In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food

By Stewart Lee Allen

Book Overview

Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins, here is a scintillating history of forbidden foods through the ages--and how these mouth-watering taboos have defined cultures around the world. From the lusciously tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden to the divine foie gras , Stewart Lee Allen engagingly illustrates that when a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is often an astonishing tale to tell. Among the foods thought to encourage Lust, the love apple (now known as the tomato) was thought to possess demonic spirits until the nineteenth century. The Gluttony "course" invites the reader to an ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish served--from poppy-crusted rodents to "Trojan Pork"--was considered a crime against the state. While the vice known as Sloth introduces the sad story of "The Lazy Root" (the potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists to claim that the Great Famine was God's way of punishing the Irish for eating a food that bred degeneracy and idleness. Filled with incredible food history and the author's travels to many of these exotic locales, In the Devil's Garden also features recipes like the matzo-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden "chocolate champagnes" of the Aztecs. This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists, and armchair travelers alike. Bon app tit

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345440161
• ISBN13: 9780345440167
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Ballantine Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

It's a fun book and very informative.

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot of history. He breaks it down into the seven deadly sins. How the apple became the "forbidden fruit" in the Bible. Why to even this day we look down at corn (think about how it's in junk food). Why some foods are shunned over the years for class reasons (for example white bread over dark bread in in 17th and 18th century France. I highly recommend reading this book.

Couldn't put it down

Lately, I haven't had a lot of spare time, so books tend to take a while for me to get through unless I'm on a plane. In the Devil's Garden, however, wouldn't let me put it down and I "devoured" it in one delicious sitting. The book great fun to read -- the author obviously is well traveled and definitely did his homework. There's not too much science, history, religion or sociology to be overpowering -- just the right amount of each. HIGHLY recommended!

Grand Unified Theory for Foodies

This book is an absolute must for the food enthusiast or the information junkie. More than just a food book, /In the Devil's Garden/ deals with how food /is/ culture- it argues that much of who we are and how we interact with one another has to do with what we do, and do not, eat. Allen is an excellent information gatherer, having delved into several hundred sources for his material; but more importantly, he is adept at the witty repackaging of that information, deftly filing everything under the aegises of the seven deadly sins. Allen's style is just conversational enough, neither dry nor condescending and very humorous-- perfect for the small-article format that comprises most of the sections of the book. The content is almost overwhelmingly eclectic, drawing on scores (perhaps hundreds) of cultures. Allen reconciles many seemingly disparate facts and draws parallels between such subjects as the crunch volume of potato chips and the animal need to kill (!), all with consummate skill and grace. Be forewarned, the book is not necessarily a good lunchtime read; many of the sections deal with food-related illness or delicacies the Western palate finds unacceptable, and one or two of the little tidbits are downright nasty (vide the eating habits of St. Veronica). Buy this as a gift and you won't be able to part with it; get two.

Very interesting

This is a unique look at the history of food: both funny and shocking, it shows the unbleievable ways what we eat has influenced history. It also gives a number of recipes that are quite unique. Its the kind of book you can stop and start on, a group of pieces, maybe 50, divided into "chapters" based on the seven Deadly Sins of Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth. Mr. Allen is a very, very good writer and has found some amazing stories here and has a knack for boiling down extremely complicated historical events into enjoyable stories. He also appears to have done ann enormous amount of research into the subject.Not your usual food book, I'd highly recommend it. For me, it really made me think twice about the meaning of what I eat. If you know a foodie friend that needs a gift, this is it.

best book on food

What I have found so interesting about this book is the way people's feeling about eating have been used in political and religous ways. I had no idea of the role eating has played in so many conflicts - even the division of Europe between East and West was caused by an argument over how to bake the communion wafer. AIDS came from violating a food taboo, and even Jesus Last supper was all about the rules of eating. It's an amazing book and very, very well written - you would think with all this information it would be dry but Alan is a very funny man. While I thought the idea of organizing it around the Seven Sins was a good one, its not always completely clear why a particualr food is in a particular sin. Not that it matters that much - by the way, my favorite was the sin of sloth "a victimless crime if ever there was one" as Allen says -a man after my own heart!I thought the "menus" were cute and the recipes (there are about 12) looked interesting but I haven't tried any.THis is the best book on food in history I have ever read