‘Salt: A World History’ by Mark Kurlansky

An Instagram Reel by user Wyatt Derman garnered more than eight million views and catapulted this 2002 book into virality in 2026. Derman spoke about how Kurlansky’s book made him look at the world and this humble ingredient in new light. As a result, the book became popular again and sold out in bookshops and libraries.

Kurlansky is an American journalist and author who examines the relationship between food and history. His 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World andThe Big Oyster (2006) are along similar lines. In Salt, he takes us to ancient Greece, rural Sichuan and even British India where Gandhi led the Dandi March. The book is an exploration into how integral salt is to world history.

‘Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine’ by James C. McCann

Published in 2009, this book published by Ohio University Press, looks at the width and breadth of African cuisine in its remarkable diversity. The region is often looked at through the lens of famine and food scarcity, but the author traces the chronology of the continent’s cuisine, all the way from the sixteenth century to its globalisation. McCann travels from markets in Accra in Ghana and restaurants in Addis Ababa, to roadside bars in Zimbabwe. As the preface of the book says, “Cuisines in Africa, McCann shows, can be politicized as effectively as soul food or Nouvelle cuisine in Europe or the United States.”

‘Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History’ by Rachel Laudan

Food historian and author Rachel Laudan penned this book in 2012 and subsequently won the IACP Cookbook Award for Best Book in Culinary History. . The book is about how grain, cattle and food has been the driving force behind empires and colonialism. It traverses the French revolution, the British empire, the Spanish expansion, and Columbian exchange between the New World (the Americas) and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) . She also looks at how trends, nutrition, religion and politics create new cuisines.

‘On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta’ by Jen Lin-liu

A journey along the Silk Route forms the basis of author Jen Lin-Liu book about pasta and noodles. It all began when she wondered about the age-old question: who invented the noodle? That quest takes us along China, Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, and the Mediterranean, and how each of these regions have their own unique noodles and dumplings. Through the book she also touches on her experience as a Chinese-American woman.

‘Consider the Fork’ by Bee Wilson

Subtitled ‘A history of how we cook and eat’, this book talks about the history of cooking and the technologies that make it possible. These technologies are not only modern gizmos like the air fryer and sous-vide machines, but even humbler utensils such as the fork or chopsticks. The book blends history and science. Wilson also has other titles, such as Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee and Sandwich: A Global History.

‘Indian Food: A Historical Companion’ by KT Achaya

Published in 1997, this book is a vast volume about the expansive culinary history of the subcontinent. Achaya, a chemist and food scientist, researched literary sources, archaeological sites, genetic and epigraphic records to compile the book. Ancient Indian history through the works of Sushrutha and Bhagvata, regional Indian cuisine, the customs of various castes and comminutes, as well as accounts of travellers like Al Biruni, can be found in the tome.

‘Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America’ by Sean Sherman

Written in collaboration with Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly, this book delves into native American cuisine, often missing from the conversations about ‘American food’. The author, Sean Sherman is a chef who belongs to the Oglala Lakota tribe. The heritage of indigenous communities is linked to the land they live in, and their recipes are bound to the animals and produce found in their homes. The book offers this history, and these recipes as well.

All these books are available on online shopping platforms

Published - August 14, 2026 02:10 pm IST