Synopses & Reviews
and#147;This is a beautifully written book that transports you into the heart of ordinary, everyday Greek life. David Suttonand#8217;s method is innovative and his writing lucid. He draws readers into an intimate ethnographic adventureand#151;an embodied and sensorial cultural immersionand#151;in which they have the sense of inquiring and learning alongside him.and#8221;and#151;Laurie Kain Hart, Stinnes Professor of Global Studies and Professor of Anthropology, Haverford College
and#147;Secrets from the Greek Kitchen is yet another fine example of Suttonand#8217;s ability to draw our attention to details that matter through insightful ethnography and engaging writing. He brings his informantsand#8217; stories to life and unravels the magic behind a world that otherwise might be thought of as familiar, everyday, and insignificant. Once you have read this book you will never again consider cooking as trivial and mundane.and#8221;and#151;Eleana Yalouri, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
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Review
"Suttonand#8217;s book, impeccably researched and lucidly presented, complicates and challenges this widespread view while also providing the tools and guideposts needed to re-think what it means to cook and the myriad reasons why it mattersand#8212;in Kalymnos and elsewhere."
Synopsis
Secrets from the Greek Kitchen explores how cooking skills, practices, and knowledge on the island of Kalymnos are reinforced or transformed by contemporary events. Based on more than twenty years of research and the authorand#8217;s videos of everyday cooking techniques, this rich ethnography treats the kitchen as an environment in which people pursue tasks, display expertise, and confront culturally defined risks.
Kalymnian islanders, both women and men, use food as a way of evoking personal and collective memory, creating an elaborate discourse on ingredients, tastes, and recipes. Author David E. Sutton focuses on micropractices in the kitchen, such as the cutting of onions, the use of a can opener, and the rolling of phyllo dough, along with cultural changes, such as the rise of televised cooking shows, to reveal new perspectives on the anthropology of everyday living.
About the Author
David E. Sutton is Professor of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University. He is the author of Remembrance of Repasts: An Anthropology of Food and Memories Cast in Stone: The Relevance of the Past in Everyday Life and the coauthor of Hollywood Blockbusters: The Anthropology of Popular Movies.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrationsand#160;and#160;
List of Video Examplesand#160;and#160;
Acknowledgmentsand#160;and#160;
Introduction: Why Does Greek Food Taste So Good?and#160;and#160;
1. Emplacing Cookingand#160;and#160;
2. Tools and Their Usersand#160;and#160;
3. Nina and Irini: Passing the Torch?and#160;and#160;
4. Mothers, Daughters, and Others: Learning, Transmission, Negotiationand#160;and#160;
5. Horizontal Transmission: Cooking Shows, Friends, and Other Sources of Knowledgeand#160;and#160;
6. Through the Kitchen Windowand#160;and#160;
Conclusion: So, What Is Cooking?and#160;and#160;
Epilogue: Cooking (and Eating) in Times of Financial Crisisand#160;and#160;
Notesand#160;and#160;
Referencesand#160;and#160;
Index