All animals eat, but only humans dine. When travelling or visiting friends, the peculiarities of people's eating habits is one of the first - and most intriguing, and often thoroughly mystifying - customs to be noticed. Eating, after all, is a fairly full-time occupation. In every society the preparation and consumption of food is surrounded by particular rites and taboos which, while second nature to those who know, can seem extraordinary to outsiders. What seems natural and necessary is often anything but. In America and Europe, for example, a meal begins with bitter food and ends with sweet, but in China the reverse is true. This book examines the preparation, presentation and eating of food in many different cultures. It delves into the politics and rituals of feasting and foraging in places as far flung as Samoa, Ireland, Italy, China and America. The author tackles the seemingly mundane (knives and forks) and the unmentionable (cannibalism). Special meals and customs are discussed, such as the 'crepe suzettes' evenings that mark the beginning of lent in Ireland, as well as cultural likes and dislikes - Chinese babies, for example, are never fed on milk.
The author explores issues of power and gender inherent in the rules surrounding who can prepare meals and who should serve them. Throughout the book, the vast symbolic potential of food is revealed through an examination of techniques and utensils that are used in different cultures. Dieting and body shape also play their part in this unusual and stimulating consideration of the cultural forms and functions of food.
- ISBN10 185973443X
- ISBN13 9781859734438
- Publish Date 20 January 2003
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Out of Print 11 November 2004
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Imprint Berg Publishers
- Format Paperback
- Pages 224
- Language English