The Food Lover's Atlas of the World

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Almost everyone enjoys eating, but there are those who seem to enjoy
reading about food almost as much as feasting on it. This book looks at
the culinary traditions of five continents. Shulman uses history and
geography to explain where certain foods and cooking techniques
originated. For example, it is hard for modern readers to imagine
Italian cooking without tomatoes or Chinese cuisine without chili
peppers, but Shulman reminds readers that these now staple ingredients
originated in America and were brought to Europe and Asia by
16th-century traders. Although Martha Shulman has published 17 cookbooks
and owns a catering business, in this volume she does not sit in
judgment of what other people eat. Thus a full-page photograph of black
pudding, fried bread, bacon, sausage, and eggs floating in a huge pan of
grease is presented without comment but should be fair warning for
anyone who wants to know what a traditional British breakfast would look
like.

The book is divided into four main chapters by continent: “Europe,”
“Africa and the Middle East,” “Asia and Australasia,” and “The
Americas.” The chapters are further divided into subchapters that
examine a specific region, such as Russia and Eastern Europe or
individual countries like Canada, Portugal, or Korea. Each featured
region includes a brief discussion of geographic and historic influences
that make this area’s cuisine unique. In most subchapters, there are
sidebars featuring “traditional ingredients,” “signature
dishes,” and “national drinks.” More than 300 color photographs
accompany the text. Finally, Shulman includes 80 world-spanning recipes
so that home cooks can try their hand at, for example, Iranian Herb
Omelettes, Greek Spanokopittas, or a nice hot bowl of Chilean Bean and
Winter Squash Stew. This is a book that is equally at home on both the
coffee table and kitchen counter.