Biscuits and Cookies
A Global History
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Reaktion Books
Published:15th Jul '19
Should be back in stock very soon
Which is your favourite biscuit (or cookie, if you're from the USA)? Chocolate-chip, gingernut or oreo cookie? Oatmeal and raisin, black and white cookie, digestive or florentine? Biscuits and cookies have a myriad forms and flavours, and as well they have a rich and ancient history: evidence of biscuit-making exists from around 4000 BC.
Biscuit/Cookie by Anastasia Edwards explores the abundant history of this versatile snack, from earliest beginnings through Middle Eastern baking to Northern Europe in the Middle Ages, and on into the New World. From German lebkuchen to the animal cracker, more than half-a-billion of which are produced each year in the United States alone. From brownies and sugar cookies in the US, to shortbread and rich tea biscuits in the UK, to Anzac and Girl-Guide biscuits in New Zealand and Australia, this book is crammed with biscuit and cookie facts, stories, images and recipes from around the world.
Illuminating the complexities of these creations, Biscuits and Cookies: A Global History is a thorough effort to chronicle the multifaceted gastronomical histories of baked goods, which are shown as taking an array of forms over the centuries. Focusing on the baking of the Americas, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East, Edwards’s book takes the long view by explaining how the production, cultural, and national significance of biscuits and cookies have been interwoven with the intricacies of business and economics. As she explains, baking such treats remains a livelihood for many across cultures . . . As for the book’s style, Biscuits and Cookies evinces parallels to the work of earlier food writers such as the American author M.F.K. Fisher insofar as Edwards offers an accessible, insightful, and lively account that inspires thought . . . Edwards’s book thus offers readers an insightful
historical introduction to the ways biscuits and cookies have influenced and enhanced diverse lives.
ISBN: 9781789140491
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
136 pages