Publication date:
11 December 2014Length of book:
280 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442227361
Food at Sea: Shipboard Cuisine from Ancient to Modern Times traces the preservation, preparation, and consumption of food at sea, over a period of several thousand years, and in a variety of cultures. The book traces the development of cooking aboard in ancient and medieval times, through the development of seafaring traditions of storing and preparing food on the world’s seas and oceans.
Following a largely chronological format, Simon Spalding shows how the raw materials, cooking and eating equipments, and methods of preparation of seafarers have both reflected the shoreside practices of their cultures, and differed from them. The economies of whole countries have developed around foods that could survive long trips by sea, and new technologies have evolved to expand the available food choices at sea.
Changes in ship construction and propulsion have compelled changes in food at sea, and Spalding’s book explores these changes in cargo ships, passenger ships, warships, and other types over the centuries in fascinating depth of detail. Selected passages from songs and poems, quotes from seafarers famous and obscure, and new insights into culinary history all add spice to the tale.
Following a largely chronological format, Simon Spalding shows how the raw materials, cooking and eating equipments, and methods of preparation of seafarers have both reflected the shoreside practices of their cultures, and differed from them. The economies of whole countries have developed around foods that could survive long trips by sea, and new technologies have evolved to expand the available food choices at sea.
Changes in ship construction and propulsion have compelled changes in food at sea, and Spalding’s book explores these changes in cargo ships, passenger ships, warships, and other types over the centuries in fascinating depth of detail. Selected passages from songs and poems, quotes from seafarers famous and obscure, and new insights into culinary history all add spice to the tale.
Maritime musician Spalding’s first book provides details of the preservation, preparation, and consumption of food at sea throughout time and as technology progressed. Subjects covered include the ancient and medieval periods, the age of exploration, navies, merchant trade, immigrant and slave ships, steam power, the effects of canned foods on sea travel, ocean liners, refrigeration, and such 'new' technologies as submarines, cruise ships, and containerization. The author covers much ground and every corner of the globe yet never ceases to be intimate, identifiable, and fascinating, nor slows his clip. Much of which is owed to the perfectly apportioned breakdown within chapters, the perfectly concise text, and most of all, by the lovely accoutrements—the menus, recipes, charts, illustrations, poems, quotes, and ration lists. Never have so many reference sources been so palatably presented. VERDICT Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the effects of food on human history.