Cibo Mediterraneo Modi alimentari mediterranei: Tendenze e sviluppi storici [Mediterranean Food. Mediterranean Foodways: Historic Trends and Developments] is a new book by Prof. Carmel Cassar, recently published by the Perugia based Publishing House Graphe.it (Italy).

Carmel Cassar is at the Department of Tourism Management within FEMA, Professor of Cultural History and Director of the Institute of Maltese Studies, as well as Chair of the Platform for Mediterranean Foodways at the University of Malta.

The book, dedicated to food historians, scholars of food history and the Mediterranean, and enthusiasts of recipes and cooking, examines Mediterranean dietary “ways” by evaluating trends and historical developments.

The University said that it provides intricate details about the way Mediterranean societies and their traditions influenced each other and evolved across time by examining the culture of food from prehistory to the present and provides a wealth of information thanks to the publication of a wide variety of ancient and historic recipes through the ages.

These include instructions for a 4,000 year old Sumerian soup, to Greek pancakes from the Byzantine era, passing through Ottoman sweets and the opulent stews of Renaissance Italy, up to French haute cuisine.

The reader finds gathered the recipes enjoyed by the ancients: Egyptians, Greeks, Israelites, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Medieval and early modern Europeans, the Ottomans, the changes brought about by the expanding commerce, and contact with foods from the Far East, Africa, and the New World (the Americas).

Some readers may be tempted to prepare some of the old recipes. However, the UM said that it may be advisable for whoever wishes to do so to inform oneself about the correct use of measurements.

Often only the ingredients are mentioned while details about quantities of specific ingredients are often missing. Whatever the case, the recipes help the reader to appreciate the wide variety of ingredients used hundreds, at times thousands of years ago, in the ancient Mediterranean.

The translation has been entrusted to Carla Del Zotto of the Sapienza University of Rome. While the book confirms that food is, and has always been at the centre of human activity, it also tries to identify solutions for the future.

It can be purchased online and on Amazon.

A recent online interview about the book can be read on Graphe.it

Another interview on Italian Journal, Sentire, is also available to read online.

Photo: UM

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