Ingredients of Change: The History and Culture of Food in Modern Bulgaria

Ingredients of Change explores how Bulgarians adapted and domesticated diverse local, regional, and global foods and techniques, reshaping the nation's culinary topography. It was driven by the circulation of powerful food narratives, with thematic chapters on bread, meat, milk and yogurt, wine, and foundational vegetables. Under a communist dictatorship, these transformations accelerated, fundamentally reshaping what and how people ate and drank.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 246 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2022
Publisher: Cornell University Press

Ingredients of Change explores modern Bulgaria's foodways, spanning from the Ottoman era to the present, highlighting how Bulgarians have domesticated and adapted diverse local, regional, and global foods and techniques. It delves into how the nation's culinary topography has been continually reshaped by the imperial legacies of the Ottomans, Habsburgs, Russians, and Soviets, as well as the ingenuity of its people.

In her book, Changes in Bulgarian Cooking and Cuisine, Mary C. Neuburger argues that the driving force behind these culinary shifts was less nationalism and more the circulation of powerful food narratives—scientific, religious, and ethical—along with people, goods, technologies, and politics.

Ingredients of Change unfolds this intricate story through thematic chapters that focus on key ingredients such as bread, meat, milk and yogurt, wine, and the foundational vegetables of Bulgarian cuisine: tomatoes and peppers. Neuburger traces the historical trajectory of these ingredients within the Bulgarian diet, often in the context of the country's tumultuous political history. She highlights how the modern dietary and culinary transformations in Bulgaria accelerated under a communist dictatorship that possessed the resources and determination to fundamentally reshape what and how people ate and drank.

Through her meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Ingredients of Change offers a rich and nuanced understanding of Bulgaria's culinary heritage and its role in shaping the nation's identity and culture. It sheds light on the complex interplay between history, politics, and food, providing valuable insights into the diverse and evolving culinary traditions of a country with a rich and complex past.

Weight: 376g
Dimension: 150 x 229 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501762581