The alluring title of this follow-up to Allen's history of coffee
entices the reader to sample his menu of forbidden foods and
culinary taboos, all grouped together under the umbrella of the
seven deadly sins. For every delectable morsel to tempt the
tastebuds there are numerous others from another age or culture to
make us wince with revulsion. The Romans had a penchant for spiced
sow udders, rooster combs and whole dormice dipped in honey and
poppy seeds, while President Mitterand's last meal before his death
from cancer was of a traditional but outlawed French delicacy - the
songbird known as the bunting, drowned in armagnac, roasted and
eaten whole, the partaker having covered his head with an
embroidered cloth. Alongside such bizarre and entertaining titbits
there is wide-ranging comment on the anthropological, historical,
political, social and religious aspects of food and eating. The
author discusses the 'culinary segregation' of Native Americans and
black slaves from their white masters and the divisiveness of the
Hindu caste system and the Jewish dietary laws. He describes how
food - be it potatoes in 19th-century Ireland or bread in
18th-century France - has shaped history, and also deals with more
topical political issues such as the iniquitous promotion of infant
formula milk in Third World countries and the threatened extinction
of primates by a current fad for smoked monkey. This book sets out
primarily to entertain with witty anecdotes, practical recipes -
some more tempting than others - and a scattering of illustrations,
and the author's treatment of this huge subject is inevitably,
therefore, somewhat superficial. There is, nevertheless, a serious
side to the work with a persuasive if familiar final argument
linking social disintegration with changes in eating habits and an
extensive bibliography for those wanting to read further. (Kirkus
UK)
From the forbidden fruit of the Old Testament to the numerous laws
broken at Francois Mitterand's final meal, In the Devil's Garden is
a mouth-watering history of food taboos from around the world - a
smorgasbord of culinary titbits to spice up any after-dinner
conversation. In a history peppered with religious extremists who
would rather starve to death than violate ancient taboos - and in
an age when half the world's population - from cow-loving Hindus to
Kosher Jews and Western vegetarians - still live with harsh dietary
restrictions, Allen reveals just how significant, and pervasive,
our relationship with food is.
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