Imprint
- Quercus
Prose: non-fiction, Food & society
Ever wondered where noodles came from? How Worcester Sauce was invented? Or even who the 'Cucumber King of Burma' was? Beginning with the hippo soup eaten in Africa in 6000 BC, through to the dangerous blowfish enjoyed in contemporary Japan, A Curious History of Food and Drink reveals the bizarre origins of the food and drink consumed throughout history.
From the pheasant brains and flamingo tongues scoffed by the Roman emperor Vitellius, to the unusual uses of liquorice (once a treatment for sore feet) - Ian Crofton makes use of original sources - including journals, cookbooks and manuals - to reveal the bizarre, entertaining and informative stories behind the delicacies enjoyed by our ancestors.
Ian Crofton
Ian Crofton has compiled many works of reference, books of quotations and miscellanies over the years, including A Dictionary of Musical Quotations (with Donald Fraser), A Dictionary of Art Quotations, The Guinness Encyclopedia (as editor-in-chief), Brewer's Dictionary of Curious Titles, and, with John Ayto, Brewer's Britain and Ireland and the second edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable. He lives in North London with his family and three whippets.
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