America’s First Cuisines
America’s First Cuisines by Sophie D. Coe, published by University of Texas Press in 1994, is a comprehensive exploration of the culinary traditions of the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca. This edition spans 276 pages and is presented in English. Coe draws from original accounts by Europeans and Native Americans to provide an in-depth look at the ingredients and cooking practices that defined these ancient cuisines, highlighting the introduction of American plants and animals to global culinary traditions.
Readers will find a detailed examination of essential foodstuffs such as maize, potatoes, and chocolate, alongside insights into their preparation, serving, and preservation. The book delves into the cultural and ritual practices surrounding food in these societies, offering comparisons to contemporary Spanish cooking. With its focus on social science and anthropology, America’s First Cuisines serves as a valuable resource for both food enthusiasts and scholars interested in the customs and traditions of early American cultures.
Official synopsis Publisher
After long weeks of boring, perhaps spoiled sea rations, one of the first things Spaniards sought in the New World was undoubtedly fresh food. Probably they found the local cuisine strange at first, but soon they were sending American plants and animals around the world, eventually enriching the cuisine of many cultures.
Drawing on original accounts by Europeans and native Americans, this pioneering work offers the first detailed description of the cuisines of the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca. Sophie Coe begins with the basic foodstuffs, including maize, potatoes, beans, peanuts, squash, avocados, tomatoes, chocolate, and chiles, and explores their early history and domestication. She then describes how these foods were prepared, served, and preserved, giving many insights into the cultural and ritual practices that surrounded eating in these cultures. Coe also points out the similarities and differences among the three cuisines and compares them to Spanish cooking of the period, which, as she usefully reminds us, would seem as foreign to our tastes as the American foods seemed to theirs. Written in easily digested prose, America’s First Cuisines will appeal to food enthusiasts as well as scholars.
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