The Food: The Banquet (ePub)

The importance of the banquet in the late Renaissance is impossible to overlook. Banquets showcased a host's wealth and power, provided an occasion for nobles from distant places to gather together, and even served as a form of political propaganda. But what was it really like to cater to the tastes and habits of high society at the banquets of nobles, royalty, and popes? What did they eat and how did they eat it?
In The Banquet, Ken Albala covers the transitional period between the heavily spiced and colored cuisine of the Middle Ages and classical French haut cuisine. This development involved increasing use dairy products, a move toward lighter meats such as veal and chicken, increasing identification of national food customs, more sweetness and aromatics, and a refined aesthetic sense, surprisingly in line with the late Renaissance styles found in other arts.|
Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1. Setting the Stage—Setting the Table 2. An Introduction to Ingredients and Wild Food 3. Dairy 4. Spices and Garnishes 5. Vegetables and Fruit 6. Starches and Pasta 7. Wine and Alcohol 8. Nations 9. Staff and Carving 10. Condemnation 11. Recipes Notes Glossary Bibliography Index
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Ken Albala is an associate professor of history at the University of the Pacific. He is the author of Eating Right in the Renaissance and other books.