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Consider the Fork
- A History of How We Cook and Eat
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
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Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights into how we've prepared and consumed food over the centuries - and how those basic acts have changed our societies, our diets, and our very selves.
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Japan is arguably the preeminent food nation on earth, a Mecca for the world's greatest chefs, with more Michelin stars than any other country. The Japanese go to extraordinary lengths and expense to eat food that is marked both by its exquisite preparation and exotic content. Their creativity, dedication, and courage in the face of dishes such as cod sperm and octopus ice cream is only now beginning to be fully appreciated in the sushi and ramen-saturated West.
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Interesting material that's well-narrated
- By John S. on 11-09-16
By: Michael Booth
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Unprocessed
- My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food
- By: Megan Kimble
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In January of 2012, Megan Kimble was a 26-year-old living in a small apartment without even a garden plot to her name. But she cared about where food came from, how it was made, and what it did to her body: so she decided to go an entire year without eating processed foods. Unprocessed is the narrative of Megan's extraordinary year, in which she milled wheat, extracted salt from the sea, milked a goat, slaughtered a sheep, and more - all while earning an income that fell well below the federal poverty line.
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Very insightful
- By Anonymous User on 01-10-21
By: Megan Kimble
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Lunch in Paris
- A Love Story, with Recipes
- By: Elizabeth Bard
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman - and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs - one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.
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ok to pass the time
- By Robin on 03-25-13
By: Elizabeth Bard
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The President’s Kitchen Cabinet
- The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas
- By: Adrian Miller
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
James Beard award - winning author Adrian Miller vividly tells the stories of the African Americans who worked in the presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. Miller brings together the names and words of more than 150 black men and women who played remarkable roles in unforgettable events in the nation's history.
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Disappointed
- By TS on 08-17-21
By: Adrian Miller
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High on the Hog
- A Culinary Journey from Africa to America
- By: Jessica B. Harris
- Narrated by: Jessica Harris
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Acclaimed cookbook author Jessica B. Harris weaves an utterly engaging history of African American cuisine, taking the listener on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, and tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way. From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form an important part of African American culture, history, and identity.
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more of a history lesson than a culinary book
- By Scott Johnson on 09-02-15
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Cod
- A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Talk about a fish story! New York Times and Harper's columnist Mark Kurlansky offers "history filtered through the gills of the fish trade." David McCullough, the historian behind John Adams, says Kurlansky's "charming tale" of a "seemingly improbable idea" will change the way people think of the fish and the history.
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Seven and a half hour about COD???
- By B. W. Larsen on 03-01-03
By: Mark Kurlansky
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Rice, Noodle, Fish
- Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture (Roads & Kingdoms Presents, Book 1)
- By: Matt Goulding
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An innovative new take on the travel guide, Rice, Noodle, Fish decodes Japan's extraordinary food culture through a mix of in-depth narrative and insider advice. In this 5,000-mile journey through the noodle shops, tempura temples, and teahouses of Japan, Matt Goulding, cocreator of the enormously popular Eat This, Not That! book series, navigates the intersection between food, history, and culture, creating one of the most ambitious and complete books ever written about Japanese culinary culture from the Western perspective.
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Starts strong tapers off
- By Craig Bryan on 01-02-21
By: Matt Goulding
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The Blue Zones Solution
- Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People
- By: Dan Buettner
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Dan Buettner, the New York Times best-selling author of The Blue Zones, lays out a proven plan to maximize your health based on the practices of the world's healthiest people. For the first time, Buettner reveals how to transform your health using smart eating and lifestyle habits gleaned from new research on the diets, eating habits, and lifestyle practices of the communities he's identified as "Blue Zones"—those places with the world's longest-lived and thus healthiest people.
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Good Info, Well Presented
- By Soozzone on 06-29-15
By: Dan Buettner
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The Domestic Revolution
- How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything
- By: Ruth Goodman
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
No single invention epitomizes the Victorian era more than the black cast-iron range. Aware that the 21st-century has reduced it to a quaint relic, Ruth Goodman was determined to prove that the hot coal stove provided so much more than morning tea: It might even have kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Wielding the wit and passion seen in How to Be a Victorian, Goodman traces the tectonic shift from wood to coal in the mid-16th century - from sooty trials and errors during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to the totally smog-clouded reign of Queen Victoria.
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Zombie Apocalypse
- By PeachPecan on 12-25-20
By: Ruth Goodman
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A Square Meal
- A Culinary History of the Great Depression
- By: Jane Ziegelman, Andrew Coe
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The decade-long Great Depression, a period of shifts in the country's political and social landscape, forever changed the way America eats. Before 1929, America's relationship with food was defined by abundance. But the collapse of the economy, in both urban and rural America, left a quarter of all Americans out of work and undernourished - shattering long-held assumptions about the limitlessness of the national larder.
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Not entirely accurate title
- By Robert on 06-07-17
By: Jane Ziegelman, and others
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Food: A Cultural Culinary History
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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."
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So much of our human body is made up of salt that we'd be dead without it. The fine balance of nature, the trade of salt as a currency of many nations and empires, the theme of a popular Shakespearean play... Salt is best selling author Mark Kurlansky's story of the only rock we eat.
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More than SALT
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If a piece of individually wrapped cheese retains its shape, color, and texture for years, what does it say about the food we eat and feed our children? Former New York Times reporter and mother Melanie Warner decided to explore that question when she observed the phenomenon of the indestructible cheese. She began an investigative journey that takes her to research labs, food science departments, and factories around the country. What she discovered provides a rare, eye-opening - and sometimes disturbing - account of what we're really eating.
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Interesting.
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What listeners say about Consider the Fork
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Gilbert Correa
- 12-06-14
Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Ea
If you could sum up Consider the Fork in three words, what would they be?
Little known facts
What did you like best about this story?
The depth of the information
Did Alison Larkin do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
Her accent was 'cute' but not what I would have expected from a book that delved into the history of the subject matter.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was slightly annoyed by having to try to figure out the different meanings that are different between british and american. Words have different meanings and connotations, and sometimes I was taken aback by being unfamiliar with the differences...
Any additional comments?
I liked the info, but just slightly less due to the way it was presented.
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Performance
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Story
- A. Yoshida
- 05-24-23
European-centric
There are some interesting historical facts about cooking methods and utensils. I found the writing style to be dull. Also, the content is European-centric. The author shouldn't have bother with the few sections on Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. It is so sparse, it shows an incomplete and inaccurate picture.
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Performance
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- SamF.
- 10-31-16
One of my favorite books
What did you love best about Consider the Fork?
I listened to this book a while ago, but I still find myself repeating anecdotes and explaining things I learned. It kicked off a real interest in food history, and is a fun and enjoyable read. I've recommended it to friends who have enjoyed it as well. One of my favorite books ever. The narration is alright, not particularly memorable but sometimes that's a good thing--less grating than Larkin's narration of Wilson's next book.
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10 people found this helpful
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Story
- Pamela
- 01-01-19
Like being stuck next to a blowhard on a plane
I had high hopes for this book - I have enjoyed many others in the same genre. I won't discuss the narrator - her shortcomings are discussed by other reviewers - but will just say that I may have been less irritated with the book if it had a different narrator.
The author takes a dogmatic tone and it is clear that if you do not agree with her opinions, you are simply wrong. Is a food processor the best thing since sliced bread? Not really, and no, you can not make quenelles in 10 minutes with a food processor as the shaping and poaching are the real time consuming steps and the last time I checked, my food processor does not help with that at all. What cook considers 8" to be the ideal length for tongs? One who likes to burn his or her fingers - tongs are ideal for getting you away from the heat! A seasoned cast iron pan does not lose its seasoning and force you to start over from scratch. Why would anyone want flank steak with the texture of a mousse? yuck! You get the idea.
Every ten minutes or so I wanted to yell at the book "wrong wrong wrong." But it did have some interesting history of the evolution of cooking buried in the foolishness. I just wish it had been more fun. Will someone please write that book for me?
If you want a better listen that covers a similar topic but in a different manner, try the Great Courses Food: A Cultural History, available on Audible.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- R. Klein
- 09-08-19
A story of evolution
Very much enjoyed this listen. Not so much a story, but rather a collection of stories, each talking about the evolution of utensils and practices that help us eat. The fork, yes, but also the knife - and how it was used and evolved in different cultures, and shaped the way people ate. The spoon, which had its own evolution in terms of design, and of use. Just the fact that these utensils came along at different times in our history, and followed different paths in different cultures is interesting in itself. Fire, ovens, stoves, pots, and pans. Chop sticks? They're covered here too.
The book is full of interesting facts - like the impact of fuel on the culture of eating. For example the abundance of trees in ancient Britain allowing large fires for roasting meats on a spit (and the various ways that evolved for those spits to be turned), as opposed to the lack of fuel in China that led to cutting up food into small pieces that could be cooked up quickly using the least possible amount of scarce fuel. And thus how knives were used in Chinese kitchens to cut the food before it was cooked, but not at the table, as was common practice in Britain.
One of the most interesting chapters for me was about food preservation, from salting, to the harvesting and then commercial production of ice, and then mechanical refrigeration, and how it utterly changed our way of life - affecting not only our ability to grab a cool drink from the fridge, but to preserve food, ship it, and allow us to have shop, cook, and live so differently from before.
The book is chock-a-block with interesting and obscure facts and details. Anyone who enjoys cooking, or eating, is likely to find this book interesting, because it tells how many of our accepted cultural norms for cooking and eating came about.
If you would enjoy knowing about cultural roots, and why you use the tools and utensils you do, you'll love this book. It flows smoothly from topic to topic. The narration is easy on the ears, and pleasant to listen to.
Consider the fork - the next time you sit down to enjoy a meal.
Eleven and a half hours well spent.
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- Michael
- 01-29-13
Alison Larkin creates a powerful interest
Would you listen to Consider the Fork again? Why?
I was surprised by what a powerful interest in this subject the narrator Alison Larkin was able to create. I had never thought I would be so interested in forks or other ways we eat before! Alison Larkin brought a clarity and engaging tone to this information that made me want to hear every word!
I believe I would like to hear this book again, and will certainly suggest that my friends listen to it. It is a rare example of sharing facts in a way that the talented narrator makes you eager to hear.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I think my favorite part of the story was discussing breakfast, and how all the different ways of preparing coffee had changed over the years. Once again, Alison Larkin delivered this information in a way that gave it wit and life and made me smile as I learned.
What does Alison Larkin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Alison Larkin brings a tone of excitement to even the smallest facts so that I found myself eagerly listening for more. She also brings a voice that is both melodic and clear, and she is able to strike a variety of notes that keeps one interested in the writing.
Most of all Alison Larkin seems to be enjoying the book and the information she shares so that I as a listener was also caught up in her enthusiasm for the subject.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
There were several places that I laughed out loud. I never cried, but was almost always smiling at the wit with which the narrator read.
Any additional comments?
To me, this information packed book was enhanced by having a narrator in Alison Larkin who could bring it alive in a most enjoyable way.
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- cindy
- 10-17-18
Great content, poor editing
This book has some awesome stuff in it. I learned so much about the history of cooking equipment, which is oddly interesting to me. But the book is not edited very well. The author is a bit repetitive, and there seems to be no structure or flow whatsoever.
Who should read this? Anyone who enjoys cooking, learning about cooking, or odd facets of history.
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- Lex
- 09-15-20
Absolutely fascinating
This is my favorite audio book so far, hands down nothing else is close. Firstly what could be a dull subject is made absolutely fascinating and the author provides surprising insight into the cultural and philosophical perspectives embedded into the most mundane of kitchen items. And secondly, the author should take a career narrating audio books. She is a joy to listen to, well paced with no irritating verbal tics, and a very good range of accents that brings even more life to a cracking good story. Loved every second of it.
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- L. Kirkman
- 11-09-19
Took a bit to get hook
But it has a lot of interesting historical tidbits that are fun to relate to friends and family.
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- Michaela Clutter
- 01-23-23
Interesting
The book is interesting, but I would suggest reading it instead of listening to it. The narrator's natrual voice is nice and very listenable, but she does various accents when quoting people from France, USA, etc. They aren't particularly good accents, and it is really a distraction from the listening experience.
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