About this item

Artisanal foods are making a comeback as more and more people seek to stock their pantries and their bellies with handcrafted or locally grown and made foods Specialty markets and sections at grocery stores are catering to this new desire for the special the unique the carefully made foods Small Batch Pickles Cheese Chocolate Spirits and the Return of Artisanal Foods colorfully details the landscape of the newest wave of the artisanal food revolution by looking at four foods that whet our appetites for specialty Considering the history and the cultural issues surrounding the resurgence of craft food including the evolving definition of terroir the importance of narrative in valuing artisanal food and the way that these present food trends connect withmdashand upendmdashtheir rich history Small Batch seeks to define and update the term quotartisanalquot and give insight into the influences challenges and identity of food artisans todaySuzanne Cope sumptuously surveys the collective history of the production of cheese pickles chocolate and alcoholic spirits and brings this narrative to the present by incorporating interviews with over fifty modern artisans Cope details the influences challenges and evolving identity of these modern craft industriesmdashand places them in context within the recent resurgence and growth of the artisanal segment of the market Readers interested in craft foods and what it means to be an artisan will find here a fascinating history and updating of both.