Matt Siegel. (2021). The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. Unabridged HarperAudio.

Matt Siegel. 2021. The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. HarperAudio.

Matt Siegel, The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. HarperAudio, 2021.

Matt Siegel. The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. Unabridged HarperAudio, 2021.

OverDrive Product Record

images

• cover:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img100.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg
• thumbnail:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img200.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg
• cover150Wide:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/DF3/569/60/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img150.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg
• cover300Wide:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/DF3/569/60/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img400.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg

formats

1. • identifiers:
     1. • type: ISBN
        • value: 9780062973238
   • name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
   • id: audiobook-mp3
2. • identifiers:
     1. • type: ISBN
        • value: 9780062973238
   • name: OverDrive Listen
   • id: audiobook-overdrive

mediaType

Audiobook

primaryCreator

• role: Author
• name: Matt Siegel

title

The Secret History of Food

dateAdded

2021-08-27T17:36:00Z

contentDetails

1. • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=6286789
   • type: text/html
   • account:
     • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
     • id: 1151

sortTitle

Secret History of Food Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat

crossRefId

6286789

subtitle

Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat

id

DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8

starRating

3.7

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain

False

formats

1. • duration: 05:35:20
   • fileName: TheSecretHistoryofFo_9780062973238_6286789
   • partCount: 6
   • fileSize: 158615139
   • identifiers:
     1. • type: ISBN
        • value: 9780062973238
   • rights:
     1. • type: PlayOnPC
        • value: 1
     2. • type: PlayOnPCCount
        • value: -1
     3. • type: BurnToCD
        • value: 1
     4. • type: BurnToCDCount
        • value: -1
     5. • type: PlayOnPM
        • value: 1
     6. • type: TransferToSDMI
        • value: 1
     7. • type: TransferToNonSDMI
        • value: 1
     8. • type: TransferCount
        • value: -1
     9. • type: CollaborativePlay
        • value: 0
     10. • type: PublicPerformance
         • value: 0
     11. • type: TranscodeToAAC
         • value: 1
   • name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
   • isReadAlong: False
   • bundledTitles:
     1. • format: ebook-pdf-adobe
        • id: 6844AD9B-8146-4C6B-9A89-7813DA6B1E77
     2. • format: ebook-overdrive
        • id: 6844AD9B-8146-4C6B-9A89-7813DA6B1E77
   • id: audiobook-mp3
   • onSaleDate: 8/31/2021
   • samples:
     1. • source: From the book
        • formatType: audiobook-overdrive
        • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=df356960-8e9e-4382-bdb4-4df5d59d1cc8&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
2. • duration: 05:30:23
   • fileName: SecretHistoryofFoodStrangebutTrueStoriesAboutt-176
   • partCount: 0
   • fileSize: 158591475
   • identifiers:
     1. • type: ISBN
        • value: 9780062973238
   • name: OverDrive Listen
   • isReadAlong: False
   • bundledTitles:
     1. • format: ebook-pdf-adobe
        • id: 6844AD9B-8146-4C6B-9A89-7813DA6B1E77
     2. • format: ebook-overdrive
        • id: 6844AD9B-8146-4C6B-9A89-7813DA6B1E77
   • id: audiobook-overdrive
   • onSaleDate: 8/31/2021
   • samples:
     1. • source: From the book
        • formatType: audiobook-overdrive
        • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=df356960-8e9e-4382-bdb4-4df5d59d1cc8&.epub-sample.overdrive.com

creators

1. • role: Author
   • fileAs: Siegel, Matt
   • bioText:

     Matt Siegel has written about food and culture for publications including the Atlantic and the Paris Review. Previously an English professor, he now lives in Richmond, Virginia, where he writes full time and consults with brands in the food and beverage industries. His dog's name is Waffles.

   • name: Matt Siegel
2. • role: Narrator
   • fileAs: Wayne, Roger
   • name: Roger Wayne

publishDate

2021-08-31T00:00:00-04:00

edition

Unabridged

isOwnedByCollections

True

title

The Secret History of Food

fullDescription

An irreverent, surprising, and entirely entertaining look at the little-known history surrounding the foods we know and love

Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?

"As a species, we're hardwired to obsess over food," Matt Siegel explains as he sets out "to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths." Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths—and realities—of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis.

The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical, cultural, scientific, sexual, and, yes, culinary subcultures of this most essential realm. Siegel is an armchair Anthony Bourdain, armed not with a chef's knife but with knowledge derived from medieval food-related manuscripts, ancient Chinese scrolls, and obscure culinary journals. Funny and fascinating, The Secret History of Food is essential reading for all foodies.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

reviews

1. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     October 1, 2021
     

     Foodies and trivia lovers will eat up this irreverent and fascinating book about the origins, misconceptions, sciences, and subcultures behind certain foods and spices. Siegel digs deep to uncover weirdly entertaining facts about food that will leave listeners alternately fascinated and moderately disgusted. From the origins of a well-known cereal, to mummified heads in honey, to the most expensive and exotic spice in the world being a synonym for boring--there's something for everyone. Over the course of 10 chapters, Siegel spills the beans on so many different "common" foods; walking into the grocery store or showing up at a potluck with a favorite dish will never be the same again. Brilliantly read by Roger Wayne who suffuses energy and hilarity into his narration. VERDICT A feast for the mind.--Erin Cataldi, Johnson Cty. P.L., Franklin, IN

     Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

2. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content: Roger Wayne embraces the author's enthusiasm and has many fun moments narrating this irreverent, informed guide to little known stories about food. From his emulation of a squeaky, pretentious English cookbook writer downgrading American pie to his imitation of a working-class Brit in a quote from TRAINSPOTTING, Wayne's voice work shines. The pie section is splendid: American pie, especially, is celebrated, and British pies with their unsavory fillings and coffin-lid top crusts are disparaged. The author is also witty when discussing nineteenth-century food experts (read charlatans) Graham and Kellogg, whose names live on as brands. His explanations of why tomatoes have lost their flavor (bred to travel) and potatoes are so uniform (thank McDonald's) are educational and clever. This audiobook enlightens as it entertains. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
3. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     May 31, 2021
     Food writer Siegel debuts with a delightful and unusual look at the evolution of food. The famed early-19th-century French food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once claimed, “Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are.” Siegel takes these words to heart, asserting that “what we eat defines us not just physically but psychologically, socially, symbolically, and spiritually.” He bolsters this notion with research that suggests that parents’ food diets can affect everything from their offspring’s metabolism to disease resistance, and impact their children’s tastes even before their “first bite of food.” (In one such study, “infants whose mothers consumed carrot juice during pregnancy... showed a greater preference for carrot-flavored cereal.”) He traces how apple pie became “the ultimate symbol” of American independence, innovation, and excess, and shares zany facts on everything from vanilla (which was a term of endearment until the 1800s) to honey and chili peppers (both of which have been used in “ritual torture”). The food-related trivia surprises throughout, such as the tumultuous history of the tomato, including a fruit-versus-vegetable debate that ended in the U.S. Supreme Court and its long suspected poisonous attributes thanks to its connection to its cousin, the lethal nightshade. An invigorating culinary romp through time, this is a cheeky treat for history buffs and foodies alike.

popularity

1264

links

• self:
  • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/df356960-8e9e-4382-bdb4-4df5d59d1cc8/metadata
  • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json

id

df356960-8e9e-4382-bdb4-4df5d59d1cc8

starRating

3.7

images

• cover:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img100.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg
• thumbnail:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img200.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg
• cover150Wide:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/DF3/569/60/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img150.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg
• cover300Wide:
  • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/DF3/569/60/{DF356960-8E9E-4382-BDB4-4DF5D59D1CC8}Img400.jpg
  • type: image/jpeg

isPublicPerformanceAllowed

False

languages

1. • code: en
   • name: English

subjects

1. • value: Cooking & Food
2. • value: Essays
3. • value: History
4. • value: Nonfiction

publishDateText

08/31/2021

otherFormatIdentifiers

1. • type: ISBN
   • value: 9780062973207

mediaType

Audiobook

shortDescription

An irreverent, surprising, and entirely entertaining look at the little-known history surrounding the foods we know and love

Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?

"As a species, we're hardwired to obsess over food," Matt Siegel explains as he sets out "to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths." Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths—and realities—of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis.

The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical,...

sortTitle

Secret History of Food Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat

crossRefId

6286789

subtitle

Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat

publisher

HarperAudio

bisacCodes

1. • code: CKB030000
   • description: Cooking / Essays & Narratives
2. • code: CKB041000
   • description: Cooking / History
3. • code: SOC055000
   • description: Social Science / Agriculture & Food