Reader, John. Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent. New Haven, CT:
Yale University Press, 2009. One of many engaging histories of the potato.
Riley, Gillian. Italian Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Detailed
encyclopedic coverage written with verve and humor.
Rosenblum, Mort. Olives. New York: North Point, 1996. Fun history of the
olive industry and all of the interesting people who work in it.
Sack, Daniel. Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in American
Culture. New York: Palgrave, 2000. Study of why Americans’ relationship to
food is so fraught with guilt.
Santanach, Joan, ed. The Book of Sent Soví: Medieval Recipes from
Catalonia. Robin Vogelzang, tr. Barcelona: Barcino Tamesis, 2008. A
fantastic medieval cookbook now translated into English.
Santich, Barbara. The Original Mediterranean Cuisine. Chicago: Chicago
Review Press, 1995. Excellent translations and commentary on medieval
and Renaissance recipes.
Salaman, Redcliffe N. The History and Social Infl uence of the Potato.
Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Reprint of the classic
1949 book, the fi rst single-subject food history written.
Scappi, Bartolomeo. Opera. Terence Scully, tr. Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 2008. English translation of the most important cookbook of
the Renaissance era.
Schaefer, Edward H. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1985. The story of exotic goods brought to
Tang-dynasty China.
Schivelbusch, Wolfgang. Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices,
Stimulants, and Intoxicants. David Jacobson, tr. New York: Pantheon, 1992.
Sociological explanation of why capitalists drink coffee and Catholics drink
chocolate. Thought provoking and insightful.