Agricultural History Review, Volume 70 Part 1 (2022), p. 162

When I told a colleague that I was reviewing a book on food in Spain, her first reaction was, ‘Really, another book on Spanish food?’ I can see her point. Go to any bookshop and one can find a plethora of books on the subject. But few in English have so far made a profound, deep investigation into the history of food in Spain. That is the goal of María José Sevilla’s new book, Delicioso, promoted as the first in English to do so. The latest volume in Reaktion Book’s series on the history of different national cuisines, the book succeeds in the difficult task of being both a well-researched, academic tome on an often side-lined topic, while also being an enjoyable book that appeals to the general reader. Spain is a land of extraordinary diversity, a consequence of both its geography and a complex history of trade, migration, and invasion. This is the main point of Sevilla’s introduction, where she also explains her connection with Spanish cuisine as a native food writer who has lived outside the country for many years, giving her insight both as a local and an outsider.

The book then follows a historic trajectory, presenting Spanish cuisine from prehistory to the present day, with the final chapter on the contemporary regional cocinas (cuisines) of Spain. Chapters generally begin with a description of the historical events and political scene in the relevant period of Spanish history under discussion. This discussion follows onto a consideration of Spanish agricultural economy of that era. Except for the introduction of agriculture into the peninsula (interestingly, later than the rest of Europe), a sense of disappointment often pervades this sub-section. The mismanagement of this area of economic life since medieval times was to cause many of Spain’s problems going into the modern era. The description of the Mesta system of livestock rearing at the expense of cereals and crops in chapter 3 is particularly useful, and later chapters update the reader on its unfortunate consequences in ensuing centuries.

On occasion food is interwoven with this historical backdrop from the beginning, such as in chapter 4 on the Spanish Habsburgs (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries) and chapter 5 on eighteenth-century cuisine and its role in the new Bourbon monarchy. In others the history is so complex that it needs a thorough analysis before food enters the text, such as in the second chapter entitled ‘Moors, Jews and Christians’, which addresses a major theme in Spanish history, the Moorish invasion in 711 AD and ensuing occupation over the ensuing centuries. It is interesting that Sevilla emphasizes the difficult relationship that contemporary Spaniards have with this era, despite its formative influence on Spanish culture, as well as its food.

An interesting feature of the book is the short overviews of 1–2 pages of important culinary elements in Spanish cuisine today, such as ‘Bitter Oranges’, ‘Saffron’ or ‘Marzipan’, which have their origins in the era under discussion. These are enjoyable asides that reveal much about the connectedness between past and present in Spanish cuisine. The only downside is they occasionally interrupt the flow of the narrative in the rest of the chapter. I should emphasize that the book is beautifully illustrated with detailed colour pictures and photographs, a feature that is especially important when talking about food, where a visual representation is more effective than a lengthy description.

Another strength of the book is the emphasis Sevilla places upon cookbooks and culinary literature. As a food researcher myself in Catalan cuisine (one of Spain’s regional cuisines), I welcome this development, as understanding culinary literature is so important when studying food and cuisine. This is a theme throughout Delicioso from the third chapter onwards. Important cookbooks and culinary manuals of each era are treated with an in-depth analysis of content and the influence of these texts on Spanish society in the time, furthering understanding of the period and the development of food.

There are some rare moments where the phrasing or word choice is awkward. For instance, the earliest Catalan king, normally called ‘Wilfred the Hairy’, is called ‘Wilfred the Shaggy’. Occasional factual errors also appear, such as on page 112 the reference to the death of Charles I’s father in 1516, when it was in fact his grandfather who died. As a specialist in Catalan cuisine, I can say that Sevilla manages to cover this area well enough, however it becomes clear that her expertise is situated in different areas of Spain (her reference to chickpeas as an important ingredient on page 282 would send some Catalan chefs into paroxysms).

The final chapter on the regional cuisines or cocinas of Spain is the weakest, albeit the most relevant for today. Perhaps because of the author’s background as a food writer, the writing here tends to stray into food and travel writing. This happens occasionally in earlier parts of the book (such as ‘the taste for flowers, the cool patios bursting with colour, the soothing sounds of fountains … are all still imprinted on the fabric of the people of Andalusia’, p. 45) but becomes most evident in this chapter. While understandable considering the mouth-watering delicacies under discussion, some readers may find this change uncomfortable, especially when contrasted with the more business-like tone of previous chapters. The final sub-section on the future of Spanish cuisine is the closest this book gets to a conclusion, and some readers may be disappointed to find that there is no grand argument that pervades the work. But that was never the intention. Instead, Sevilla has succeeded admirably in providing an historical overview of food, agriculture and cuisine in Spain from prehistory to the present day. It will be of use to scholars of Spain, food, and agriculture, as well as general readers interested in this area. On a personal level, I wish this book had been available to me when I made my early research into Spanish and Catalan cuisine.