Cheese, Pears, and History in a Proverb

Massimo Montanari (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

128 Seiten

2012
Columbia University Press (Verlag)
978-0-231-15251-8 (ISBN)

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"Do not let the peasant know how good cheese is with pears" goes the old saying. Intrigued by these words and their portent, Massimo Montanari unravels their origin and utility. Perusing archival cookbooks, agricultural and dietary treatises, literary works, and anthologies of beloved sayings, he finds in the nobility's demanding palates and delicate stomachs a compelling recipe for social conduct. At first, cheese and its visceral, earthy pleasures were treated as the food of Polyphemus, the uncivilized man-beast. The pear, on the other hand, became the symbol of ephemeral, luxuriant pleasure-an indulgence of the social elite. Joined together, cheese and pears adopted an exclusive savoir faire, especially as the "natural phenomenon" of taste evolved into a cultural attitude. Montanari's delectable history straddles written and oral traditions, economic and social relations, and thrills in the power of mental representation. His ultimate discovery shows that the enduring proverb, so wrapped up in history, operates not only as a repository of shared wisdom but also as a rich locus of social conflict.

Massimo Montanari is professor of medieval history and the history of food at the Institute of Paleography and Medieval Studies, University of Bologna. He has authored and coauthored more than a dozen books, including Let the Meatballs Rest: And Other Stories About Food and Culture, Food Is Culture; Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History; Food: A Culinary History; and Famine and Plenty: The History of Food in Europe. Beth Archer Brombert is the author of the widely acclaimed biographies, Edouard Manet: Rebel in a Frock Coat and Cristina: Portraits of a Princess. She has also translated extensively from French and Italian.

Series Editor's Preface by Albert Sonnenfeld Acknowledgments 1. A Proverb to Decipher 2. A Wedding Announcement 3. Peasant Fare 4. When Rustic Food Becomes the Fashion 5. A Hard Road to Ennoblement 6. The Ideology of Difference and Strategies of Appropriation 7. A High-Born Fruit 8. When Desire Conflicts with Health 9. Peasants and Knights 10. To Savor (To Know) / Taste (Good Taste) 11. How a Proverb Is Born 12. "Do Not Share Pears with Your Master": The Proverb as the Site of Class Conflict References Index

Reihe/Serie	Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History
Übersetzer	Beth A. Brombert
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	140 x 210 mm
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Essen / Trinken ► Länderküchen
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-231-15251-5 / 0231152515
ISBN-13	978-0-231-15251-8 / 9780231152518
Zustand	Neuware