Description:
Artusi's masterpiece is not merely a popular cookbook; it is a landmark work in Italian culture.
Brief description:
Pellegrino Artusi (1820-1911) was an Italian businessman and writer and is credited world-wide as the Inventor of Italian Cuisine. Originally a silk merchant, Artusi brought his passion for science, health, and food to the entire nation of Italy.
Review Quotes:
"Artusi's book stands with Manzon's great novel, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), and the music of Verdi as works that not only are great unto themselves but represented a sense of identity and self-worth to a nascent country with no nationalistic feeling... Artusi chose to give Italians their definition by telling them how they ate... Anyone who seeks to know Italian food avoids Artusi at his or her peril. He is the fountainhead of modern Italian cookery."
--Fred Plotkin, Gastronomica"One of the defining documents of what it means to be Italian."
--John Allemang, The Globe and Mail"A landmark work in Italian culture."
--Darby Macnab, Tandem