The Secret History of Food by Matt Siegel is a fascinating dive into the unexpected stories behind the foods we eat. With wit and curiosity, Siegel explores quirky and little-known facts, from the surprising origins of vanilla to the cultural history of honey. The book’s conversational tone makes it accessible and engaging, blending historical anecdotes, science, and culinary lore in a way that’s both educational and entertaining. While some sections feel more detailed than others, the overall narrative remains captivating and full of intriguing trivia. Perfect for foodies and history buffs alike, The Secret History of Food offers a fresh perspective on the everyday and extraordinary ways food shapes our lives.

An enlightening read - ready to recommend to food readers of all skill levels. Thank you for the depth of research.

Lots of interesting facts and food trivia, but I could have done without some of the vulgar side stories the author included that didn't have much to do with food at all. The long lists were also a bit tedious. Did we really need to hear the entire list of every flavor and package size of Oreo and every variety of Prego sauce to make the point that there are an excessive amount of choices? There was also mention of a Burger King commercial that could have made its point with a few quotes instead of including the entire script. I did learn some interesting things about apples, vanilla, breakfast cereal, and ice cream.

The Secret History of Food was kind of a fun read, though I felt like Siegel tried harder than needed to be funny in a vein similar to Alton Brown or 90s Bill Nye.

Non-food things that Siegel elected to reference in his book caught me off guard and I would NOT advise listening to this book on a road trip with kids.

I was excited about this novel because I’ve read similar titles, such as “A History of the World in Six Glasses.” It was certainly interesting to me, though the prose read a little bit more like a history textbook than I was expecting.

I have always been super interested in any and all food knowledge, so this book did not disappoint. This is an excellent book that explains (like the title implies) the history of food.

Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?

I never thought I'd say this but I had fun reading about food! The tone was so funny and kept my interest the entire time. There is so many things in this book that made me think to myself "I never would have thought of this". I think a lot of people will enjoy this book.

Thanks to #TheSecretHistoryofFood #NetGalley for this arch!
The Secret History of Food
by Matt Siegel
Pub Date: 31 Aug 2021

This is an entertaining look at many of the foods we eat. This is not recommended for a serious scholar, but serves as a source of trivia and humor.

I received this book from Net Galley for my honest review.

This was a fun and interesting book full of interesting information and told in a dynamic way.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a meandering, fun read, once I got past the first couple of chapters that were a little slow for me. Tons of interesting trivia to impress your friends, and some thought-provoking information that will make you think a bit more about why you eat--or don't eat--as you do.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Secret History of Food by Matt Siegal is a 2021 Ecco publication.

This is a fun look at the history of some our most common- and beloved foods- such as apple pie, for example. The book takes what could be a great deal of minutia and trivia and turned it into an entertaining history and food lesson. The sarcastic remarks added humor, while keeping one engaged and focused.

Food is definitely something we spend a great deal of time thinking about, but how often do we really stop to consider the history of the food, or the psychological connections behind our food choices?

Do we really eat hot chilies to distract us from other types of pain? The science in this book appears to be dependable information, and I found it to be quite fascinating.

Some of the lists went on a little too long, as we got the gist long before Siegal exhausted us on the various flavors of Prego Pasta sauce, though the points made about numerous choices we are presented with in the supermarket was interesting. I can attest to feeling a little overwhelmed by the overabundance of brands, flavors, sizes, etc., from time to time.

Also, worth noting for those considering this book, nearly half of it is dedicated to notes. It is good to see the sources and I feel comforted by the legitimacy of the information I am asked to absorb, but I do wish there was some way to give readers a heads up about the actual number of reading pages in a book before purchasing it.

Other than that, this is an excellent way to learn about some little-known food facts, we should all consider, and is presented in an entertaining, engrossing manner. It’s also a quick, easy read that shouldn’t take long to digest…

3.5 stars

I enjoyed learning many new facts about our food supply chain, government interference and history of farming methods.

Chock-full of fun and informative factoids, this book is a must-read for anyone who masticates on the history of some of our favorite foods, like cereal, honey and tomatoes. It’s deeply referenced and academically encyclopedic, yet written with a flowy, playful prose. It reminds me of Diane Ackerman’s A Natural History of the Senses, which I read nearly twenty 20 years ago. Add this title to your gift list for all of your foodie friends!

The Secret History of Food was a captivating look at the many things about culinary history that escape public knowledge. I would recommend this to any foodie.

Entertaining as well as nutritious, this look at the relationship between people and the products of the natural world we take as food could either put you off your feed or inspire you to take a bigger personal part in the process of feeding by becoming a gardener, a chef, or just a smarter shopper. A highly recommended consideration of how humanity historically has made choices about what and how to eat.

This was delightful! I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, however I did end up listening to the audiobook. The narrator was wonderful and really funny. All opinions are my own.

If you love food this takes you on a really great journey through some of the most common foods. I especially loved the section on ice cream! I really related to some of the explanations on why we love it as a comfort food. Learning of some of the methods and lengths people went to to get ice cream was really incredible. The author did a great job presenting the various facts and anecdotes about how common foods that we eat today without question came to be so commonplace. He went into the farming and breeding of different types of foods and the production methods. He explained nutritional aspects of food today versus food when people first started consuming it. There are some crazy things people have eaten over the course of history and even stranger preparations and presentations of foods. He also goes into the psychological attachment to food and why we prefer certain flavors to others. There were some really fascinating explanations about why and how things in the food industry work and the different attachments humans have to food.

You can tell a ton of research went into this book and I very much appreciate that. I thought this was very well organized. Things that were presented early on in the book were called upon later in the book. The chapters were well organized and each section built on the next. This book wasn't terribly long but I felt like if it had more chapters as organized and entertaining as these I happily would have read them. This certainly doesn't cover every single food we eat, but it covers quite alot of them.

If you are a foodie or know a foodie, this would be a great gift or suggested reading for them. I listened to it while I was prepping for Thanksgiving dinner, a most appropriate listen for the day most known for gluttony and prepping tons of food. This was the perfect read for the day and I found it hard to put down. I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, but this was so engaging and presenting in a way that made you want to learn more. The facts were so interesting, even if at times they were a bit disturbing. Humans have eaten a lot of weird stuff. I highly recommend this

I thought this was going to be fun, short stories about food, but this was much more academic. Reads like a thesis, and should only be given to more theoretical foodies, not just everyone who likes to eat.

The most ubiquitous foods in our lives don’t really inspire much thought about their origins, or why they became staples of our diets. Of course we notice when new international cuisines permeate the mainstream, but do you really think about why apple pie is an American classic, or why vanilla ice cream is such a standard?

Here’s a start on that one, at least: World War II, with its corresponding worldwide shortage of sugar, milk, and eggs would trigger “an arms race for ice cream and dairy production that would ultimately bring ice cream to the masses and cement its place as a democratized comfort food for everyone.”

Food writer Matt Siegel digs into these and so many other bits of interesting and highly amusing trivia. The food items are more US-centric but not entirely, as it looks at items like the chili pepper that hail from other lands. The structure is essay-like, without much of an overarching thesis or uniting idea. It feels like a loose collection of (albeit really interesting) articles.

It’s one of those books crammed with all kinds of fascinating and often surprising details, and lots of interesting little factoids you’ll never forget even if you’d like to.

It even covers interesting territory like human development in relation to food:

“Numerous studies suggest that our adult preferences for salt are predicted by our mothers’ fluid loss during pregnancy — that heightened morning sickness and maternal vomiting (and thus lowered electrolyte levels) trigger an increased yearning for salt in utero that can last into adulthood, prompting a lifetime of overcompensated salt consumption.” I’m a salt-obsessive so I must ask my mother about this!

It tells some stories of historical figures that I think are pretty well known at this point, like of John Harvey Kellogg ad Sylvester Graham, whose obsessions with moral purity, religious fanaticism, and colon health eventually gave us the graham cracker (Graham would’ve hated it though) and Kellogg’s cereals.

It’s footnote-heavy, so if your ereader sucks with those as much as mine does, get this in a hard copy because the footnotes contain some gems. I especially loved one that explained studies exploring how cartoon characters on kids’ cereal boxes are strategically positioned and designed to seem to make eye contact with children, which is rather horrifying.

Another juicy side story was Siegel’s suggestion that someone should look into the aforementioned Mr. Kellogg as a Jack the Ripper suspect, which is less crazy than it sounds — Kellogg, a pretty disturbed person, “made several trips to London in the 1880s to study surgery.”

Siegel is a very funny and snarky writer, but the humorous tone isn’t at the expense of the science. It’s well-researched and he explains science and technical details clearly and accessibly. Some of the chapters were a bit brief for retaining everything but it’s fun and entertaining enough to return to.

Really liked this book, you would think it would be boring but it was anything but! The writing bass engaging and kept you involved in the throughout the whole book.

I have to admit, I'm a trivia junkie. If you need a totally useless piece of information....I'm your girl! So a book titles THE SECRET LIFE OF FOOD was one I had to read. There is sooo much information in this book but sadly.....not all of it is useless. Oh, well! It's still a fun book to read and share, with your partner, with your kids, with your co-workers...well I think you get the idea. Read, enjoy, share.