Full Description
How many otherwise well-educated readers know that the familiar orange carrot was once a novelty? It is a little more than 400 years old. Domesticated in Afghanistan in 900 AD, the purple carrot, in fact, was the dominant variety until Dutch gardeners bred the young upstart in the seventeenth century. After surveying paintings from this era in the Louvre and other museums, Dutch agronomist Otto Banga discovered this stunning transformation.
The story of the carrot is just one of the hidden tales this book recounts. Through portraits of a wide range of foods we eat and love, from artichokes to strawberries, The Carrot Purple traces the path of foods from obscurity to familiarity. Joel Denker explores how these edible plants were, in diverse settings, invested with new meaning. They acquired not only culinary significance but also ceremonial, medicinal, and economic importance. Foods were variously savored, revered, and reviled.
This entertaining history will enhance the reader's appreciation of a wide array of foods we take for granted. From the carrot to the cabbage, from cinnamon to coffee, from the peanut to the pistachio, the plants, beans, nuts, and spices we eat have little-known stories that are unearthed and served here with relish.
Contents
Introduction
Anise: The Allure of Anise
Apricot: "Moon of the Faith": Appreciating the Apricot
Artichoke: The Artichoke "Undressed"
Arugula: The "Lascivious Leaf": The Allure of Arugula
Asparagus: Asparagus: Scents and Non-Scents
Avocado: The "Butter Pear": The Mysterious Avocado
Banana: The "Curiosity of the Indies": The Baffling Banana
Basil: Holy Basil
Broccoli: "It's Not Broccoli. It's Andy Boy"
Cabbage: Head of Its Class: The Cabbage
Caper: The Wild Caper
Cardamom: From Arabia to Scandinavia: A Cardamom Chronicle
Carrot: The Carrot Purple
Cashew: The Nutty Fruit: The Curious Cashew
Celery: The Celery Cure
Chickpea: The Battle over the Bean: The Curious Chickpea
Chocolate: Food of the Gods: Chocolate
Cinnamon: "Sweet Wood": Cinnamon
Clove: The "Nail Incense": Uncovering the Clove
Coffee: The "Wine of the Bean": Coffee
Coriander: Saved from the "Two-Headed Serpent": The Curious History of Coriander
Cranberry: The "Bitter Berry": Reclaiming the Cranberry
Cucumber: The "Bilious" Cowcumber
Cumin: Hidden Punch: Cumin's Untold Story
Dill: A Fine Feathered Friend: The Wonders of Dill
Eggplant: The "Mad Apple": The Terrifying Eggplant
Fennel: The Truth about Finocchio
Garlic: The "Stinking Rose": The Wonders of Garlic
Lentil: "Poor Man's Meat": The Lentil
Mint: Vigor and Venery: The Story of Mint
Nutmeg: The "Harem Tree": Nutmeg
Olive: "A Taste as Old as Cold Water:" The Story of the Olive
Onion: Knowing Your Onions
Orange: Sweet for Sour Oranges
Papaya: The "Fruit of Angels": The Papaya
Peanut: Found a Peanut
Pear: Gift of the Gods: The Pear
Pepper, Black: Hot Commodity: A Pepper Story
Pineapple: Yes, We Have No Ananas: The Pineapple
Pistachio: The Princely Pistachio
Pomegranate: Persephone's Temptation: The Seductive Pomegranate
Potato: The "White Truffle": The Perplexing Potato
Saffron: Hunting for Gold: The Sage of Saffron
Spinach: The "Prince of Leafy Greens": Spinach
Strawberry: Sex and the Single Strawberry
Sweet Potato: Candy from the Field: The Sweet Potato
Tomatoes: "Home Grown Tomatoes"
Vanilla: The Scent of Vanilla
Walnut: Cracking the Walnut
Watermelon: "What the Angels Eat": The Watermelon
Bibliography
