Il cibo come cultura

Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History

by Massimo Montanari

Cuocere il pane, conservare la frutta, apparecchiare la tavola... ogni atto legato al cibo - anche il più semplice e quotidiano - porta con sé una storia ed esprime una cultura complessa. Preparando un piatto di spaghetti al pomodoro, sintetizziamo (con un gesto che oggi è segno dell'identità italiana) il felice incontro tra una tecnologia produttiva messa a punto nella Sicilia araba del Medioevo e un prodotto americano importato in Europa dai conquistatori spagnoli. Attraverso i tanti modi di produrre, preparare, consumare e interpretare il cibo in epoche e luoghi diversi, Massimo Montanari ci introduce a un aspetto essenziale della civiltà umana.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, History, Anthropology, Cultural, Cooking, Food History

186 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1999

About the author

Professor of medieval history at Bologna University who has written widely on food history.

Reviews

[Maria Lago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy instructivo y lleno de curiosidades, aunque, cosa extraña, no abre el apetito.

[Imyra De souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livro fantástico! Como estou me embrenhado mais seriamente para a área gastronômica fiquei bem interessada em ler algum livro de história da gastronomia, ou algo do gênero. Depois de pesquisar um pouco, cheguei nesse livro.

O livro é bem gostoso de ler, com capítulos bem curtos e algumas grandes áreas: "fabricar a própria comida", "a invenção da cozinha", "o prazer (e o dever) da escolha" e, por fim, "comida, linguagem e identidade".

No livro, o autor discorre sobre como o ato de cozinhar é um enorme ato cultural, e como o alimentação, por ter um papel tão fundamental no desenvolvimento dos grupos humanos acaba sendo responsável pela fundação das várias culturas. É extremamente interessante.

Este livro não deve ser visto como o único livro tratando do assunto (talvez não o melhor também), mas como uma iniciação neste tema, é maravilhoso! Fiquei mais interessada de ler mais coisas sobre o assunto e realmente, me fez pensar bastante sobre tudo que foi escrito. Recomendo!

[Samantha Arceneaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great selection of essays commenting on the ways food affects our culture, past and present. There are a lot of books, documentaries, and articles about our contemporary foodways and how we have created food culture. This book brings in a missing aspect by going far back in history, examining class, fluctuations in behavior, the exchange of ideas, and breaks down how good affects identity.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma descrição muito bacana da história da alimentação. Entender que o processo de gosto e segregação de cozinhas é evolutivo e como evoluiu fez essa leitura ser deveras interessante.

[Damián Hernández Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran obra en el que se puede explicar el proceso cultural que va a recibir el humano con la alimentación, desde los grupos cazadores-recolectores, pasando por la aparición de la agricultura y ganadería, la creación del fuego como herramienta para la preparación de los alimentos, los distintos alimentos en las diferentes culturas del mundo...

[✶ neo ✶ · Rating 5 out of 5]

me ha gustado un montón!! como fan tremendo de la comidita me encanta saber todo sobre ella y esto ha sido tan interesante todo el tiempo y he descubierto tantos datos que ni me imaginaba que ha sido increíble

[Lovis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kändes lite för ostrukturerad för min smak men var ändå intressant!

[Rafaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book! Easy to follow, but at the same time gives the reader a lot to think about by the end of every chapter.

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tidak sampai 200 halaman, tapi saya bisa ingat pesannya. Makanan sebenarnya adalah hasil kebudayaan kita dimulai dari aktivitas mengolah makanan. Dimana kemampuan kita mengolah makanan membedakan kita dari hewan lain.

Dari makanan, memberi pengaruh bermacam-macam. Pengaruh dalam narasi mitos dan dewa, simbol status sosial, dan dalam buku ini penulis meyakinkan kita kalau ada kesamaan antara bahasa dan makanan (makanan punya struktur seperti tata bahasa).

Kita memang harus belajar dari sejarah untuk memahami budaya, terlebih budaya makanan.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una lettura veloce e piacevole, ma avendo precedentemente letto La fame e l'abbondanza, sempre di Montanari, consiglio piuttosto quello per chi è interessato all'argomento e desidera qualche approfondimento ulteriore e una trattazione più sistematica e metodica dell'argomento. Questo testo può stuzzicare l'appetito, ma non saziarlo.

[Marte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conoscendo gli altri libri di Montanari ho trovato questo un po' ripetitivo e dal carattere più generico

[Natalia Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not brilliant.

[Grouchomax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tre stelle tendente a quattro ma questo libro non "spacca"

[Yokusun Basi]

Il cibo come cultura by Massimo Montanari (2006)

[Robert Poortinga · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply brilliant! must read to really understand how culture and food have both been evolving around each other.

[Yaiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francamente me pareció un librazo.

[sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesante

[Jenina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on food I’ve read so far

[Fabiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, es un texto base para entender la alimentación como hecho social y permite pensar y cuestionar. Sin embargo, esperaba un poco más

[Maryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Написав в запросе на годовой флешмоб, что хочу почитать книги на кулинарную тему, никак не ожидала получить совет книги такого жанра. Но нон-фикшн для меня вообще чуть ли не любимый жанр (когда он качественно написан на интересующую меня тему и, самое главное, качественно переведены без бесящих комментариев переводчика), а эта книга относится именно к таким.
Тут нету описаний блюд, рецептов или ежедневного моциона, но есть качественный подход историка к такой специфичной теме, как питание. Автор умело подводит как исторические события к изменению схемы питания, так и наоборот - саму схему питания к схеме развития социума в определенном регионе. Добротно выписано, любопытно читать, а более ничего и не нужно говорить о книге.

[Craig1colo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Massimo Montanari brings a wealth of historical knowledge to bear in this short yet broad look at food and culture. It seems that on every page there is insight or questions that should lead to cross-disciplinary research and for me led to a steady stream of "ah-ha" moments.

There are four main sections to this 137 page marvel: 1) Creating One's Own Food; 2) The Invention of Cuisine; The Pleasure and Duty of Choice; 4) Food, Language,and Eating Together. The author starts with the emergence of agriculture and its ties to growth and crosses through time to current globalization (and the emergence of the multi-identified global consumer/foodways) making Food is Culture a fine jumping off spot for more detailed investigations in foodland.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think to appreciate this book one has to know that the author is 1) Italian, 2) a scholar for medieval history and 3) only giving us a short essay on how food is culture (no proper source citation!). I used it as first step into a bigger research question pertaining to food and culture and can say that it helped me! There are interesting facts and facts that will make you laugh. At the same time the book enters into many different territories. It's not always thorough and I am sure some claims would have to be checked but this book nevertheless gave me some ideas to think about. And if it doesn't, it's still a good read for one afternoon.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

a short book that talks in generalities trying to make the case that food is part of culture. yes. understood. nonetheless, some good tidbits of info here. when people got super super hungry and there was no food around, dirt was mixed with bit of flour and baked into bread shape: the earth, baked. It’s the shape that guarantees it’s status as food.
The danger and fear of excess is replacing danger and fear of hunger in 70s/ 80s – 1st time in history, so thousands of years history of hunger finally overturned.

[VAle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Studiato per l'ottimo corso di "Storia dell'alimentazione" di Montanari, si guadagna solo 3 stelle perchè in alcuni paragrafi è la fotocopia del precedente La fame e l'abbondanza (sempre di Montanari) e la cosa è stata tanto più evidente in quanto entrambi in programma per l'esame e quindi letti praticamente in contemporanea!
Perlomeno io e i miei compagni abbiamo avuto pochi dubbi circa ciò che il docente considerava fondamentale!

[Alanna R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly worth breaking my years-long streak of not reading books by men, since this was boring to read and predictably patriarchal and Eurocentric (not to be that bitch, but it's hard to avoid). The substance is genuinely interesting, though, and I would've loved to read maybe a ten-page paper of the same stuff.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thesis on food culture, and not a mere History of Food. Montanari departs from the idea that there are cultural aspects in the production and consumption of food along history. He analyzes why the different trends change. I learned a lot from this book.

[Elif · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem if you like reading about food culture!

English: https://elifthereader.com/books/food-...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/f...

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per usare la stessa grammatica del libro siamo di fronte a un aperitivo o un antipasto, non ad un pranzo completo.
Persone interessate alla convivio più che al companatico si troveranno sazie, ad altri stimolerà l'appetito preparandoli a pietanze/saggi più di corpo.

[Elvira_tt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretentious to say the least. Too many words, not enough substance.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

brief, compelling look at the impact of food on cultural formation by an expert in medieval culinary history.