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“The Most Delicate Rootes” : Sweet Potatoes and the English Consumption of the “New World” Reassessed, c. 1580-1650
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Quinn, Serin (2023) “The Most Delicate Rootes” : Sweet Potatoes and the English Consumption of the “New World” Reassessed, c. 1580-1650. Food and History, 21 (2). pp. 55-79. doi:10.1484/j.food.5.134741 ISSN 1780-3187 .
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1484/j.food.5.134741
Abstract
Abstract
Sweet potatoes have rarely been the focus of historical interest, in part due to the difficulty in researching the nebulous word “potato” and the fact that they were never grown in England on such a scale as to have made the same impact on diets as the “ordinary” potato. Nevertheless, as one of the first foods from the Americas to arrive in England in the sixteenth century, this root is revealing of the reception and perception of the “New World” and its goods at the cusp of English colonialism. This study demonstrates that the sweet potato was an expensive exotic novelty in elite English foodways, and thereby reassesses our understanding of the place of Indigenous American foods in the English luxury market. Furthermore, it argues that methods of sweet potato consumption are evidence of the integration of Indigenous culinary practices and knowledge in English cuisine.
Résumé
Les patates douces ne tiennent que peu de place dans les analyses historiques : d’une part à cause des difficultés de recherche associées au terme nébuleux potato ; d’autre part parce que leur culture n’a pas été suffisamment répandue en Angleterre pour influencer les régimes alimentaires au même point que la pomme de terre. Néanmoins, ce légume-racine, l’un des premiers aliments arrivés en Angleterre depuis les Amériques au XVIe siècle, nous éclaire sur les perceptions et la réception du “Nouveau Monde” et de ses produits au début de l’expansion coloniale anglaise. Cette étude démontre que les patates douces furent une nouveauté à la fois exotique et coûteuse dans le régime alimentaire des élites anglaises et nous permet donc de réévaluer notre compréhension du rôle des aliments originaires des Amériques sur le marché de luxe en Angleterre. Surtout, cette étude soutient que la consommation des patates douces est preuve de l’intégration des pratiques et des connaissances culinaires “indigènes” dans la cuisine anglaise.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | S Agriculture > SB Plant culture T Technology > TX Home economics |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Sweet potatoes -- England -- History, Food -- History, Food habits -- England -- History, Cultural fusion, Food habits | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Food and History | ||||||||
Publisher: | Brepols Publishers NV | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1780-3187 | ||||||||
Official Date: | October 2023 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 21 | ||||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 55-79 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1484/j.food.5.134741 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 15 November 2023 |
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