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No other food is as nutritionally crucial, symbolically important or controversial as fat. Butter, oil, tallow, lard, schmaltz - culinary fats have not only shaped world cuisines, they are themselves steeped in cultural and symbolic meanings. From Palaeolithic times to contemporary popular culture, fats have been simultaneously essential to life and a decadent indulgence. Alternately reviled and revered, fats have been linked to both power and poverty, and associated with sex and death.
Fats: A Global History tells the story of this extraordinary substance. In her engaging and wide-ranging account, Michelle Phillipov considers the changing fates and fortunes of fats across time and around the globe. From their past associations with prestige and social authority, to their links to the food industry practices and health scares of the twentieth century, to fats current renaissance in media and popular culture, she explores the complex meanings, debates and controversies that have surrounded this most basic of foods.
Featuring a selection of recipes from around the world, Fats reveals the sometimes surprising history of the cultural life of culinary fat.
About the author
Michelle Phillipov is a research fellow and senior lecturer in journalism, media, and communications at the University of Tasmania in Australia. She is the author of
Death Metal and
Music Criticism.
Summary
Featuring a selection of recipes from around the world, Fats explores the complex meanings, debates and controversies that have surrounded this most basic yet fundamental food.
