Recipes from the World's Greatest Kitchens

"Recipes from the World’s Great Kitchens" is more than just a cookbook. In addition to providing delicious recipes for a wide range of world-renowned appetizers, entrées, and soups, the book provides intriguing information that shows the intricate and intimate ways in which cultures and their cuisines are linked. For instance, did you know that Brazil’s national dish, feijoada, originated when Portuguese colonists began giving “undesirable” pork parts to African slaves who then transformed the discarded meat into a stew? This book shines a light on such culinary curiosities with the hope that you will be eager to prepare many of the culturally significant dishes that it features.

The book spotlights 15 countries, each presented in chapter form. Each chapter gives you three things: information about the country’s culinary practices, three choice recipes as selected by travelers, and an interesting fact or legend about one of the dishes. Without the recipes, this book would stand on its own as an informative, enjoyable summary of world culinary art and culture, which, as the book shows, is alternately profound and quirky. Likewise, without the illuminating facts and stories, the book would stand intact as an appealing international cookbook. The fact that both offerings are included under one cover is what makes this book surprisingly different.