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Overview
Why do cuisines everywhere produce the same kinds of dishes - tart refreshing salads, hearty meals in a pot, palate-tickling condiments? Popular food historian Elisabeth Rozin has long been fascinated with the universal activity called cooking. In her first book, the much admired and highly influential Flavor Principle Cookbook (later revised, expanded, and republished as Ethnic Cuisine), she codified the various flavor combinations that characterize ethnic and regional cuisines and differentiate them from one another. Now in The Universal Kitchen she focuses on similarities rather than differences, on the structures and techniques shared by cultures throughout history. The book begins with the most basic dish of all, "Meat on a Stick," ranging from Armenian Shish Kabob to Singapore Beef Satay to Creole Barbecued Oysters. Similarly, the theme of dough wrapped around a savory stuffing is illustrated by such variations as Indian samosas, Mexican quesadillas, and Jewish knishes. Earthy and erudite, Rozin takes us on a gastronomic odyssey, from the classic Salade Nicoise to her grandma's unburnt cucumber salad, to show how the food of people all over the world has evolved along similar lines, a testament to the kitchen as a focus of our common humanity and to the cook as the interpreter of our shared culinary heritage.The acclaimed author of Blue Corn and Chocolate and Ethnic Cuisine now explores the timeless tastes and principles of world cuisine with this collection of 250 contrasting recipes in chapters structured around a technique, a mode of presentation, or a type of dish. The variations are almost endless. Line drawings.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
In this multi-ethnic cookbook, Rozin, a James Beard Award nominee (The Primal Cheeseburger and Ethnic Cuisine), reveals culinary patterns that span the globe and unite far-flung cuisines. Throughout, she offers historical and linguistic perspectives on such topics as the development of the word "stew," our taste for sugar and the discovery of the cooking fire. Chapters are arranged by cooking concepts: Meat on a Stick; The Primal Soup; Little Bits of Meat; Vegetable Refreshments. Rozin demystifies exotic dishes by demonstrating their links to familiar recipes. Tomato Bulgar and Toasted Noodle Pilaf, after all, isn't so different from All-American Marcaroni Casserole. After following a succulent recipe for Mexican Carnitas, one has only to alter the spices to produce the next recipe in the section, Chinese Meat Shreds. The recipes are eclectic (Cypriot Spiced Sausage Roll; Venison Stew with Dried Cranberries; Turkish Swordfish Kabob) and generally robust (Jollof Rice with Shrimp; Afghani Leek Dumplings with Minted Yogurt; Harvest Vegetable Spice Cake). Even the salads are boldJapanese Eggplant and Double Ginger Salad; Hungarian Wilted Pepper Salad. Calling for ingredients generally available, these recipes offer the home cook a chance to sample the flavors of the global village. (Sept.)Library Journal
Food historian and cookbook author Rozin (Blue Corn and Chocolate, LJ 2/15/92) has written a fascinating account of how closely related our different culinary traditions actually are. She draws interesting connections between dishes from all over the world to prove her point, showing, for example, that many cuisines use a saut of onions and other aromatic vegetables as a flavoring base (from Spain's sofrito to France's mirepoix to the Malaysian rempeh) or how similar the knish, the samosa, and the spring roll are. In chapters that include "Meat on a Stick," "Broken Eggs," and "The Condimental Extra," she provides both traditional and cross-cultural recipes from cuisines as diverse as those of Burma, Greece, and Afghanistan, most of them not overly complicated and all of them mouthwatering. Highly recommended.Book Details
Published
October 1, 1997
Publisher
Penguin USA (P)
Pages
400
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780140257823