13 Foods That Shape Our World

Food shapes our present, our past and our future, and it opens a window on humanity’s many cultures and histories. It has been a weapon, an art form, a tool of revolution, an engine of social change, but also a bringer of pure happiness and companionship. In the first official book from BBC Radio 4’s hit series ‘The Food Programme,’ Alex Renton tells the stories of 13 key ingredients such as spices, oil, cocoa and rice, exploring their history, evolution and how our ever-growing hunger for them continues to alter our world. Dotted throughout are fun and fascinating titbits of information such as the forgotten joys of lard, the secret to making the perfect loaf and how a shipwrecked spice ship led to the Baltic’s favourite Christmas dish.