Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat (paperback)
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Wilson’s engaging history of cooking and eating implements makes clear from the start that these items are part of our civilization and its history, shaped by what we eat but also shaping our ideas about what is edible.
She begins by pointing out how much we may take for granted the cooking tools which are standard in kitchens around the world. Is a wooden spoon technology? Compared to mobile phone it might not seem so. But as different as they may be from kitchen to kitchen, these spoons are designed and crafted to a purpose, so deftly that we may overlook to what degree.
Wilson, an insightful food historian presents her arguments in eight broad chapters, and in each of them she uses a particular tool to explore more deeply. The chapters are:
- Pots and Pans, with rice cooker
- Knife, with mezzaluna
- Fire, with toaster
- Measure, with egg timer
- Grind, with nutmeg grater
- Eat, with tongs
- Ice, with molds
- Kitchen, with coffee
Consider the Fork is full of surprising details about everything from an Icelandic bread baked by burying it in the earth near geothermal springs to Albert Einstein’s design for a refrigerator. Very worthwhile.
Includes a reading group guide.
Paperback. Line illustrations.
