Plant Foods of Greece : A Culinary Journey to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages

• Autore: Valamoti Soultana Maria
• Pubblicazione: Tuscaloosa : , : University of Alabama Press, , 2023; ©2023
• Edizione: 1st ed.
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (513 pages)
• Disciplina: 394.1/20938
• Soggetto topico: Prehistoric peoples - Food - Greece; Food habits - Greece - History - To 1500; Plants, Edible - Greece - History - To 1500; Neolithic period - Greece; Bronze age - Greece
• Nota di contenuto: Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Stories Told from Ancient Grains an Archaeobotanical Exploration of Prehistoric Cuisine -- 1. The Dawn of a New Culinary Landscape: Plant Foods of Europe's First Farmers -- 2. Prehistoric Cereal Foods -- 3. Pulses: Adding Protein, Color, and Variety -- 4. Oil Plants in the Prehistoric Cuisines of the Aegean -- 5. Beyond Prehistoric Fields: The Harvest of Fruits and Nuts -- 6. Special Fermented Brews: Exploring the Alcoholic Drinks of Prehistoric Greece -- 7. A Cuisine of Healing -- 8. The Transformation of Plants into Dishes: Cooking for Daily and Special Occasions -- 9. Plant Foods and Identity in Prehistoric Greece -- 10. Eating the Past: Ancient Grains, Prehistoric Cuisine, and the Public -- 11. Cooking with Plant Ingredients of Prehistoric Greece: Recipes -- Appendix A: Tables -- Appendix B: AMS Dates -- References Cited -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: "Greek archaeologist Soultana Maria Valamoti takes readers on a culinary journey in her synthesis of plant foods and culinary practices of Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece. Plant foods were the main ingredients of daily meals in prehistoric Greece and most likely of special dishes prepared for feasts and rituals. For more than thirty years, Valamoti has been analyzing a large body of archaeobotanic data that spans 7,000 years from the Neolithic to Bronze Age and that was retrieved from nearly one hundred sites in mainland Greece and the Greek islands. This book also reflects experimentation and research of ancient written sources. Her approach allows an exploration of culinary variability through time. The thousands of charred seeds identified from occupation debris correspond to minuscule time capsules. She is able to document changes from the cooking of the first farmers to the sophisticated cuisines of the elites who inhabited palaces in the first cities of Europe in the south of Greece during the Late Bronze Age. Along the way, she explains the complex processes for the addition of new ingredients (such as millet and olives), condiments, sweet tastes, and complex recipes. "Ancient Grains" also explores regional variability and diversity. Rich chapters are devoted to overviewing plantstuffs in their spatial and temporal distribution, with ritual and symbolic significance noted, and also to broader themes and practices. The main chapters are on bread/cereals, pulses, oils, fruit and nuts, fermented brews, healing foods, cooking, and identity. Valamoti also offers insight into engaging in public archaeology and provides recipes that incorporate ancient plant ingredients and connect prehistory to the present in a critical way. Finally, a thorough bibliography also includes archaeobotanical publications in Greek. Copious color and black and white photos enhance the text"--
• Titolo autorizzato: Plant Foods of Greece
• ISBN: 9780817394530; 9780817321598
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910861064503321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II
• Serie: Archaeology of Food Series