A Critique of the Mediterranean Diet. And More by a Spanish Food Historian
Mr Keys* and his Spanish friends located in the United States dedicated themselves to promoting the benefits of a [Mediterranean] diet that was only strictly followed in Crete and that . . . with the passage of time . . . became transformed into the Mediterranean “style of life.”
In the first half of the twentieth century, what quality did the famous olive oil, the basis of our dietetic panacea, really have? What quality of red wines from the jug were the ordinary people consuming in that Mediterranean? Kilograms of vegetables, yes, but surrounded by huge hunks of anti-dietetic bread and hefty portions of bacon . . . succored the insatiable stomachs of the Spanish. . . .
Dietary evolution . . . in the second half of the century diverges absolutely from the Mediterranean diet . . . However such divergence and perhaps the noted increase in the ingestion of proteins, parallel an increase in life expectancy, in height, . . . and also . . . in gastronomic enjoyment. This poses a serious problem for Mr. Keys and his mariachis.
*Ancel Keys, the American nutritionist who studied starvation, publicised cholesterol, developed the K ration, and promoted the Mediterranean diet in the 1950s.
From Líneas maestras de la gastronomía y la culinaria españolas (siglo xx) (Outlines of Spanish Gastronomy and Cooking in the Twentieth Century) by Francisco Abad Alegría and a number of associates. Abad Alegría, when not writing on food history, is Head of the Neurophysiology Clinic of the University Hospital of Zaragoza in Spain. Here’s an interview with the author (in Spanish).
Title page
Among the other topics he tackles.
- The major cookbooks of the twentieth century, the professions and aims of their authors. This includes an analysis of the relation between the Sección Femenina del Movimiento Nacional and Franquismo.
- Analysis of menus of different social classes at the beginning, middle and end of the century (including home cooking, restaurants and fast food).
- Changes in kitchen technology, particularly the sources of heat, refrigeration, and the pressure cooker.
From Líneas maestras. Title page of A. Simmons. 6th edn. Buenos Aires. 1951
- Changes in foodstuffs, particularly the increase in the use of chicken, frozen foods, and stock cubes (for a separate post).
- Spanish cooking in the last third of the century.
I appreciate the tables, surveys, and numbers. Invaluable if you want to understand the evolution of Spanish cuisine in the twentieth century, especially if you want to get behind the restaurant hype.
Rachel Laudan:
Thank you for reviewing this book. (I knew I learned to read in Spanish for a reason.)
I am interested in the political aspects of his book. They might apply to countries besides Spain as well.
As usual, I appreciate your historian’s view of cookbooks.
Ruth Paget
Yes, Ruth. The political aspects are interesting and much less known, at least outside Spain, than parallel developments in Italy.