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Italian Food
In Italian Food, Elizabeth David was the first to help us understand the real country cooking of Italy. Italian Food was an inspiration to British cooks when it was first published in 1954 - and it remains so to this day. Embracing the variety, richness and vibrancy of Italian cooking, with particularly reference to regional variation, Elizabeth David provides a magnificent and inspiring collection of favourite dishes as well as those more rarely encountered. With straightforward recipes for meals such as Piedmontese cheese fondue, fettuccine with fresh tomato sauce and chicken breasts with ham and cheese, Elizabeth David brings us the authentic taste of Italian food. 'Elizabeth David's clear and unpretentious directions for the enjoyment of good food have never been surpassed' Daily Mail 'Not only did she transform the way we cooked but she is a delight to read' Express on Sunday 'Britain's most inspirational food writer' Independent 'When you read Elizabeth David, you get perfect pitch. There is an understanding and evocation of flavours, colours, scents and places that lights up the page' Guardian 'Not only did she transform the way we cooked but she is a delight to read' Express on Sunday Elizabeth David (1913-1992) is the woman who changed the face of British cooking. Having travelled widely during the Second World War, she introduced post-war Britain to the sun-drenched delights of the Mediterranean and her recipes brought new flavours and aromas into kitchens across Britain. After her classic first book Mediterranean Food followed more bestsellers, including French Country Cooking, Summer Cooking, French Provincial Cooking, Italian Food, Elizabeth David's Christmas and At Elizabeth David's Table.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
Elizabeth David
105 books101 followersBorn Elizabeth Gwynne, she was of mixed English and Irish ancestry, and came from a rather grand background, growing up in the 17th-century Sussex manor house, Wootton Manor. Her parents were Rupert Gwynne, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and the Hon. Stella Ridley, who came from a distinguished Northumberland family. They had three other daughters.
She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to her love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probably never have learned to cook."
Gwynne had an adventurous early life, leaving home to become an actress. She left England in 1939, when she was twenty-five, and bought a boat with her married lover Charles Gibson-Cowan intending to travel around the Mediterranean. The onset of World War II interrupted this plan, and they had to flee the German occupation of France. They left Antibes for Corsica and then on to Italy where the boat was impounded; they arrived on the day Italy declared war on Britain. Eventually deported to Greece, living on the Greek island of Syros for a period, Gwynne learnt about Greek food and spent time with high bohemians such as the writer Lawrence Durrell. When the Germans invaded Greece they fled to Crete where they were rescued by the British and evacuated to Egypt, where she lived firstly in Alexandria and later in Cairo. There Gwynne started work for the Ministry of Information, split from Gibson-Cowan, and eventually took on a marriage of convenience, more or less as her aunt, Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, had done. This gave her a measure of respectability but Lieutenant-Colonel Tony David was a man whom she did not ultimately respect, and their relationship ended soon after an eight month posting in India. She had many lovers in ensuing years.
On her return to London in 1946, David began to write articles on cooking, and in 1949 the publisher John Lehmann offered her a £100 advance for Book of Mediterranean Food, the start of a dazzling writing career. David spent eight months researching Italian food in Venice, Tuscany and Capri. This resulted in Italian Food in 1954, with illustrations by Renato Guttuso, which was famously described by Evelyn Waugh in The Sunday Times as one of the two books which had given him the most pleasure that year.
Many of the ingredients were unknown in England when the books were first published, as shortages and rationing continued for many years after the end of the war, and David had to suggest looking for olive oil in pharmacies where it was sold for treating earache. Within a decade, ingredients such as aubergines, saffron and pasta began to appear in shops, thanks in no small part to David's books. David gained fame, respect and high status and advised many chefs and companies. In November 1965, she opened her own shop devoted to cookery in Pimlico, London. She wrote articles for Vogue magazine, one of the first in the genre of food-travel.
In 1963, when she was 49, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly related to her heavy drinking. Although she recovered, it affected her sense of taste and her libido.
She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to her love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probably never have learned to cook."
Gwynne had an adventurous early life, leaving home to become an actress. She left England in 1939, when she was twenty-five, and bought a boat with her married lover Charles Gibson-Cowan intending to travel around the Mediterranean. The onset of World War II interrupted this plan, and they had to flee the German occupation of France. They left Antibes for Corsica and then on to Italy where the boat was impounded; they arrived on the day Italy declared war on Britain. Eventually deported to Greece, living on the Greek island of Syros for a period, Gwynne learnt about Greek food and spent time with high bohemians such as the writer Lawrence Durrell. When the Germans invaded Greece they fled to Crete where they were rescued by the British and evacuated to Egypt, where she lived firstly in Alexandria and later in Cairo. There Gwynne started work for the Ministry of Information, split from Gibson-Cowan, and eventually took on a marriage of convenience, more or less as her aunt, Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, had done. This gave her a measure of respectability but Lieutenant-Colonel Tony David was a man whom she did not ultimately respect, and their relationship ended soon after an eight month posting in India. She had many lovers in ensuing years.
On her return to London in 1946, David began to write articles on cooking, and in 1949 the publisher John Lehmann offered her a £100 advance for Book of Mediterranean Food, the start of a dazzling writing career. David spent eight months researching Italian food in Venice, Tuscany and Capri. This resulted in Italian Food in 1954, with illustrations by Renato Guttuso, which was famously described by Evelyn Waugh in The Sunday Times as one of the two books which had given him the most pleasure that year.
Many of the ingredients were unknown in England when the books were first published, as shortages and rationing continued for many years after the end of the war, and David had to suggest looking for olive oil in pharmacies where it was sold for treating earache. Within a decade, ingredients such as aubergines, saffron and pasta began to appear in shops, thanks in no small part to David's books. David gained fame, respect and high status and advised many chefs and companies. In November 1965, she opened her own shop devoted to cookery in Pimlico, London. She wrote articles for Vogue magazine, one of the first in the genre of food-travel.
In 1963, when she was 49, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly related to her heavy drinking. Although she recovered, it affected her sense of taste and her libido.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 17, 2023
Update To clarify: I didn't make up the 'prayer' below. It is part of the Pastafarian religion.
When I was a child, my family used to go to Italy, sometimes for the whole summer, and I loved Italian food. At home spaghetti came in tins, Heinz Spaghetti hoops on toast. Eating out was a rare treat, unless it was the chippie, and that was a Thursday treat - greasy newspaper, fat chips doused with malt vinegar and liberal squirtings of ketchup, flaky white fish in a crisp batter - so I had no knowledge of how cheap and delicious pasta was until I left home at 17 and had no money. It took a while to learn how to cook, maybe I would have done better if I'd recited this prayer first:
What has this got to do with the Elizabeth David books? Everything. My love of food went into reading about it and eating it. I own a lot of cookery books and drool over them. Porn is best on the screen, I'm not one for dirty magazines, but recipes are best in beautifully-printed books, too ephemeral on the computer. I liked how Elizabeth David gave context to the food and recipes, it immersed me in the culture she was writing about and inspired me often to go out and eat.
Actually I wrote this just because I wanted to share the pastafarian prayer and then it sort of ran away with itself.
When I was a child, my family used to go to Italy, sometimes for the whole summer, and I loved Italian food. At home spaghetti came in tins, Heinz Spaghetti hoops on toast. Eating out was a rare treat, unless it was the chippie, and that was a Thursday treat - greasy newspaper, fat chips doused with malt vinegar and liberal squirtings of ketchup, flaky white fish in a crisp batter - so I had no knowledge of how cheap and delicious pasta was until I left home at 17 and had no money. It took a while to learn how to cook, maybe I would have done better if I'd recited this prayer first:
Our pasta, who art in a colander, draining be your noodles.I did learn to cook. In Jerusalem, leaving language school under less than auspicious circumstances *warning: rude words* and got a job in an Italian restaurant that had just three employees at lunchtime. Turns out I could cook and built up the clientele, but I was even better at restaurant design, so I increased the capacity to 40 more people, got promoted into management and other than for my son, have never willingly cooked since. I hate chopping and stirring and washing up and peel everywhere.
Thy noodle come, thy sauce be yum, on top some grated Parmesan.
Give us this day, our garlic bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trample on our lawns.
And lead us not into vegetarianism, but deliver us some pizza,
for thine is the meatball, the noodle, and the sauce, forever and ever.
R'Amen.
What has this got to do with the Elizabeth David books? Everything. My love of food went into reading about it and eating it. I own a lot of cookery books and drool over them. Porn is best on the screen, I'm not one for dirty magazines, but recipes are best in beautifully-printed books, too ephemeral on the computer. I liked how Elizabeth David gave context to the food and recipes, it immersed me in the culture she was writing about and inspired me often to go out and eat.
Actually I wrote this just because I wanted to share the pastafarian prayer and then it sort of ran away with itself.
Want to read
March 15, 2025my favorite thing (book) about my favorite thing (eating)
April 18, 2012
Maybe I was Italian in a past, past life. Reading this book made me yearn for those magical few days in Italy, eating outside, drinking cheap wine, and eating fresh, simply prepared food.
A lot of criticism for this book is that the recipes aren't very detailed. As one who never follows recipes and rather takes them as "suggestions," the book was perfect for me. I like that David doesn't dumb down the recipes for readers and already assumes some knowledge of cooking and general kitchen skills. The "recipes" are more like small nuggets of ideas that can be used to spark creativity in the kitchen.
The book was also pretty funny in how anti-French it was. David clearly sees a bias towards French cooking from her research and on her trips to the boot-shaped country. It was also good to keep in-mind the different time in which she wrote this book. I guess England was not as international-food friendly back then.
Disclaimer: I skipped the section of the book about land meat and game, because I don't usually cook or eat those animals anymore.
A lot of criticism for this book is that the recipes aren't very detailed. As one who never follows recipes and rather takes them as "suggestions," the book was perfect for me. I like that David doesn't dumb down the recipes for readers and already assumes some knowledge of cooking and general kitchen skills. The "recipes" are more like small nuggets of ideas that can be used to spark creativity in the kitchen.
The book was also pretty funny in how anti-French it was. David clearly sees a bias towards French cooking from her research and on her trips to the boot-shaped country. It was also good to keep in-mind the different time in which she wrote this book. I guess England was not as international-food friendly back then.
Disclaimer: I skipped the section of the book about land meat and game, because I don't usually cook or eat those animals anymore.
March 18, 2018
A wonderful long weekend with a well-read, well-traveled, charming, engaging friend reminiscing about our times together eating our way through Italy. That is how I felt about this book. I am going to try several of the recipes and read several of her recommended books,, but mostly I loved this for its ability to transport me to to Italy and England in her care.
February 21, 2013
I guess the reviews I read on Amazon were wrong. I bought this book b/c I am spending a month in Italy in the near future and wanted a book on the history of italian cooking (ex: where pesto comes from and why it started; knowing why rice was big in northern italy but not the south; the stories behind the sauces and dishes, not the recipes themselves). So, I was a bit disappointed...however, in her own right, David does tell a few anecdotal stories that will help (ex: in her opinion, Venice has the best food market in all of Italy, but you need to get up pretty early to see the action).
I do plan to keep this book and use it for many recipes. On that level, it's 4 stars. The authenticity in the recipes is fantastic. Sure, she doesn't give measurements, but she explains early in the book that traditional Italian cooks all had different ways to measure the same recipes, so there was no real point in taking away from the authentic style of Italian cooking. It helps to understand the food culture of Italy a bit more. They used what they had available. A coffee cup doubles as a flour measurement and so on.
I'm still on the lookout for that book that will take me through Italy and explain, not just how, but why Ragu started in Bologna, how melanzane parmigiana came to life in Sicily, etc. etc. So if anyone knows what book that is, please let me know.
I do plan to keep this book and use it for many recipes. On that level, it's 4 stars. The authenticity in the recipes is fantastic. Sure, she doesn't give measurements, but she explains early in the book that traditional Italian cooks all had different ways to measure the same recipes, so there was no real point in taking away from the authentic style of Italian cooking. It helps to understand the food culture of Italy a bit more. They used what they had available. A coffee cup doubles as a flour measurement and so on.
I'm still on the lookout for that book that will take me through Italy and explain, not just how, but why Ragu started in Bologna, how melanzane parmigiana came to life in Sicily, etc. etc. So if anyone knows what book that is, please let me know.
March 8, 2013
I have owned this book since it first came out in paperback in 1965. I have to confess have not read it from cover to cover as I do these days.The Pizza Napoletana is one of my favourites.
The book was first written in 1954 so many of its pages will be a little outdated now although I am sure there have been more recent revisions
David is still one of the greatest food writers of her generation and her books inspired me to break out and make the preparation of food a fun occupation and not a chore. I think, despite it's age you'll get plenty of enjoyment from it,February 23, 2007
If you care about food, hunger for authenticity and context, and you're not afraid of a little ambiguity, you owe it to yourself to read Elizabeth David's Italian Food and French Provincal Cooking. Elizabeth David's books, along with Richard Olney's Simple French Food, were the inspirations behind Chez Panisse and indirectly helped to spark America's interest in what it puts in its mouth.
Read
February 8, 2014The best
August 9, 2017
It is still a delight to read Elizabeth David.
This book first published in 1954 still works, surprisingly, as a great introduction into genuine Italian cooking, but has become an interesting piece of British culinary history. How the food scene has changed over the last sixty years… At least in Britain, less so in Italy.
And then there is Mrs David's language. It is beautiful, elegant, precise. And often amusing, in a very British, understated kind of way.
This book first published in 1954 still works, surprisingly, as a great introduction into genuine Italian cooking, but has become an interesting piece of British culinary history. How the food scene has changed over the last sixty years… At least in Britain, less so in Italy.
And then there is Mrs David's language. It is beautiful, elegant, precise. And often amusing, in a very British, understated kind of way.
August 3, 2021
Cookbook. You don’t just read and put it away. It will continue to be consulted. So I’d like to see a “reference” shelf along with reading, read, etc., since those descriptions don’t really fit reference books.
This is a classic cookbook, the first attempt to reflect real Italian kitchens. it is sometimes annoying with David’s strong opinions and lack of specifics in recipes, but nevertheless a useful book. You have to approach it realizing it is a historic document.
This is a classic cookbook, the first attempt to reflect real Italian kitchens. it is sometimes annoying with David’s strong opinions and lack of specifics in recipes, but nevertheless a useful book. You have to approach it realizing it is a historic document.
December 18, 2020
What would we be eating without the devoted Elizabeth David and I guess Brexit is going to do it’s very best to return us to the grey tasteless fare pre her introduction to the wonders of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.
September 23, 2018
Fantastic recipes done in the original ways
December 3, 2022
Read as a history book, not a cookbook.
August 12, 2023
This book is about the truth of Italian cooking verses the fictions of the nineteen fifties and sixties. It a fascinating historical object and David has a strong voice.
August 12, 2023
This book is about the truth of Italian cooking verses the fictions of the nineteen fifties and sixties. It a fascinating historical object and David has a strong voice.
October 18, 2025
A classic for Italian basics
December 8, 2018
food italian is very delicious like this book!!
January 1, 2020
What a fascinating look at how far we have come since the 1950s when Elizabeth David wrote this book and meat was still rationed in England. In the section in "The Italian Store Cupboard" about brodo (stock), she writes that she sometimes "had no alternative but to use the then recently introduced Swiss bouillon cubes. In those days they seemed quite acceptable. Now (1987) I don't find them so. They appear to taste predominantly of salt and monosodium glutamate".
It's amazing to see the note on the recipe for Lasagne Verde al Forno (Baked Green Lasagne) cautioning readers to "beware of those English-made green noodles that are artificially coloured. The colour comes out in the water when you cook them"
Oddly, salt and pepper are often missing from the ingredients lists, but appear in the instructions for the dishes. This omission occurs throughout several of the soup recipes. (I confess I stopped noticing with subsequent recipes.)
In spite of this oddness, the book is a wonderful resource of zillions of authentic Italian recipes.
++++++++++++++++++++++
It took me ages to finish reading this book because when I started reading a library e-version copy in January 2018, the e-copy expired and wasn't renewed by the library until late in 2019. (The library does have a hard copy of the book but it isn't as easy to read late at night because the print is quite small.)
From 1966 to 1970, the import into this country of Italian cured but uncooked pork products such as Parma ham, salame sausages and coppa, was banned owing to repeated outbreaks of African swine fever in Italy.
In April 1970 the ban was at last lifted, and, at the time of going to press with this edition, genuine Parma ham and Italian salame are once more to be found in English shops and restaurants. [The Italian Store Cupboard]
It's amazing to see the note on the recipe for Lasagne Verde al Forno (Baked Green Lasagne) cautioning readers to "beware of those English-made green noodles that are artificially coloured. The colour comes out in the water when you cook them"
Italians are inordinately fond of rosemary. [...] [F]illets of pork are most exquisitely tied up ready for roasting, adorned, almost embroidered, with rosemary. They overdo it, to my way of thinking. Rosemary has great charm as a plant but in cookery is a treacherous herb. The oil which comes from the leaves is very powerful and can kill the taste of any meat. Finding those spiky little leaves in one's mouth is not very agreeable, either. Dried, it loses some of its strength, but should still be treated with caution. [the Italian store cupboard]
~ ~ ~
How much cheese is a handful? How much more or less is a cupful? What is the capacity of a glass, a tumbler, a soup ladle? How much is a pinch? How much greater is a good pinch?
In the Introduction to this edition I have referred to the rather rough-and-ready methods by which Italian cooks tend to measure their ingredients. To a certain extent all household cooks everywhere use such methods. (In the Middle East, I remember, an English round fifty cigarette tin was a common kitchen measuring unit; simply as "a tin" of this or that ingredient I have come across this unit in published recipes, to me obviously authentic, but baffling to anyone not familiar with kitchen procedure in the countries concerned.) [Kitchen Equipment]
~ ~ ~
Italian cookery should provide plenty of ideas in this respect [of flavouring], and slavish adherence to the book is not necessary for the recipes which follow. [Soups]
Oddly, salt and pepper are often missing from the ingredients lists, but appear in the instructions for the dishes. This omission occurs throughout several of the soup recipes. (I confess I stopped noticing with subsequent recipes.)
In spite of this oddness, the book is a wonderful resource of zillions of authentic Italian recipes.
++++++++++++++++++++++
It took me ages to finish reading this book because when I started reading a library e-version copy in January 2018, the e-copy expired and wasn't renewed by the library until late in 2019. (The library does have a hard copy of the book but it isn't as easy to read late at night because the print is quite small.)
March 1, 2008
Elizabeth David has long had the reputation as a good literary stylist, but I've never found her readable. Her prose suffers from the two great flaws of the artistic personality, namely fuzzy-headed thinking and too much free-associating.
March 7, 2008
This is a classic book on traditional Italian cooking, worth reading for its introductions as much as the actual recipes. I won't cook most of the recipes (feral pig bbq, anyone?) but did copy down a few.
January 7, 2013
Lovely, historical and so interesting. Worth owning so I can go back and re-read parts. I love the fact her "voice" comes through so clearly in her writing. The version I have also has her 1962 "update" so fun to see where she disagrees with her earlier self.
December 19, 2014
A must-have for those interested in reading about early Italian cooking. What a terrible shame that Renato Guttuso's original drawings for this book have been banned from inclusion. It's worth reading "Midnight in Sicily" for additional background information on this.
April 17, 2011
My favourite cook book.
January 3, 2012
Timeless classic. I'll never stop reading it.
August 3, 2012
If you are wanting to learn about and cook Italian food; this is the book you need. It's much more than a 'cookbook'.
A classic, must-have book for any foodie.
5* without hesitation.
A classic, must-have book for any foodie.
5* without hesitation.
August 14, 2012
Again not just a cookbook, a good read. ( perhaps with a glass of wine, some olives, a few..... )
September 14, 2012
This was one of the books that started me on my love of cooking. It brought back memories of childhood journeys through Italy, and influenced my way of cooking for well on 40 years.
September 24, 2013
One of the first books on Italian cooking, and still one of the best. The seminal work of this genre. Still relevant 60 years on.
October 25, 2017
A classic. My copy is a well-thumbed treasure which I have used for over 25 years, although I now know the some of the recipes by heart. Chicken Risotto is very special.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews