Debbie Stone and Gini Cunningham
Debbie: “We open the fridge door and stare into it, long and hard, as if it will hold the answers to life’s great questions.”
And so, begins my fascination with food history… I love food, history! That may seem weird, I know, but perhaps if you read Consider The Fork: a history of how we cook and eat by Bea Wilson, you would love it too. It is delightful!
Originally, I had told Gini it was a little dry, but that was because I was only a few pages in. Once I really got started, I was hooked. A non-fiction page turner? Well, I do agree it kept me wanting to know more about cooking, cuisine, and cultural habits.
The book is well written, very informative, and funny. It is a combination of food development in regards to cooking technique as well as the tools utilized. Our cooking and eating habits have changed greatly over the years.
The author explains how people throughout history have been resistant to change in the kitchen, which seems so odd to us now. Afterall, why wouldn’t we want silverware or special pots and pans? But at the time each item was revolutionary.
Things that weren’t exactly revolutionary - kitchen gadgets (I mean who really needs a banana slicer?) One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “… kitchen cupboards are graveyards of passions died”. Now doesn’t that sound about right? My cupboards are filled with unused fancy gadgets guaranteed to make my life easier. But pots, pans, silverware, plates, bowls, knives, and refrigeration? Now these items have truly made human lives easier.
If you want to find out how all these things have been “considered” and adapted throughout history, read the book. I think you will really enjoy it. I did.
Gini: When Debbie selected this non-fiction book, I wondered about a couple of items: Debbie and non-fiction elicited surprise on my part; a book on forks? Could this be possible or not? I am pleased to disclose that I loved this book. Imagine a gastronomic documentary type of book standing as a page-turning reading adventure. The book has humor, seriousness, details, and historical background on a wide variety of kitchen utensils. From knives (that came first) to forks, spoons, and chopsticks and on to gourds, pottery, copper, ceramic and cast-iron cookware, detailed descriptions abound. Do you know why restaurant chopsticks come paper wrapped just for you? Read and discover interesting facts as they appear on each page.
A couple favorite excerpts include describing woks and cast-iron “polymerizing” to season these receptacles for best flavor and life of the pan, Wilson states, “Over time, the pan becomes as slick as Brylcreem” when oiled and baked to prime. Some won’t understand this slippery hairstyling cream idea, but my imagination ran with the thought of this greasy goo glistening from my frypan.
Then arrives the mandolin and emergency personnel hollering, “Lady with a mandolin…” as blood drips from a hastily engraved bleeding cut from the sharp blades of this marvelous gadget. “Watch your fingers!” written on the box proves inadequate to the purchaser of this slicer. I recall bandages and stitches when someone prepared veggies with this tool.
Then comes the description of “Kitchens as a place of violence. People get burned, scarred, frozen, and above all, cut.” Yep! I can relate to all four of these mishaps, not to mention pans dropped on toes, fiery spills in a pan or on the stovetop, flaming packaged (forgotten) garlic bread in the oven, and other unspeakable disasters.
Wilson tells a joke about a man who tested his knife blades with his tongue: “Sharp blades taste like metal; really sharp blades taste like blood.” Enough warnings. Food and culinary methodology come in a wide range of flavors and designs with every culture and individual cook adding a personal dimension to every delightful creation.
Advancements have made preparation easier and faster, but the author adds nothing replaces a campfire and sizzling hotdogs: “No one sits around a microwave telling stories deep into the night. Its angular glass frontage cannot warm our hands or our hearts.” Ah! With cooking comes companionship and memories.
Consider the Fork ends tidily – on a perfect note even – with a lingering impulse to enter a kitchen with preparation tools in hand and ingredients aligned - no mess, no craziness, just the value of cooking memories for a lifetime.