French Gastronomy
«Will satisfy your hunger for knowledge while whetting your appetite for French food. France Today [Pitte's] charming, concise history reveals the development of the national taste... Pitte balances his hearty dishes with historical realities in this entertaining and probing addition to Columbia's Arts and Traditions of the Table series. Publishers Weekly Pitte's remarkable ruminations... offer new insights into the French psyche. Booklist To study the gastronomy of France, or any country's gastronomy, through the geographer's palate and eyes, makes perfect sense. Topography and climatic conditions, more than any other factors, define the lifestyle of people as well as their mood and eating habits. Furthermore, it's these differences in soils and climate which give us the Basque piperade, the potee of Savoy, the quenelles of Lyon, the filet of sole Normande, and the beckenoffe of Alsace. Vive la difference! -- Jacques Pepin Thought-provoking and original table talk from the academy. Kirkus Reviews Lively... leavened with humor and graceful translation. Bloomsbury Review Interesting, witty, and erudite. Rain Taxi»
This we can be sure of: when a restaurant in the western world is famous for its cooking, it is the tricolor flag that hangs above the stove, opined one French magazine, and this is by no means an isolated example of such crowing. Les mer
With an eye to this landscape, Pitte wonders: Would the great French burgundies enjoy such prestige if the coast they came from were not situated close to the ancient capital for the dukes and a major travel route for medieval Europe? Yet for all the shaping influence of earth and climate, Pitte demonstrates that haute cuisine, like so much that is great about France, can be traced back to the court of Louis XIV. It was the Sun King's regal gourmandise-he enacted a nightly theater of eating, dining alone but in full view of the court-that made food and fine dining a central affair of state. The Catholic Church figures prominently as well: gluttony was regarded as a "benign sin" in France, and eating well was associated with praising God, fraternal conviviality, and a respect for the body. These cultural ingredients, in combination with the bounties of the land, contributed to the full flowering of French foodways. This is a time of paradox for French gourmandism. Never has there been so much literature published on the subject of culinary creativity, never has there been so much talk about good food, and never has so little cooking been done at home.
Each day new fast-food places open. Will French cuisine lose its charm and its soul? Will discourse become a substitute for reality? French Gastronomy is a delightful celebration of what makes France unique, and a call to everyone who loves French food to rediscover its full flavor.
Detaljer
- Forlag
- Columbia University Press
- Innbinding
- Innbundet
- Språk
- Engelsk
- ISBN
- 9780231124164
- Utgivelsesår
- 2002
- Format
- 23 x 15 cm
Anmeldelser
«Will satisfy your hunger for knowledge while whetting your appetite for French food. France Today [Pitte's] charming, concise history reveals the development of the national taste... Pitte balances his hearty dishes with historical realities in this entertaining and probing addition to Columbia's Arts and Traditions of the Table series. Publishers Weekly Pitte's remarkable ruminations... offer new insights into the French psyche. Booklist To study the gastronomy of France, or any country's gastronomy, through the geographer's palate and eyes, makes perfect sense. Topography and climatic conditions, more than any other factors, define the lifestyle of people as well as their mood and eating habits. Furthermore, it's these differences in soils and climate which give us the Basque piperade, the potee of Savoy, the quenelles of Lyon, the filet of sole Normande, and the beckenoffe of Alsace. Vive la difference! -- Jacques Pepin Thought-provoking and original table talk from the academy. Kirkus Reviews Lively... leavened with humor and graceful translation. Bloomsbury Review Interesting, witty, and erudite. Rain Taxi»