The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat
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Author:
Siegel, Matt
Status:
Available from OverDrive

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Published:
HarperCollins 2021
Format:
Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
08/31/2021
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780062973221
ASIN:
B08NPTHC14

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Citations

APA Citation (style guide)

Matt Siegel. (2021). The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Matt Siegel. 2021. The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Matt Siegel, The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. HarperCollins, 2021.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Matt Siegel. The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. HarperCollins, 2021.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.

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Date Added:
Sep 14, 2021 12:09:57
Date Updated:
Nov 07, 2022 23:28:10
Last Metadata Check:
Sep 14, 2025 07:24:30
Last Metadata Change:
Aug 31, 2025 07:22:15
Last Availability Check:
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Last Availability Change:
Aug 10, 2025 21:52:54
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
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OverDrive Product Record

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        Matt Siegel has written about food and culture for publications including the Atlantic and the Paris Review. Previously an English professor, he now lives in Richmond, Virginia, where he writes full time and consults with brands in the food and beverage industries. His dog's name is Waffles.

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The Secret History of Food
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An irreverent, surprising, and entirely entertaining look at the little-known history surrounding the foods we know and love
Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?

"As a species, we're hardwired to obsess over food," Matt Siegel explains as he sets out "to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths." Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths—and realities—of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis.

The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical, cultural, scientific, sexual, and, yes, culinary subcultures of this most essential realm. Siegel is an armchair Anthony Bourdain, armed not with a chef's knife but with knowledge derived from medieval food-related manuscripts, ancient Chinese scrolls, and obscure culinary journals. Funny and fascinating, The Secret History of Food is essential reading for all foodies.

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An irreverent, surprising, and entirely entertaining look at the little-known history surrounding the foods we know and love
Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?

"As a species, we're hardwired to obsess over food," Matt Siegel explains as he sets out "to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths." Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths—and realities—of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis.

The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical,...

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