Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe: A Book of Essays

Monk's Head, escabèche, ice cream, and preserved eel are among the diverse delicacies featured in "Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe", which explores the art of cookery as it evolved in the millennium between the Fall of Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance. Though many aspects of medieval cookery have been studied in the recent past, this is the first book to systematically address the question of regionalism and interregional influences in the areas of food production and consumption. The prominent food historians in this volume provide detailed histories of the creation and development of particular delicacies in six regions of medieval Europe — Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Low Countries. The contributors provide readers with a taste of each regional cuisine by examining how cooking practices responded to geographic, political, cultural, religious, and social changes. Readers will discover not only the rich diversity but also the dynamic evolution of the medieval European palate — a sumptuous feast for anyone interested in the history of food.