Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Eliza Acton, despite having never before boiled an egg, became one of the world’s most successful cookery writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, uplifting and truly inspiring. I love Abbs’s writing and the extraordinary, hidden stories she unearths. Eliza Acton is her best discovery yet’ Clare Pooley I don't know offhand if Jurafsky is one of the regular posters at Language Log -- I don't think so? -- but I feel like this is basically a whole book of the sort of thing I'd expect to see on Language Log, if that gives you an idea of the style. Language Log does get namedropped.
I found Miss Eliza's English Kitchen to be an interesting book. The book is loosely based on the life of Eliza Acton, a woman I had never heard of until reading this book. The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is definitely a book to savour, but be prepared to salivate as you visualise and imagine the dishes being tested, prepared and devoured. Abbs provides phrases to roll around your tongue and plenty of description so you can immerse yourself in the sensual writing and imagine yourself in the character's shoes. I particularly related to Ann Kirby, and enjoyed this section describing the first three days of her employment by Miss Eliza Acton: A good book for readers who like to dip into things here and there since the book reads more like a collection of essays. There is some slight crossover or mention of another chapter but I don't think the reader would be lost in these cases.
Sign in
A story of courage, unlikely friendship and an exceptional character, told in vibrant and immersive prose' Caroline Scott Author Jurafsky proposes to take the reader though the origins and histories of foods. Some of it is quite interesting (the origins of ketchup for example) or looking at how someone could/should look at a menu for the quality or expense of the eatery. However, a lot of it really isn't. My other complaint is that the author very awkwardly inserts these little personal notes that don't really add anything and, in fact, make it feel a little like a vanity book written for friends. It's a shame because the rest of the book is very professional while still being readable. In thirteen (a baker’s dozen) readable chapters, Stanford linguist Dan Jurafsky shows what happens when linguists study the language of food. Combining etymological research and contemporary linguistic theory, the book offers a readable history of such staples as ketchup, turkey, salad, sushi, macaroni, sherbet, and even broader concepts like entrée and dessert. His well-researched vignettes provide something for readers to chew over, while the computational insights are surprise ingredients. We learn about the etymological relationship between salad, salsa, slaw, sauce and salami, for example, and between macaroons, macarons, and macaroni (and how the famous line from “Yankee Doodle Dandy” came about). The truth about Mrs. Beeton’s book is also interesting, and is something people should be made aware of, in my opinion.
All-in-all this made for an engrossing read, with strong main characters, which I enjoyed very much.
Two of my favourite topics in one elegantly written novel - women’s lives and food history. I absolutely loved it' Polly Russell
Eliza Acton had never even boiled an egg, so how did she become of the top cookery writers of all time? We find out in this beautiful fictionalisation of her life” WOMAN and WOMAN'S WEEKLYOverall, this is a lovely story of two very different women, from very different walks of life, coming together to create something worthwhile and helpful to generations of cooks who have benefitted from Eliza’s organization and instructions on not only the proper ingredients, but the steps needed to make the dishes a success. This format is still widely utilized today and has influenced several high-profile chefs over the years. I was inspired by Eliza's passion, her independence, her bravery and ambition. Like a cook's pantry, The Language of Food is full of wonderful ingredients, exciting possibilities and secrets. Full of warmth and as comforting as sitting by the kitchen range, I loved it' Jo Thomas A 2015 James Beard Award Finalist: "Eye-opening, insightful, and huge fun to read." —Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork one of my assignments for library school was to research a local archive collection of my choosing and i chose the buttolph menu collection at the nypl. was i drawn to it because it had the word "butt" in it?? probably, but also because it was food-related, and i thought it would be really cool to handle old menus. the collection consists of more than 25,000 menus collected by the wonderfully eccentric miss frank e. buttolph, and it's an amazing historical resource to study both menu design, menu writing, and the gustatory delights of the past. you can see the collection in digital form here:
Related:
Great Deal 
New Comment