I really enjoyed this book, as a history nut and a lover of sociology. This book is both – a history of cooking methods and instruments, and how these cooking instruments have changed how we cook and what we now cook and eat. Something I never thought of until now – we eat what we do because of inventions that allow us to keep these foods (fridges, freezers, methods of preserving, and the tools to cook certain things).

I was at brunch with a friend and suddenly had this burning desire to know where the hell forks came from, why do they look like that, when did we start using them? My friend bought me this book and I was ecstatic. The answer is in this book, along with other histories and facts you've never thought of.

The book's chapters cover individual cooking methods:
1. Pots and Pans - examines the history of using pots for cooking and innovations made in cooking pots. This leads to the invention of boiling food, and the science behind conductive heat cooking (food on a pan)
2. Knife - from stone to metal, knives have been one of the oldest tools for hacking at meat. Knives have also shaped our social norms regarding knives and human anatomy.
3. Fire - Since the domestication of fire, it has been the primary way we cook food. It transformed food from hard and raw to cooked and more easily edible. The chapter examines how fire-cooked food impacts the lives of humans.
4. Measure - tracks the evolution of measuring devices, most common being the cup. It looks at how people have measured food and time using relative methods, like "the size of a walnut" or timing cooking by singing or praying, to our modern methods of precise measurements on cups and spoons, etc.
5. Grind - examines methods for how we have ground and beaten food, mortars and pestles being one of the oldest methods. It also looks at how a thing like a whisk evolved from a clutch of twigs to the balloon-shaped wire or plastic whisk we have now, and subsequently how the quest for other types of beaters (eggbeaters) have come about.
6. Eat - examines the oldest and most universal eating utensil, the spoon. The spoon exists in every culture on Earth, but the utensil divide is shown in the separation of fork and chopsticks. This is a very interesting chapter, in terms of the (East vs West) sociology.
7. Ice - the methods for food preservation have evolved from salt storing to fridges and freezers. This chapter is a more modern history of fridges, and how they have pervaded modern culture as the ultimate kitchen necessity and accessory.
8. Kitchen - the evolution of kitchens themselves as an architectural space. From one room cottages of medieval times, to specialized rooms in our houses, kitchens, and in particular kitchen design as a hobby or process, have become the room we most agonize over but also feel primal senses of home and happiness.

This book is not about the evolution of food, but HOW we cook it and eat it. I hadn't realized before that the only reason we can eat the foods we eat today is because of evolution in cooking methods that allows us to keep food longer, to prepare it in ways unthought of hundreds of years ago.
It is written very accessibly, with humor and an appreciation for cooking. It is largely Western-based (America and Britain) with generous inclusions of the Far East, but it does include other cultures where appropriate. Overall a very enjoyable read.

I was actually very sad to finish this book. I listened to it on audiobook and sometimes I would have to turn it off because I couldn't process any more info, but I kept going back, fascinated by the depth and breadth of knowledge displayed in a history of the technology of the kitchen and the table. The author divides the book into themes like fire, utensils, measurements, coldness, etc. and ranges from prehistory to futuristic contemporary tools. She discusses every continent, it is truly a tour de force.

Micro-histories (I'm not sure if this technically counts as one, but it would be weird to think of this differently than other micro-histories I love (Like "Salt")) are probably my favorite genre (along with place-biography, so unsurprisingly I loved this. It's actually impressive, though, because the kitchen is an enormous source of stress for me. I have executive dysfunction (thanks, ADHD!) and a computerized cooking task is actually one of the ways it is gauged by researchers. So, I was a little hesitant to pick this up just because of all the stress I have surrounding the kitchen (for real, it's a lot), but my love of domestic history won out. I must admit I shuffled hesitantly into the kitchen several times to check out what kinds of pots and pans and veg peeler and other gadgets we had. I even thought, hesitantly, maybe... I will... food process something??? sometime?? Just to watch it, after reading so many pages extolling the cruisinart's wonders (maybe it will even be less scary than I remember it being if I put on our house's new set of ear defenders (sensory issues, too, so loud machines definitely add to kitchen stress).

My friends who have reviewed this before me all complained of the abrupt topic changes, but to me that seems normal for the genre... but again, ADHD, so maybe I'm misremembering. It works well for my brain though, and this was an enjoyable overview of so many different aspects of kitchen/gadget history, and I do feel it brings an extra dimension of knowledge to my extant interest in domestic history. I only wish it had covered more countries! But she did include Chinese history in a few sections, and a few mentions of Middle Eastern cooking, which I have to say is more inclusive than these types of books usually are. But I was surprised that India, as such a major and popular cuisine, wasn't mentioned, almost at all!

I really enjoyed this. It was well written, interesting, and, although odd to say about a book, personable.

This was absolutely fascinating. I found the development of so much technology we take for granted really interesting.

Consider the Fork is interesting - historically, linguistically, and culinarily too. It made me appreciate the conveniences of a modern kitchen and even rethink some of them - wondering do I really need this or that?

I was captivated and I finished it quickly. I don't think it was a book that my thoughts will return to again and again, though, and it's not one I'll be recommending to friends right and left and buying as a present. It's a good book to check out from the library.

Side note: One especially memorable part of this book happened when the author refers to an expert with the last name "This," prompting me to wonder why the word "this" was capitalized so much and inserted into the wrong places so much in a book that was otherwise well-edited. My mistake. It was late.

This is one of the most intelligently-written books I've ever encountered. Bee Wilson does so many things just right, and avoids pitfalls that a less experienced but no less passionate writer would have stepped into. It was a impressive rumination on not just food history and all that entails, but on the history of technology and the usefulness of innovations.

The fascinating subject could have easily ballooned the page count. Gadgets and technology are endlessly talked about, especially in an age of overwhelming marketing and information. Ms. Wilson eschews the temptation to catalogue and memoirize her experience. Instead, she organizes it topically and focuses on communicating what she has learned.

But most of all, I appreciated Ms. Wilson's organization and efficiency. It belies lengthy and studious thought. And yet it still manages to be simple, pragmatic and inevitable. The stated conclusions came across to me not as arguments even, but more with the feeling of, "I can't believe I've never thought of it that way." Granted, I'm no food historian, but I've read enough in my life to discern when a writer is reaching for meaning. "Consider the Fork" effortlessly finds its niche without overstating or overwhelming with its immense context. It is content to say that cooking and eating are unavoidable and necessary human experiences. Then it boldly walks through how we have cooked and eaten, how it we presently cook and eat, and finally glimpses at how those activities may yet change.

Really enjoyed this - Wilson has a warm, engaging voice and the subject matter - the history of cooking tools - was very interesting. My only quibble is that the pen-and-ink illustrations are charming, but sparse. It would have been very helpful to have far more illustrations, because picturing the tools Wilson describes is challenging without them.

This was such an interesting look at common tools and utensils in the kitchen. I learned a lot about how food was prepared and served from medieval times all the way to the present day. Such a fun and educational book.