Encyclopedia of Kitchen History

Citation

Coleman, P.D. (2006), "Encyclopedia of Kitchen History", British Food Journal, Vol. 108 No. 8, pp. 691-692. https://doi.org/10.1108/00070700610682364

Most of us are familiar with encyclopedias whether they are of a more traditional nature or specific to a particular theme and many homes have at least one on a shelf somewhere in their household. By their very nature, encyclopedias are reference books that are usually kept and referred to when necessary. A vast range of them can also be found in museums, libraries, educational establishments, and industrial organisations all over the world. Such places stock a wide variety of specialist encyclopedias which can contain information about everything from insects to outer space. It is arguably within the specialist field of the culinary arts and sciences that this text belongs. It is an encyclopedia with a difference!

This publication is unique in that it explores the history of the kitchen itself instead of the individual and specific themes that are usually associated with the kitchen, i.e. food, drink, recipes, and culinary methods. There are definite social, cultural, industrial and technological perspectives among the wide range of topics included within it, and all of these are brought together within alphabetical entries that each provide historical and chronological viewpoints and reference lists for further research and reading. One only has to read the acknowledgements to see the range and experience of the various people involved with the production of the encyclopedia, e.g. a camping enthusiast, a chemical engineer, reference librarians, and a folklorist. The target audience is clearly a wide one; members of the public, researchers, academics, students, chefs, and historians should all find this a valid source of information as well as a “good read”. Whoever the reader may be however, they should not expect to find in‐depth detail in each of the entries. As the author states, it is an “A to Z overview of over 30 topics  … ”. It does however, include numerous other sources of information for those who wish to pursue specific areas further.

For even the most casual reader, there is plenty to whet one's appetite, ranging from Aprons to Yeast and Aphrodisiacs to Witches, all within the context of places to prepare and often eat, food. The choice of topics and entries is wide, but one cannot help feeling a little puzzled about why these specific topics were chosen for inclusion; whilst the preface is comprehensive, it does not seem to include a detailed rationale for many the contents. Those that are included however, are well‐explained and interesting to read, and there are a number of entries that deserve close inspection. As someone who has been involved with cooking for much of my life, I found much to appreciate, but perhaps the entries that especially caught my eye were those that focused upon types of “kitchens” that were and in some cases, still are, quite different to what I have been associated with. These include for example, Monastery kitchens, Hay‐box cooking, Frontier kitchens, and Amish kitchens. To try and understand and “get a feel for” what the early pioneers in America went through after they left behind their “settled kitchens” and “dry goods stores” is something that does not come across on the television or in films, but is well‐explained within this encyclopedia. They had to forage and hunt for much of their food and everything had to be firmly fixed to their wagons in case it fell off during the journeys; any trading was undertaken on their way. From a quite different perspective, monasteries were among the first residences to introduce a structured approach to managing a kitchen and the production of food, whilst trying to embrace early technology. What is also interesting about this “book” is that it does not confine the entries to purely kitchen or culinary backdrops. Social and gender aspects are included with many references to ways of life and how people managed to survive in what frequently were very difficult times.

Being an encyclopedia, the structure and sequence of it is clearly well‐defined and it is quite easy to find the entries. One cannot help but get the feeling however, that page numbers on the contents page would not have just provided that little extra assistance, and if as it is an A‐Z as described by the author, why are there no entries under X or Z? Small points possibly, but slightly irritating none the less. It is however, a novel approach to an encyclopedia and as such, initially, the audience may be slightly limited, although those potential readers who are interested in all things gastronomic will inevitably find it a valuable addition to their bookshelf. It certainly merits a place in my office for those occasions when my more interested students want to find out something which is not available in the more traditional texts.