{"product_id":"paranatures-in-culinary-culture-an-alimentary-ecology-paperback-softback-9781517918101","title":"Paranatures in Culinary Culture; An Alimentary Ecology (Paperback \/ softback) 9781517918101","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eParanatures in Culinary Culture\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eAn Alimentary Ecology\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eThomas R. Parker (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781517918101\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 15 July 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e296 pages, 34 black and white illustrations\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 1.5 cm, 0.34 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"\u003ci\u003eParanatures in Culinary Culture\u003c\/i\u003e makes the familiar strange, from farm to table to gullet. Analyzing the peculiarities of food and wine, Thomas R. Parker shows how their incipient vitalities shape the contours of the human and the societies we mistakenly think we control. Parker's notion of paranature alone is worth the price of admission, and his sensorial arguments and historical exemplars bring those insights to life.\" - Kennan Ferguson, author of \u003ci\u003eCookbook Politics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"This is an exciting book, and it’s vital for the field of food studies. In Thomas R. Parker’s elegant writing, the idea of paranature reshapes our understandings of how we ‘assimilate’ food through eating, disgust, digestion, and the stories we tell about food. \u003ci\u003eParanatures in Culinary Culture\u003c\/i\u003e opens up vital conversations between food studies and architecture, aesthetics, and art.\" - Daniel E. Bender, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Food Adventurers: How Around-the-World Travel Changed the Way We Eat\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUncovering the intricate cultural threads that inform our dietary practices\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eParanatures in Culinary Culture\u003c\/i\u003e embarks on a gastronomic odyssey, redefining foods we thought we knew and revealing the extraordinary stories of ordinary ingredients and the cultural forces shaping our diets. The book begins with a simple premise: to eat is to assimilate the outer world into the inner body, both physically and mentally. But what happens when this assimilation process goes awry? Thomas R. Parker reveals how culinary staples are not only elements of identity formation but also instruments of cultural disruption when their true nature emerges and challenges our preconceptions. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Parker explores how certain foods-bread, oysters, pigs, cheese, and wine-can both create and destabilize narratives, unsettle assimilation, and decenter Western culinary traditions. Taking inspiration from architectural historian David Gissen’s concept of “subnature” and Michel Serres’s idea of the “parasite,” Parker develops the concept of paranatures: flavors, foods, and practices considered unpalatable by different societies at different times. He reveals how certain ordinary foods live parallel paranatural lives, addressing larger issues of colonial and postcolonial food theory and challenging long-held notions that cuisine was meant to uphold. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Serving up a rich blend of history, culture, and gastronomy, Parker leads readers to perceive food as an adventure, inviting them to taste the untamed side of nature. He offers a thought-provoking invitation to reconceptualize the roles and narratives we assign to the natural world and its produce, allowing us to see food, nature, and ourselves in new ways. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e Contents \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Acknowledgments \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Introduction: Paranature \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 1. Bread \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 2. Shellfish \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 3. Pigs \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 4. Cheese \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 5. Wine \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Conclusion \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Bibliography \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Index \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Univ Of Minnesota Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52702183293208,"sku":"9781517918101","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/paranatures-in-culinary-culture-an-alimentary-ecology-paperback-softback-9781517918101","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}