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The Oxford Companion to Food (Oxford Companions)
 
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The Oxford Companion to Food (Oxford Companions) (Hardcover)

by Alan Davidson (Author), Jane Davidson (Contributor), Helen Saberi (Contributor), Tom Jaine (Editor)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £40.00
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Customers buy this book with The Oxford Companion to Wine (Oxford Companions) by Jancis Robinson

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 907 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford; 2 edition (21 Sep 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192806815
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192806819
  • Product Dimensions: 28.2 x 23.1 x 4.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 40,810 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #3 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology > Sociology of Work > Leisure
    #10 in  Books > Travel & Holiday > Tourism & Leisure
    #11 in  Books > Food & Drink > Reference & Gastronomy > Encyclopaedias & Dictionaries

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food has been over 20 years in the assembling, but here it is; and it is superlatively worth the wait. In fact, superlatives fall silent. A huge and authoritative dictionary of 2,650 entries on just about every conceivable foodstuff, seasoning, cuisine, cooking method, historical survey, significant personage and explication of myth, it is supplemented by some 40 longer articles on key items. Davidson himself (no relation) contributes approximately 80% of the 2,650 entries, thereby guaranteeing high levels of erudition, readability and deadpan feline wit. Since this is a monument intended to last, nothing so frivolous as a recipe is included. A decision taken early in the development of the project to abjure issues whose significance is largely topical has also ensured an agreeable high-mindedness--nothing on those crucial but essentially dreary topics BSE and GM foods, for example.

If a fault could be found, it would only be that it's often difficult to read to the end of an entry, as the abundant cross-referencing all too easily sends one off to another entry, thence bouncing off to another, and all too soon the original is forgotten. A random alphabet of seductions might include: Aardvark, Botulism, Cup Cake, David (Elizabeth), Enzymes, Fat-Tailed Sheep, Gender/Sex and Food, Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, Ice Cream Sundae, Jewish Dietary Laws, Kangaroos, Lobscouse, Microwave Cooking, Norway, Offal, Puffin, Queen of Puddings, Roti, Scurvy, Termite Heap Mushroom (or Taillevant), Umeboshi, Vegetarianism, Washing up (a very elegant little article), sadly no X, Yin-yang and Zabaglione. As this might show, Alan Davidson's aim, borrowed from Dumas' great Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, that his work would appeal not only to persons of "serious character" but also those "of a much lighter disposition", is utterly fulfilled. --Robin Davidson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Mail on Sunday (Live- Night and Day), January 28, 2007

This gem of food reference retains the wit, elegance, erudition
and style that made the first edition so memorable.
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A simply excellent reference book, and readable with it., 11 May 2000
By S. Howarth "S.S.H." (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Oxford Companion to Food (Hardcover)
This is a great book for both reference, and just to browse through when the mood takes. The content is clear and concise, and as an amateur food writer, it has never failed to yield the information I needed when researching a subject. The entries are by no means exhaustive but gives enough to certainly use as a basis for further research, or indeed just settle an argument with a friend!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very much worth reading for any lover of food, 28 Dec 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Oxford Companion to Food (Hardcover)
If you are like me - you like food -, then you will enjoy this book a lot. It might be of practical value to your daily life now and then, but I think that this is not its strong point. It is an excellent volume to browse at random, or to look up a fact about a particular foodstuff that you always wanted to know. It is very pleasant book to read in any respect. The lay-out is beautiful, something that has become rare these days. The authors (it's not just Alan Davidson alone) write in a very accessible way, so that I can recommend this work to non-native speakers of English (like myself) as well.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent (times 20) -- by Emma Cookson, 20 Nov 1999
By c.davidson@thefree.net (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Oxford Companion to Food (Hardcover)
Alan Davidson is my grandfather and has been writing this book for twenty years, way before I was even born. I'm thirteen, so he started writing it when I was minus seven years old. I have read lots of his entries on an enormous range of different topics - from Aardvark to Zucchini. I can assure you that my grandfather really knows an awful lot about foods from all over the world and throughout human history. He writes in a really amusing and interesting way. I recommend this book to you, not only as a reference work, but as a source of endless amusement and surprise. It may interest you to know that whenever I am in a restaurant with him and my grandmother, he always seems to order the best dishes (putting his knowledge to good use, I see).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best reference on food around
20 years work and 2650 entries. Alan Davidson has long been my favourite food author and this confirms it.
Published on 21 Jun 2000 by gillardreid@mcmail.com

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding compilation of everything to do with food.
This is a remarkable book, highly readable, endlessly fascinating and an essential addition to every foodie's library. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars superb
The book is a treasure for food-lovers, it is a celebration
Published on 17 Nov 1999 by anat@4pix.com

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