From spice routes to soup pots, this list explores how a single ingredient can shape empires, economies, and everyday meals.
created by ash.isreading
last updated November, 2025
The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat
Matt Siegel
In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food
Stewart Lee Allen
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit
Barry Estabrook
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Mark Kurlansky
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
Dan Koeppel
Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History
Jori Lewis
Chocolate, Women and Empire: A Social and Cultural History (Studies in Imperialism)
Emma Robertson
Rice: A Global History (Edible)
Renee Marton
A Dark History of Tea
Seren Charrington Hollins
Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes [A Cookbook]
Mark Bitterman
The Untold History of the Potato
John Reader
Sugar: A Global History (Edible)
Andrew F. Smith
The Herb Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Herbs
D.K. Publishing
Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug
Augustine Sedgewick
Chocolate: A Global History (Edible)
Sarah Moss
Pepper: A History of the World's Most Influential Spice
Marjorie Shaffer
Spice: The History of a Temptation
Jack Turner
Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World: A History
William Alexander
Coffee: A Global History (Edible)
Jonathan Morris
Cheese: A Global History (Edible)
Andrew Dalby
On Spice: Advice, Wisdom, and History with a Grain of Saltiness
Caitlin PenzeyMoog
Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil
Tom Mueller
Salt: A World History
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