foodie,food to a historian, and to show how our history shapes us and food shapes history.

Thank you, Dr. Albala

Thrilling

What made the experience of listening to Food: A Cultural Culinary History the most enjoyable?

I am so pleased with this book. The teacher is amazing and he brings such depth to the subject. I love the respectful way he shares the traditions of all cultures.

Any additional comments?

Great author, you have brought this subject alive for me. I loved your explanation of how religious food restrictions had a different burden in different parts of the world. Without your guidence I wouldn't have considered it. Thank you for this great book!!!

Beautiful

Great balance between storytelling and facts. Loved the humorous approach he had on (maybe sometimes gruesome) the way ancient cooking was done

great narrator!

I really enjoyed listening to this. Adequate amount of time spent on each topic. Professor Ken Albala does a great job.

Lots of good information

Whether you are a foodie, a writer, or a history buff, this series of lectures has lots of good information for you. Relax and enjoy.