The ultimate foodie's bible
The Oxford Companion to Food - Alan Davidson, ed. Tom Jaine
Robyn Lewis
The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson [©Oxford University Press]
True foodies swoon when they see this book. Just to be in the same room or to touch it can induce foodie delight - and an ultimate foodie dream is to own a copy, taking pride of place in one's cookbook collection or, for the true gastronome, one's food library.
However The Oxford Companion to Food is no ordinary cookbook - indeed, it contains few recipes. Rather it is a guide and dictionary of the bounty of the earth, and of the transformation of this largesse into the many and varied dishes and culinary creations of our major cultures. From France to South America, alligator to mangosteens, jiaozi to ginseng, The Oxford Companion to Food explores and demystifies many plant and animal contributions not only to our diet, but to our enjoyment of life.
"If it moves (or grows), eat it" might be a catchcry in some parts of the world - but what is it, and how do people cook and consume it? How did charcuterie evolve? Who was La Varenne, and what is macedoine? What is the difference between organic and biodynamic? The secret ingredient that makes genuine baklava taste so wonderfully rich? The hundreds of varieties of cheese? How do you make 'white coffee'? The answers lie here - along with many, many others - enough to satisfy the casually interested to the truly epicurious.
Created over more than twenty years ago by author Alan Davidson, and now revised and updated by Tom Jaime, The Oxford Companion to Food would surely make the Top 10 for inclusion in mankind's time capsule. But it is far more than a dictionary, it is a labour of love - of food, of people, of cultural diversity and our shared culinary evolution. When the first edition was published in 1999 it became an overnight success and won multiple awards; this new edition brings us up to date in this fast-evolving subject of all things food.
But why buy this book when we now have Wikipedia and Google? For one, 'you don't know what you don't know' - and thus cannot search for it, or browse for enlightenment. For those planning to travel with food in mind, it is also inspirational and a guide to not missing signature regional dishes - those that can never be properly re-created beyond the source of the ingredients or in the absence of the special techniques honed to perfection by local experts. And for those aiming or professing to be a foodie, it is essential, if only so your knowledge can be favourably displayed when faced with obscure terms in restaurant menus.
Neither is this a book for the time poor, seeking to create and consume meals in fifteen minutes. Fast food it is not, although you can read about breakfast cereals, hamburgers and fries, along with fine herbs and caviar. Sure, a quick reference to a particular ingredient is possible, and indeed the way most people will approach this book, but The Oxford Companion to Food was written "with the intention that browsing through it should be a pleasure", as indeed it is.
As is correct in this day and age, being about food this review will end with a warning: when you dip into The Oxford Companion to Food your gastric juices will surely begin to flow, so make sure you settle down with something good to eat and drink before embarking on exploring this lifetime culinary journey.
The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, Edited by Tom Jaine is published by Oxford University Press (2nd edition, 2006) and is available from good booksellers worldwide. RRP A$135.
VisitVineyards.com and Winepros Archive subscribers may buy online at a subscribers-only 12.5% discounted price through our book partners, Seekbooks (postage extra).
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