Back In Time For Dinner: From Spam to Sushi: How We've Changed the Way We Eat

by Mary Gwynn

Do you remember the arrival of the fish finger, the rise and fall of Angel Delight, Vesta curries, and Wimpy hamburgers? Did you own a fondue set or host a Tupperware party, or were you starving yourself on the Cabbage Soup Diet? Was life always too short to stuff a mushroom? And what was the point of Nouvelle Cuisine? There has been a revolution in our kitchens. In 1950, the average housewife worked a 75-hour week. No one owned a fridge or had seen a teabag, let alone an avocado or a Curly Wurly. 10 years later, sugar consumption had we ate more biscuits for dinner than vegetables and fruit. It was not until the mid 1990s that we started to worry about "five a day." And now, nearly 20 years on from the first vegetable-box delivery scheme, we are fatter than ever before. Has there ever been a golden age of the family meal? Full of delicious detail, this marvelous companion to the BBC series is rich with nostalgia and provides a feast of extraordinary factual nuggets. Who can guess the filling of the first pre-packed sandwich in 1984? And who could have foreseen then that a kitchen robot that can write your shopping list is now just around the corner? Reflecting all the fads and fashions that have graced our table, Back in Time for Dinner is much more than a book about dinner; it holds a mirror to our changing family lives.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2015

Reviews

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It got a little chewy and monotonous in places, but for the most part this was an informative and interesting read.

[Jonathan Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book. It brought back so many memories of long forgotten foods and brands. Not only was I amazed at what I suddenly remembered eating, but also what was around at different periods which I had a lucky escape from and had never eaten.

Not only is it a great trip down memory lane but it is a really good analyses of what might be to come. Maybe it is the cynic in me though, but when I put the book down, I kept on thinking: "Soylent Green is People! Soylent Green is People!"

[Chris Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that really captures how eating has changed to reflect the changes in society. For someone who has not lived through all these changes, it is fascinating to hear of the progression that has occurred and of how history is releasing itself. The style is engaging and this is well worth reading.

[Shatterlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, there's nothing new here but it's a good history of dinner, what we eat and how we eat. I read this as my micro history for the read harder challenge

[Kathryn Moody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating social and culinary history, loved the TV series, loved the book. The story of my life :-)