Delicioso: A History of Food in Spain

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Spanish cuisine is a melting-pot of cultures, flavours and ingredients: Greek and Roman, Jewish, Moorish and Middle Eastern. It has been enriched by its climate, geology and spectacular topography, which have encouraged a variety of regional food traditions and 'Cocinas', such as Basque, Galician, Castilian, Andalusian and Catalan. It has been shaped by the country's complex history, as foreign occupations brought religious and cultural influences that determined what people ate and still eat. It has continually evolved with the arrival of new ideas and foodstuffs from Italy, France and the Americas, including cocoa, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and chilli peppers.

This is the first book in English to trace the history of the food of Spain from antiquity to the present day. From the use of pork fat and olive oil to the Spanish passion for aubergines and pomegranates, Mara Jos Sevilla skilfully weaves together the history of Spanish cuisine, the circumstances affecting its development and characteristics, and the country's changing relationship to food and cookery.

Reviews

"In the past two decades, the reputation of Spanish food on the world's culinary stage has skyrocketed, with chefs like Ferran Adri, the Roca brothers, the Arzaks and Jos Andrs in the lead. But as Delicioso, a new history of Spanish food explains, it is not a sudden phenomenon. The illustrated book is a dense, scholarly survey that starts with prehistory some 80,000 years ago. It traces the contributions to the Spanish table by ancient Rome; Moorish, Christian and Jewish cultures; European royalty; and foods of the New World. The effects of social and political change, years of war and the rise of the influential Spanish chefs of today are covered, as are ingredients like olives, anchovies and chocolate; markets; dishes like cocido; and time-honored utensils. There's a quick survey of food across Spain, region by region."--Florence Fabricant "New York Times"

Author Bio

Mara Jos Sevilla has for much of her career been a broadcaster and writer of Spanish food culture. Her previous books include Life and Food in the Basque Country (1989), Spain on a Plate (1992) and Mediterranean Flavours (1995). She lives in London, UK.