false 331024 13 <div>Winning unanimous praise on its publication and now available in paperback from Grove Press, Much Depends on Dinner is a delightful and intelligent history of the food we eat. Presented as a meal, each chapter represents a different course or garnish. Borrowing from Byron's classic poem "Don Juan" for her title ("Since Eve ate apples, much depends on dinner"), writer Margaret Visser looks to the most ordinary American dinner for her subject - corn on the cob with butter and salt, roast chicken with rice, salad dressed in lemon juice and olive oil, and ice cream - submerging herself in the story behind each food. In this indulgent and perceptive guide we hear the history of Corn Flakes, why canned California olives are so unsatisfactory (they're picked green, chemically blackened, then sterilized), and the fact that in Africa, citrus fruit is eaten rind and all. For food lovers of all kinds, this unexpectedly funny and serious book is a treasure of information, shedding light on one of our most favorite pastimes.</div> 1394343 1 9 1986 Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos of an Ordinary Meal total:91|5:22|4:32|3:35|2:1|1:1| 91 346 220 18 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Jul 12 10:33:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 14:39:24 -0700 2008
I can certainly see the Zen beauty in seeing each thing of and for itself, witho...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 13 07:03:16 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 19:22:37 -0700 2008
All the things I learned:
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<li>I did not rea...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 19:38:03 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 10:16:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Feb 09 16:40:48 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 16:42:13 -0800 2008
It's hard to imagine now how revolutionary books like this were back when Much Depends on Dinner was published in 1986. It was barely conceivable then that someone would write a book, an actual book about something so ordinary as a meal of corn on the cob with butter and salt, chicken,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 10 19:00:48 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 05:38:37 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 10 19:00:48 -0700 2008
"It was the custom in the past that the youngest daughter of the household had to turn the lettuce in the dressing with her fingers, maintaining the "fresh, green, female" mythology of lettuce. Dressing a lettuce made the anaphrod...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 03:19:45 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 03:20:39 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1986 Tue Jun 03 11:05:44 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 12:00:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 31 06:47:28 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 06:51:09 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Oct 22 14:25:30 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 14 10:44:25 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 29 06:35:56 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 29 06:42:33 -0800 2007 The Omnivore's Dilemma, you need to read the precursor and less talked about contribution on same subject. Perhaps hers just wasn't as compelling? I look forward to figuring it out.
more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 28 00:13:39 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 06 21:09:48 -0800 2008 natural history of the senses, TIME, LIFE, suzie homemaker celebration of culinary craftiness. THIS IS SERIOUS SHIT. this lady is dropping some serious science and history. like laying in bed with an anthropomorphized history channel telling you bedtime stories that get you ready for rea...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 22:31:14 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 20 22:23:29 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Fri Apr 20 14:49:51 -0700 2007 Fri Apr 20 14:52:10 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Thu Feb 28 20:57:44 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 20:59:32 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sat Aug 23 06:12:56 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 06:13:56 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Fri Feb 29 11:37:13 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 11:40:08 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Jan 15 07:09:50 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 15 07:10:31 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jul 16 20:30:34 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 20:31:35 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Fri Nov 27 08:43:12 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 08:43:12 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 19 05:01:39 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 05:01:39 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=331024