Let the Meatballs Rest: And Other Stories About Food and Culture (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)
This collection of essays on food and eating delights and surprises at every turn. Professor of history at the University of Bologna, Montanari thinks long and hard about the foods we eat, and his magisterial command of history, literature, and language offers an abundance of worthwhile insights into the significance of every morsel on the table. He looks to the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau for evidence of humans’ transition from hunting to agriculture. He explains how chocolate is returning to its original form, having evolved from its Mayan roots as a bitter, spicy beverage to one highly sugared and now reverting to its origins with the introduction of chocolate bars laced with chili peppers and salt. Montanari’s erudition is manifest throughout the book. He assiduously avoids both commonplaceness and pedantry and provokes thought, thrilling anyone looking to understand on a profound level why we eat what we eat. --Mark Knoblauch