2 comments about Mediterranean Cooking.

1. I would have liked to see more recipes from Syria and Lebanon, although the ones that are included are very good. Sources for ingredients are included at the end of the book and the author has also included a recipe for home made yogurt which can really cut the cost of this essential ingredient. Preparation techniques are, for the most part, simple and accessible to American and European cooks requiring little special equipment.



2. `Mediterranean Cooking' by the eminent cookbook author, Ms. Paula Wolfert may not be the best book on Mediterranean recipes, it may not even be the second best book on Mediterranean recipes, especially since Ms. Wolfert is competing against her excellent `The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean' plus flagship volumes from her hero, Elizabeth David and books from good friend, Nancy Harmon Jenkins and scholarly works from Clifford A. Wright and home friendly books from Joyce Goldstein and others. The list goes on and on. Mediterranean cooking has been addressed from about every angle you can think of, but part of that interest is due to Ms. Wolfert's own works, starting with her landmark `Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco'. But, if this volume were the only one you had on `Mediterranean Cuisine', you should count yourself fortunate that you found this book.
   
   While this is not a scholarly book by most standards, like all of Ms. Wolfert's works, it is much more than a list of recipes. One major premise of the book is that a native of a region on the Mediterranean coast could walk the perimeter of this Sea and find familiar food all along the shores of the old Roman Empire. This forms the basis of Ms. Wolfert's organization of chapters which is based on the leading foodstuffs of the Mediterranean from the Maghreb (Northern Africa from Morocco to Tunisia) to the Levant (Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Syria). In fact, I have to suspect than friend Nancy Harmon Jenkins borrowed Ms. Wolfert's concept of how to present Mediterranean cuisine in Jenkins' 2003 book, `The Essential Mediterranean'.
   
   Ms. Wolfert's basis for choosing recipes she states in for simple reasons. First there are `...great and famous dishes for which I can find superb recipes'. Second are `...regional and unusual dishes'. Third are `...dishes which illustrate contrasting or similar uses for the same materials'. Fourth are `...delicious dishes that are not widely known'. All this means is that `This is a very personal book, a book of food that interests me'. And, almost all of the recipes come from home cooks acquired on Ms. Wolfert's many regular trips to the lands of the Mediterranean.
   
   One warning is necessary about the publisher's blurb that this second (1994) edition contains '75 new recipes'. In the introduction, Ms. Wolfert herself says that this has been more of a trade of 75 healthier, less fatty recipes for 60 older recipes. The book is not that much larger than the original edition, but I think all of this is of only minor concern, as the real value of the book lies in the insights Ms. Wolfert gives on the overall world of Mediterranean cookery.
   
   The flagship chapter tells the story of the combination of `Garlic and Oil' in Mediterranean cuisine. There are recipes combining these two items from one end of the Mediterranean to the other and Ms. Wolfert presents several samples from Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. The last of these recipes for `Sauce Rouille', a classic condiment for Bouillabaisse leads to Ms. Wolfert's riff on why bouillabaisse purists say that this dish cannot be made beyond 100 kilometers of Marseilles. All of this is done with a rather large sense of tongue in cheek. To make restitution, Ms. Wolfert offers us two recipes for the much less legendary `Soupe de Poisson', a simple Provencal fish soup with but one white fleshed saltwater fish.
   
   The olive oil and garlic chapter is followed by a chapter on olives themselves. Ms. Wolfert piques our intellect by observing that if you divide the Mediterranean with an imaginary line down the sole of the Italian boot, along the eastern shore of Sicily, and down the boundary between Tunisia and Libya, you will have divided the cuisines into those who eat olives marinated and cured (the east of this line) and those who eat olives cooked with their dishes (Spain, France, Italy, the Maghreb). Ms. Wolfert has no good idea why this should be and the only thought I can offer is that this is roughly the boundary between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires when the split was made between Rome and Constantinople.
   
   The most famous of all cooked olive dishes is probably the Neapolitan `Spaghetti alla Puttanesca'. Ms. Wolfert gives us a new explanation for the origin of this easy dish and befitting its fame, offers three different recipes. The most traditional includes a tomato sauce. Ms. Wolfert's two alternatives include no tomatoes, but are heavy on basil or peppers and raisins. All three are as fast or faster than any other recipes I have seen.
   
   The remaining chapters are on:
   
   Eggplant, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Other Mediterranean Vegetables
   Chick-Peas, Lentils, and Beans
   Pasta, Couscous, and Other Mediterranean Farinaceous Foods
   Herbs, Spices, and Aromatics
   Yogurt
   Cheese
   Nuts
   Lemons, Oranges, Figs, Dates, and other Mediterranean Fruits
   
   As familiar as all of these subjects are, Ms. Wolfert has something new to say on most of them. On cheese, for example, while the most famous of Mediterranean young cheeses are mozzarella and feta, Ms. Wolfert gives equal time to Sardinian and Egyptian varieties. The highest praise is reserved, of course for Parmesano Reggiano.
   
   Since this edition was published in 1994, before the full flourishing of the Internet, all sources are mail order only, but most of these sources are familiar to all us foodies, so tracking down their Internet sites should be pretty easy. The Bibliography is modest with almost all entries being books available in English such as titles from Elizabeth David, Alan Davidson, Waverley Root, Claudia Roden, and other English and American writers.
   
   Just like her hero, Elizabeth David, Ms. Wolfert has written many excellent books, but if you could have but one from each author, I would take this volume and Ms. David's first `A Book of Mediterranean Food'.

No comments about Cooking in Europe, 1250-1650 (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series).

5 comments about Estonian Tastes And Traditions (Hippocrene Cookbook Library).

1. This is a great introduction to not only Estonian cuisine, but also its culture. Ms Kärner has wisely included a bit of Estonian history and cultural traditions along with her extensive recipes. What I most like are her introductions with each recipe explaining the whys and wherefors of it. The recipes are a mix of traditional and contemporary Estonian dishes, using ingredients that are readily found at the market (even saffron and cardamom, which one used to have to diligently hunt for). All the favorites of mine that I grew up eating are there along with new ones that I would love to try.
   
   This is also great for you Estos out there who have no one to show you how to make our most traditional and beloved dishes and long for a taste of home. This is the recipe book for you--and for anyone out there who would love to learn about an up-to-now little known country, its culture and its cuisine. "Head isu!" (Bon appetit!)
   
   P.S. For those wanting to learn much more about Estonia, check out the DVD "The Singing Revolution", also found on Amazon.



2. I've tried several recipes from this book, all successful and authentic-tasting. I disagree with the reviewer who found the recipes americanized: they are as close as you can get. I lived in Estonia for several years and live with an Estonian now, and the results seem great to both of us! A good buy if you like this kind of food (not for everyone!).



3. This book is great for all aspects of Estonian cooking. I am an Estonian-American 1st generation living in Australia. I have tried for years to do the 'Kringel", festive raisin bread, and all have been sorry attempts. This is the only book that has taken me through it step by step, and this Easter it was terrific. Exactly as my mother used to do. The same with the other receipes, although there are various American additives used which are not available overseas, ie 'Knorr aromatic seasoning'. , 'Old Bay seasoning'. I either do not use it, or use something else. So far it has not proven to be a great obstacle, only a slight irritant.



4. I wanted authentic recipes from Estonia to pass on to my children who do not speak Estonian - this book is it - I have compared several recipes with those of my mother's, nothing comes closer than this book - very pleased!!Estonian Tastes And Traditions (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)



5. The book was not easy to find elsewhere , Amazon came up trumps , the book arrived speedily and was in excellent condition , all in all a wonderful service . thank you Amazon

5 comments about Mediterranean Light.

1. I don't see how seafood, hummous, tzatziki, baba ghanoush and lentils make a book low-fat. The fact is, this book celebrates Mediterranean cuisine, and much of that cuisine is already low-fat. If you love cooking from this region, you will love this book. The recipes are simple, delicious, mostly easy, and even if when I just read the book for ideas, it inspires me.
   
   It is true that the author modified some recipes to bring them into line with her healthy eating ethos. If you get the willies or heartburn from intake of mucho lard, this works wonderfully. I find the recipes delicious. They are packed with super-food ingredients, full of vitamins and minerals that will make you feel energetic, and not with hydrogenated fats or other proven culprits in heart disease, adult-onset diabetes, or cancer. As I understand it, the point of lowering intake of saturated fat is not necessarily to lose weight -- but to make your life long and healthy / enjoyable. I don't want to get diabetes or heart disease if I can prevent it. Both run in my family -- but for me, so far, at age 40, so good.
   
   Before I continue on this paean, I'd better mention that I have never met the author nor her family or friends, I am not associated with her in any way -- and actually, I'm not a health nut -- just a normal mom trying to cook whole foods for our family. When this book taught me how to efficiently clean shellfish, coaxing them to open and so forth, instead of skipping that step like so many other cookbooks (which leads to sandy mussel broth unless you remember the process!), I knew it was a winner.
   
   The recipes are simple, and true to the region. If you have visited the countries whose cuisine Martha Rose Shulman celebrates, you will recognize the authenticity of ingredients and combinations set forth here. Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and more -- all have classic and newer representatives on these pages. You'll find minted yogurt salad (which I know as 'tzatziki'), lentils, chickpeas, eggplant, even pizza and pasta -- in the index.
   
   Unlike another commenter, I found no great surfeit of garlic. The amounts prescribed seemed quite normal for the regions addressed. But then, perhaps I am used to garlic: it lowers cholesterol, so I use it in cooking for my husband.
   
   If you long for the foods you once enjoyed near the Mediterranean, try this book. If you love seafood and vegetables, and aren't afraid to try seasoning with lemon juice and yogurt, coriander, or cloves, try this book. If you long for beef, cream and mascarpone, try another book.
   



2. I have small children with bland Minnesota cuisine tastes. I have found some recepies that our whole family would eat. I personally enjoy the cook book but struggle finding many choices for all of us. I find I can modify some of the recepies to make it work for all of us.



3. Mediterranean Light, by Martha Rose Shulman, is the second book I have owned written by her. A friend gave it to me thinking that without pictures, it couldn't be special in any way, but she was so wrong. Because I eat healthfully, mostly vegetarian, with just a bit of meat, and think the Mediterranean diet is the right plant-based way to eat, I was quick to try some of the recipes. (Incidentally, this way of eating drastically reduced my total cholesterol, which I cannot lower with medication because statins attack my muscles.)
   The Warm Chick Pea Salad is very filling (and inexpensive to make). I ate it cold, and added raisins and a few slivered almonds, just for my own personal taste. The protein content for each serving is off the charts. I used organic canned chick peas which taste "cleaner" to me.
   I made her dense whole wheat bread with the French chef starter several times finding it filling and satisfying. And, I do not gain weight eating a small slice twice a day. If you like wholegrain bread, but are not a bread baker, it may be a bit of a challenge, but can be conquered easily. Like her, Saturday is now my bread baking day for my extended family.
   I made her Lentil Soup and enjoyed it made with organic lentils and added a touch of white wine. I also have begun substituting yogurt for olive oil in dressings which lowers calories and reduces fat. The yogurt, vinegar, mustard combo in some of the dressings creates a dressing that is somewhat like light mayo. I never use anything else anymore.
   This is my type of eating which I adopted after I had a brush with heart
   disease at a young age. Americans don't always realize that for much of the world, meat is a rare treat. Grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy, and fish comprise much of the diet in places where the people live longer and much healthier lives than we do. Combine that with exercise, deep faith in God, and a mental attitude of contentment, and you are doing a great deal to help yourself to a better quality of life.
   True, not everyone in your family will love these dishes, but keep trying; you'll find a few they will enjoy.
   The book is clearly written, contains interesting stories and anecdotes about the recipes and Ms. Shulman herself, and is deserving of a place on a cookbook shelf. I, like others, will take it on my next trip.



4. We've all heard how healthy the Mediterranean lifestyle is. Well this book tells you how to live it in your own kitchen with great yummy recipes and colorful insights. Check it out!Mediterranean Light: Delicious Recipes from the World's Healthiest Cuisine



5. The recipes in this book contain easy to find ingredients. In some ethnic cookbooks, you nearly have to visit the country to find everything needed. It starts with appetizers, goes to many assorted main dishes, to deserts and even includes bread recipes. The author has taken traditional recipes and made them healthier.

4 comments about The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages (Studies in Anglo-Saxon History).

1. it had tons of information on how they ate and i found that intreging. unfortunetely it did not tell you substitutions on the meals for today. it would be so much fun to actually eat the things they had back then.



2. "The Art of Cookery" is a substantive book. It is wide-ranging, lucidly written and is both erudite and appropriate for a general reader. This is not a cookbook. It is, however, an essential book to read for anyone who is interested in cooking food from the middle ages, as well as anyone interested in the history of the European diet. If you are looking for recipes then you should consider Terence Scully's "The Neapolitan Recipe Collection." It is a scholarly presentation of a late 15th century manuscript at the Pierpont Morgan Library. Mr. Scully's commentary, like the text of the "The Art of Cookery," is lucid and fabulously informative.



3. This book has so much information it can be alittle daunting at first but keep going. It has no recipes per say but it will tell you about table manners, syrups, regional differences and so much more. This is must for the library, not just if you like to cook but are also interested in the culture of the period.



4. As with her many other books Scully, has produced a book that is rich in detail with the culture and locals of the middle ages. This book has one draw back, you won't be preparing anything from it. I have mainly used this book for a historical perspective, while gathering ideas for potential menus that I wish to make. So often I have wondered what would have been period or what would have gone with a particular recipe that I was trying. This book will aide you in this.

2 comments about Dear Danish Recipes.

1. Dear Danish Recipes, in the popular recipe-card file Stocking Stuffer format, is full of the best recipes and notes about Danish foods and culture. Compiled by Michelle Nagle Spencer, a Scandinavian American with a love a gourmet cooking. Dear Danish Recipes contains recipes, facts, and cooking hints from contributors of strong Danish heritage. The cover features calligraphy and traditional red hearts by Esther Feske.

   In addition to wonderful recipes, Dear Danish Recipes also includes information on Danish American culture, Sites to See, such as The Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa, and Danish Table Prayers which gives a reader a true sense of Danish heritage. This book is a must for chefs and tourists alike

   The recipes are wonderful individually or to create a full Danish meal! Included are a variety of soups such as Split Pea and Danish Soup Dumplings. Served with a homemade Rye Bread, this is a hearty meal for those cold days! The Appetizers and Snacks section has wonderful suggestions for your next get-together. Try a Cheese Buffet that serves up to twelve people, or a Salmon Log. For a main entrée, Shrimp au Gratin with Sugar Browned Potatoes and a Spinach Soufflé make for a wonderful meal. Top it off with Danish Tea Cakes for dessert!

   Dear Danish Recipes is excellent for personal collections and as a memento of Danish American culture.




2. I own a few volumes of Penfield Press cookbooks, including Dear Danish Recipes. I'm not of Danish heritage, but I'm very interested in ethnic cuisine and Penfield really gives the customer good value for so little money.
   
   I like a little history with my cookbooks and every volume contains the history of that country's cuisine as well as information pinpointing significant settlements of that people (very interesting to know that Danish people settled Solvang, California, complete with a windmill, that mirrors Denmark. The late actress Inger Stevens took solace in the town, saying it reminded her of her childhood in Sweden).
   
   Of all the things in this cookbook, every Christmas I challenge myself to make the Danish Christmas Bread. That bread is the singular most difficult thing I've ever baked in my life and the most labor-intensive.
   
   This is definitely worth it as is any cookbook from Penfield. - Donna Di Giacomo

5 comments about The Basque Kitchen: Tempting Food from the Pyrenees.

1. This book is full of gorgeous pictures and inviting, unusual recipes. Most of the recipes are relatively simple, although some hard-to-find ingredients are used. Its a great book; it could have used some more careful editing. Some of the directions seem puzzling or incomplete. A good book for an experienced cook, but probably a poor choice for a novice.



2. i HAVE OFTEN ENJOYED THE EXCELLENT BASQUE FOOD AT SAN FRANCISCO'S BASQUE HOTEL, SO I WAS QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE EASY TO FOLLOW AND REALLY AUTHENTIC DISHES IN THIS TRULY FIRST CLASS BOOK. THE VERY WELL WRITTEN PREFACE TRACING THE HISTORY OF THE UNIQUE BASQUE PEOPLE WAS AN ADDED BENEFIT. HAVING NOW PREPARED MANY OF THE RECIPES FROM THIS BOOK, I CAN ONLY SAY IT IS REMARKABLE HOW WONDERFUL UNCOMPLICATED COOKING CAN BE.WHETRHER YOU ARE A NOVICE OR EXPERIENCED, YOU WILL BE REALLY SATISFIED WITH THESE RECIPES.



3. Three years ago my son gave me a copy of The Basque Kitchen, written by his good friend Gerald Hirogoyen. The book has sat on my coffee table ever since, and whenever I am in the mood for something challenging and different, I have been trying out some of its recipes.
   Then, a few days ago, my son treated me to a memorable dinner at Gerald's restaurant in San Francisco, "Piperade," which features many of the delectable dishes described in his book, and I had a chance not only to meet this kind and gentle chef but to sample firsthand his culinary skill with genuine
   Basque cuisine.
   The restaurant itself is a delightful place, its decor simple and rustic yet warm and friendly -- like the Basque people and countryside itself. We were treated like royalty and feasted on various Basque specialties: lamb chops with roasted Macheco cheese and potatoes, steak with mushrooms, fish with asparagus, and white wine from Gerald's own vineyards in Penedes, Catalunya.
   Because my son and I lived in Spain for 13 years, we have visited all four of the Basque provinces, enjoying the beautiful Pyrenees mountains, the local culture, and their native foods. Lamb barbequed over an open hearth oven and bacalao (codfish) were special favorites.
   Having worked my way through college as a part-time cook, I thoroughly relished reading about and then experimenting with many of the recipes. I found the directions easy to follow and, while my results may not have reached the perfection of Gerald's restaurant offerings, everything I prepared was tantalizingly tasty. A true gourmet delight! My personal favorites are stuffed squid in its ink, lamb chops, steak, steamed red snapper, and honey-glazed spare ribs, to mention only a few.
   Anyone who has been fortunate enough to visit the Basque region will enjoy recreating some of its culinary specialties, and anyone willing to experiment with new tastes and techniques will consider The Basque Kitchen a real find.



4. Try the marmitako. This is to the Basque country as clam chowder to New England. The version in this book is excellent and can serve as a springboard for you to create your own version.



5. Excellent cook book, very authentic with a touch of refinement illustrated by many pictures and cultural background. Many recipes have been in my family for generations but the book gave me more information about where to purchase some of the needed ingredients.
   Eskerik'asko Gerald !

4 comments about Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era.

1. Cervantes in "Don Quixote" lampoons the writers of chivalric romances for failing to address the mundane realities of life, chief among them being how their heroic knights errant managed to feed themselves. To a lesser degree, perhaps, the modern authors of nautical fiction likewise do not much address the question of how their seaborne heroes (and their crews) were fed, day in and day out. Undoubtedly this is partly because it is far more interesting to write about boarding an enemy frigate than boiling salt beef, but I suspect that it also has to do with the absence of readily available, reliable information about the subject. Now, Janet Macdonald has addressed this want of discussion with "Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era". Coming from a background of writing about cookery, she has tackled the complex and surprisingly mysterious question of how in the world the Royal Navy fed itself during the classic Age of Fighting Sail. Although it might be thought that a matter of such obvious vital importance to maintaining a fighting fleet of tens of thousands of mariners would have been recorded officially in detail, in point of fact Macdonald has had to sift through obscure primary documents such as ships' logs, personal memoirs, and period letters to adequately explore how it was all done: from procuring the foodstuffs (and drink) in the first place, to storing them, getting them to the ships in port and at sea, storing the victuals aboard, preparing meals, and serving them to officer and crews. And even with such diligent research, she must resort to informed speculation to address some questions, such as just how a ship's cook kept separate the rations for the various messes and served them out in an efficient manner. The breadth of coverage is impressive: the Navy's Victualling Board administration, officially mandated rations and substitutes, typical recipes, shipboard organization, disease and vermin, the "hardware" of food preparation and consumption (stoves and dining implements), and surrounding social customs. For anyone interested in the real world of the Royal Navy behind the fiction Horatio Hornblowers and Jack Aubreys, "Feeding Nelson's Navy" is a revelation, dispelling old myths and offering new facts such as the caloric and vitamin content of the men's meals. Macdonald throughout her book illustrates the practicalities of the subject by citing numerous real-life incidents drawn from period documents.



2. In "Feeding Nelson's Navy", author Janet MacDonald has put together some remarkable research to lay waste the myths of shipboard feeding in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
   
   The British Navy, in the long struggle against Revolutionary and then Imperial France, kept tens of thousands of men at sea for months on end. Popular myth has them subsisting on rotten salted meat and weevily bread. MacDonald shows the sailor aboard the average British warship ate a sufficient and reasonably nutritious diet. Official rations were based on biscuit (pilot bread for today's readers), salt beef, salt pork, cheese, peas, oatmeal, and beer. These were the foods which kept best in a world without refrigeration or canning. Other foods were provided when available, and the British Navy lead the way in experimenting with dried vegetables, "portable" soups, and lemon juice to stave off nutritional diseases such as scurvy.
   
   The British Navy's ability to supply its sailors with a good ration through years of war were thanks to the efforts of the Navy Board and its victualing system. MacDonald's description of its business techniques may be daunting for the reader, but the lesson is that the system was made to work, around the fleet and around the world, in a consistent manner. No other navy of the period enjoyed so much consistent success at sea.
   
   Along with the details of the ration cycle and the mechanics of the supply system, MacDonald provides considerable insight into "messing" at sea, a vital and often unremarked portion of naval culture.
   
   This book is very highly reccommended to students of the Nelsonian Navy and of the Napoleonic Wars. MacDonald has mined this particular academic niche to its reasonable limits.



3. This book tells the reader all he or she needs to know, and even some things they might not want to know about the food in the Georgian Royal Navy. In this highly detailed book, Ms. Macdonald traces the supply of food from sources to purchasing to consumption from the lower to the Captain. Included are charts of calories, vitamin content, recipes, conversion charts, etc., etc. The book is very readable and of use to the casual reader as well as the scholar. This is a permanent edition to my bookshelf.



4. Author Janet Macdonald writes an informative and in depth book about feeding English sailors in the early 19th century. Macdonald covers everything that made up the sailors diet, from hard tack (ships biscuit) to salted beef. She writes in detail for example how the hard tack was made, who made it, and how it was delivered, stored and dispensed on the ships. She covers the different subjects throughly and supports her writings with facts from many sources such as the Naval historical archives and log books to name a few sources.
   
   This book is an interesting read for those who want to know about such a integral part of the English sailor's life!

3 comments about The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book (California Studies in Food and Culture).

1. `The Art of Cooking' was written by the fifteenth century Italian Renaissance chef identified as `The Eminent Maestro Martino of Como'. This is a truly impressive and fascinating piece of culinary scholarship published in the `California Studies in Food and Culture' by the University of California Press. For serious foodies, this book documents several trends which dozens of food writers often repeat with no historical support. The book contains four major sections by three different scholars.
   
   The text from Maestro Martino himself is translated by Jeremy Parzen, a food historian and musician (I will wager that his musical speciality is the Renaissance). Fifty modern versions of Maestro Martino's recipes are interpreted by Stefania Barzini, a Roman food historian and journalist for Italy's National Food Channel (Shades of Molto Mario). The Introduction, endnotes, and textual editing are done by Luigi Ballerini, a poet, translator, scholar, and instructor of medieval and modern Italian at the University of California.
   
   By far the most engaging part of this volume is the introduction that chronicles Maestro Martino's career and his times in Renaissance Italy. Allowing for the rather dryly scholarly presentation, this often reads like a pitch for a cinematic costume drama starring Tyrone Power or Errol Flynn, with the evil cardinal played by Orson Wells or Sydney Greenstreet. All this steps right out of the pages of Machiavelli's `The Prince'. So much so that Machiavelli even shows up as a character in the story of Martino's career. As a journeyman scholar, I can attest to the fact that the story is thoroughly documented so that anyone wishing to pick up where these authors left off will find plenty of material to establish a starting point.
   
   From a culinary point of view, the most interesting facts spelled out by the introduction show that modern trends in decorative plating are a faint shadow of the kinds of extravagances created by chefs to the princes of the Italian city states and the cardinals, the princes of the church, who were often as wealthy as their secular brethren. The most important contribution of Maestro Martino appears to be the introduction of vegetables from the peasants' cuisine into the meat laden dining of the nobility. This confirms all the talk from experts of contemporary Italian cuisine that this is based heavily on the food of poverty, but it does not refute the very important observation by Paula Wolfert that one of the requirements for the rise of a great cuisine is a nobility and the corps of chefs enlisted to serve them. A secondary contribution of Maestro Martino is the extent to which he standardized culinary terminology in Italy. This was an era in which no dialect on the Italian peninsula was dominant. It was hardly a few hundred years after the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and Boccaccio's Decameron and the invention of moveable type. And, the unification of Italy was still almost 400 years off. The editor's citing this as an accomplishment reaffirms my concerns when I find culinary writers using the wrong term to describe certain cooking actions. This only reassures me that if words are not valued, the result is Babble.
   
   By far the most interesting experience I have in reading the recipes is in the similarities I see in these Renaissance dishes to the Medieval fare described in `The Medieval Kitchen', written originally in French by Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi. Both books document the love the 13th to 15th century nobility had for the `cookie spices', nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar. These ingredients literally show up in virtually every dish. No wonder there was such an interest in finding a way to get these little darlings more cheaply. One can almost hear the echos when we read of Sicilian cooks and recipes which like to add nutmeg to their greens. This practice is not only hundreds of years old, it is `home grown' and not as much an influence from the Saracens as one may think. And, Maestro Martino's introducing local vegetables may have been one of the things which changed tastes away from Asian spices, although I suspect their rarity and the arrival of New World ingredients had a lot to do with this trend as well.
   
   As a source of no more than fifty recipes written so that a modern cook can follow them, this book will not be a very good practical cookbook, especially since the dishes will tend to be either too sweet or too tart for modern tastes. The modernized recipes really are best taken as a means of understanding the connection between Renaissance dishes and their modern equivalents. The only thing I would suggest to the scholars who gave us this really fascinating volume is that pairing the original recipe texts with the modern interpretation would have done much to show us what the original author said versus the modern interpretation of his recipe. I also missed a good recipe or explanation for `verjuice' which the Larousse Gastronomique describes as a sour extraction from grapes; very similar to the wine vinegars we use today.
   
   This book and some of the others I have read recently really fuel my interest in reading a good history of gastronomy. And, if I can't find one, this book is a totally welcome treatment of food of the nobility in Renaissance Italy.
   
   Highly recommended for anyone with scholarly interests.



2. I've been reading through and trying out a number of the recipes from The Art of Cooking. Parzen and his collaborators are to be congratulated for translating this important work. I find myself somewhat puzzled and a bit unhappy at some of the recipes. The value of this work is that it showcases the flavors and techniques of another era. It seems strange that they went to so much effort removing them in order to substitute ones with which the reader would already be quite familiar.
   
   The recipe section abounds with sentences like "Martinotti's recipe is sweet, but we've made it savory because that's what modern diners are used to" and "We've eliminated the broth, changed the seasonings and added ingredients of which he would have never heard. Isn't it wonderful?"
   
   Honestly, no. If I wanted modern Italian recipes I would buy a modern Italian cookbook. There are many. The whole point is that it's Martinotti's cookbook. The reader with an interest in historical cooking would have been much happier had you turned your significant talents and impressive learning to giving examples that would allow one to create food in the style and tastes of the time. Likewise, if a recipe has remained unchanged for hundreds if not thousands of years why provide it instead of guiding the reader through the difficult parts of dishes with which he or she would not be familiar? We know how "air fritters", marzipan and sage fritters are made. As the authors crow, there has been no change over the centuries. It seems a waste to dedicate pages to these when there are so many dishes that are mysteries, truly novel and difficult to decipher.
   
   There is also the question of measures. I count three different possibilities for the "libra". There is the Ancient Roman libra, the old French livre and the libra mercatoria. Martinotti could be referring to any of them given his background. They all represent different amounts. Some guidance as to which the writers thought was meant or at least a recognition that there is some ambiguity would have been welcome.
   
   In short, the translation itself is a great service to the cook who wishes to delve into history. The modernized recipes often do little but confuse the issue and frustrate those who are looking for Martinotti's cookbook rather than Parzen's.



3. A good scholarly translation with informative introductory material. Collectors of medieval cookbooks should note the common practice of plagiarism in the period. "Epulario: The Italian Banquet" was cribbed from Como's work almost in its entirety, as were most of the recipes in Platina's "De Honesta Voluptare". If you own one, you needn't get the others, and I would recommend this one.
   I can't say I'm that impressed with the modernized versions of the recipes, but then, I'm a member of the SCA and I look for authenticity!

2 comments about The Best of Ukrainian Cuisine (Hippocrene International Cookbook Series).

1. Excited to find the best of Ukrainian cuisine won't work with this book unless you're still on a farm in some other decade. Or you like cooking with lard, grinding meat, and of course removing organs and bones from pigs - oh, yum! The author's translations in the back of the book from English to Ukrainian for ordering meals are worth a laugh. However, I think he's serious. Pass this book up.



2. An American with family members who make regular trips to Ukraine, I have some knowledge of the hearty and delicious cuisine of that wonderful country. I love this book because it presents the cuisine as it actually is in the towns of Ukraine. You are not presented with bastardized, Americanized recipes, but with the authentic cookery you would experience during a visit to a normal, middle class home.

   The book starts with a brief foreword on Ukrainian food traditions. In the back there is an 8-page bilingual dictionary of food terms and phrases to use in restaurants. In between, the book is packed with both traditional and contemporary recipes for everything from appetizers to main dishes to sweets and even a substantial section on beverages both alcoholic and not, and recipes for making several different kinds of beer.

   I highly recomment this book.