In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food Book

Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins, here is a scintillating history of forbidden foods through the ages—and how these mouth-watering taboos have defined cultures around the world.

From the lusciously tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden to the divine foie gras, Stewart Lee Allen engagingly illustrates that when a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is often an astonishing tale to tell. Among the foods thought to encourage Lust, the love apple (now known as the tomato) was thought to possess demonic spirits until the nineteenth century. The Gluttony “course” invites the reader to an ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish served—from poppy-crusted rodents to “Trojan Pork”—was considered a crime against the state. While the vice known as Sloth introduces the sad story of “The Lazy Root” (the potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists to claim that the Great Famine was God’s way of punishing the Irish for eating a food that bred degeneracy and idleness.

Filled with incredible food history and the author’s travels to many of these exotic locales, In the Devil’s Garden also features recipes like the matzo-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden “chocolate champagnes” of the Aztecs. This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists, and armchair travelers alike. Bon appétit!

KLIATT

Any book with chapters like "The Joy of Fat" and "The Virgin's Nipple" is attention getting. Tie these subjects in with the history of food and there is even more interest. Stewart Lee Allen, previously known for his unorthodox history of coffee, The Devil's Cup, now takes a sardonic look at other commonly ingested items such as potatoes (in the 19th century common knowledge for some held that they made the Irish lazy and that's why they starved) and corn (snubbed by the upper class Europeans and given to the poor). Each chapter is a fact-filled two to four pages, bringing to light those fables and fallacies of our ancestors in an entertaining manner. Since we are what we eat, what we eat often plays a key role in history. For example, "The abrupt disappearance of the Etruscans around the fourth century BC has long baffled some historians, but some now think that when their priests discovered their culture's demise in a sheep's liver, the race simply merged with the Romans, rather than fight the inevitable." Much of the book emphasizes the "sinful nature" of certain foods (the tomato was known early on as the "love apple," for example). Although serious once, these anecdotes of history now tend to mainly amuse. This is a clever book that trivia experts will love and students assigned the "food history" paper will find useful. KLIATT Codes: SA Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2002, Ballantine, 325p. notes. bibliog. index., Gillen