義大利美食史：在神話與刻板印象之外

Foods and Nations

by Fabio Parasecoli, 柯松韻 (Translator)

瑪格麗特披薩、義式寬麵、帕瑪森起司、瑞可塔起司……我們真的要感謝義大利提供了這些令人大快朵頤的美食。

　　義大利有令人眼花撩亂的葡萄酒、起司、麵包、蔬菜、薩拉米香腸等等，不論是披薩店、冰淇淋店、家庭式餐館，或米其林餐廳，對美食家來說，義大利已經成為聖地。本書主要就在探討大眾對義大利美食的痴迷，以及義大利美食如何演變成為今日的形式。

　　幾個世紀以來，義大利等地中海國家常常必須對抗糧食短缺，戰爭，入侵和不利的農業環境。由於缺少肉類和奶製品，因此發展出依賴穀物、豆類和蔬菜的美食之路，直到一九五○年代後期，經濟發展才使得大多數義大利人能夠負擔得起更多樣化的飲食。作者爬梳了過去半個世紀以來，新的包裝、保存技術、大量生產以及更複雜的運輸和分配系統，使該國人口對食物的看法發生了深刻的變化。

　　飲食的歷史不能只簡化成外在的層次，生活物質文化中的科技與科學、日常的儀式與必須品、品味的形式都緊扣飲食的歷史。本書將同時檢視美食學的歷史，也就是食物在歷史上如何被看待、談論、呈現。討論的內容包括：最早出現在希臘城邦時期的西西里島的幾篇食評，如何誕生；中古世紀與文藝復興的作家如何將不同類型的食物化為概念，探討食物對身體的影響；以及，在義大利統一之後，出身羅馬涅（Romagna）地區的商人佩雷格利諾．奧圖西（Pellegrino Artusi），如何塑造出新的語言來談論烹飪。不過，要了解義大利複雜的食物史，還必須討論在文化層面上，製造、分配、消費的經濟議題。

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, History, Italy, Food History, Food and Drink, Cooking

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

FABIO PARASECOLI is President of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and teaches on food history, culture and the arts at the Città del Gusto School in Rome and at New York University. He is also a journalist for the food and wine magazine Gambero Rosso and author of Food Culture in Italy.

Reviews

[Bren]

This is a very informative book that starts in ancient times with the Phoenicians, Greeks, etc., and works its way up to modern times. The book is mostly about the politics and history of the food industries, be it farming, land ownership, migrant workers, fast food chains, etc. Considering the title of the book, the majority of the book doesn't deal with the actual food or the history of particular dishes. So despite the wealth of information, it is a pretty dry read by and large.

[Ally Boyd]

This is a fascinating, historical take on Italian food written by a New York based Italian American professor. All aspects of gastronomy are covered; revealing the cultural, political, geographical, social, fiscal and historical influence on Italian food over centuries. These influences are explored with academic acumen to uncover an in depth study which would be beneficial to anyone with a passion for Italian cuisine.