This is an entertaining celebration of food in all its forms, written by a food expert, and with contributions from specialists across the globe. It contains information on just about every foodstuff and on a multitude of dishes, from angel food cake to zabaglione; devotes over 120 entries to national and regional cusines past and present, including Roman diets and "white-trash" food; and explores such miscellaneous topics as culinary terms and cookery writers.