Time-Life's Foods of the World Series
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Category: Other Food-Related Topics
Forum Name: The Library
Forum Discription: A place to discuss cooking media such as books, DVDs, websites, television shows and magazines.
URL: http://foodsoftheworld.ActiveBoards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=699
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 20:34
Topic: Time-Life's Foods of the World Series
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Subject: Time-Life's Foods of the World Series
Date Posted: 23 July 2010 at 09:08
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I'll expand a little more on this post when I have time; for now, I would like to say that this outstanding series from the late 1960s and early 1970s was THE inspiration for this forum, along with a healthy interest that both RIVET and I have with international and historic cooking.
Here is a complete listing of the hardback books in the series. each hardback also has a spiral-bound recipe book that has the recipes in the hardback, plus quite a few more.
This should be all of them, but if any are missing, let me know!
Volumes
Supplements
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Replies:
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 23 July 2010 at 14:41
What an excellent post, Ron...well done!  (Let's make this one a sticky) These are some of the most interesting and beautiful cookbooks around. Though the pictures are dated- they are fourty-years old now- the recipes are sound and the background of the particular food and regions shared by the authors is priceless.
Thanks to Ron, I now have nine of the volumes in the series and enjoy everyone of them. He sent me each one and I could not have appreciated them more than I do. If you all get a chance to run across them, pick them up and take some time to read the text...you will be in for a great surprise. ------------- |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 23 July 2010 at 14:59
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These books can be found in many places on-line. I picked up my first four - the britsih isles, spain/portugal, provincial france and italy - at a garage sale and instantly fell in love with them. from there, I located the rest of them over the course of about a 16 months through these sources:
They usually ran between 5 and 10 dollars for each one, plus book-rate shipping, and I bought one or two a month in order to spread out the cost. Occasionally, one was slightly more but this was due to the fact that it was hard-to-find, so I was willing to pay the higher price. ------------- If you are a visitor and like what you see, please http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/registration_rules.asp?FID=0" rel="nofollow - click here and join the discussions in our community! |
Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 23 July 2010 at 17:12
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I told Ron earlier I had some of these, I just counted and I have 12 of them. I thought I had them all and it turns out I have less than half of the series so I've got some work to do to find the others. Too bad they don't reissue these. Here's the ones I have: American Cooking Cooking of the British Isles Cooking of China Cooking of Provincial France Cooking of Germany Cooking of India Cooking of Italy Middle Eastern Cooking Cooking of Scandinavia Cooking of Spain and Portugal Cooking of Vienna's Empire Wines and Spirits Andy |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 19 October 2010 at 13:23
I should have thought of this earlier, but here it is - a very nice description of the series from Wiki that outlines the objective very well:
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Foods of the World was a popular series of 27 cookbooks published by Time-Life, beginning in 1968 and extending through the early 1970s, that provided a broad survey of many of the world's major cuisines. The individual volumes were written by well-known experts on the various cuisines and included significant contemporary food writers, including Craig Claiborne, Pierre Franey, James Beard, Julia Child, and M.F.K. Fisher, and was overseen by food writer Michael Field who died before the series was complete. The series combined recipes with food-themed travelogues in an attempt to show the cultural context from which each recipe sprang.
Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 11 April 2012 at 18:16
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Mrs. Andy mentioned to me the other day that a thrift store she frequents had some of these books. We went over this evening and I was fortunate to add 12 more volumes from this series, all in very nice condition, to my collection for the grand sum of 99 cents per book. Needless to say, I am thrilled and now only lack the Latin American, Russian, and New England books and I will have the entire series. The store also has a number of volumes for 99 cents which I already own. If anyone is interested I am sure we can work something out, 99 cents per book is a fraction of what they normally sell for and is a smoking deal if you collect this series. Provincial France Vienna's Empire China Scandinavia America India Middle Eastern Cooking Spain and Portugal |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 11 April 2012 at 19:20
andy, i don't have an extra copy of latin america around, but if i see one i'll get it for you. if you can pick me up another copy of vienna's empire, spain/portugal, middle east, india and france, i'd sure appreciate it (long story) - let me know what cost + shipping would be, and i'll send down a money order or equivalent trade for ya, if you want! 
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Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 11 April 2012 at 19:35
No problem, I'll be happy to pick them up for you in the morning. I told the Mrs on the way home I should have just went ahead and bought the rest of them, I was hoping someone on here might want them. |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 11 April 2012 at 19:37
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thanks, andy ~ shoot me a PM and we can square up ~~ ------------- If you are a visitor and like what you see, please http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/registration_rules.asp?FID=0" rel="nofollow - click here and join the discussions in our community! |
Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 11 April 2012 at 19:39
Sure will, sent you something cool in email as well. |
Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 12 April 2012 at 16:41
| Picked them up this morning. |
Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 15 April 2012 at 19:41
I guess I'll have to start getting these
|
Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 30 April 2012 at 23:09
Great series, I wish they would re-issue them. I have been a fan for over 20 years. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 21 June 2014 at 19:26
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Arg! I had a chance to buy the whole set at a used library book sale today, probably dirt cheap, but I have no place to put them and no way to carry such a heavy box. They look lovely!
------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 27 June 2014 at 04:41
Dang, Melissa - I wish the circumstances would have been different. I enjoy reading them and I bet you would have, too!  ------------- If you are a visitor and like what you see, please http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/registration_rules.asp?FID=0" rel="nofollow - click here and join the discussions in our community! |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 27 June 2014 at 06:34
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Tas, I have found the historical and geographical to be of great interest. Thank you for posting. Amazon is an excellent source for 2nd hand books too. Have nice weekend. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 28 June 2014 at 15:24
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Well, today was an adventure. That book sale is a weekly thing. I thought about those books all week, and finally thought "Dangit, I WANT those books! If they're still there this week, I'm buying them if I have to drag them home one by one and stash them under the bed." (Which would be tricky, as my bed has no "under.") So I got up early and rushed over to the book sale. No FOTW. The lady who was there last week wasn't there. I sighed and got a nice bread-machine cookbook instead, and went off to the farmers' market. Came back, and decided to loiter around the book sale some more. The lady from last week was there, telling a customer "We have some more romance novels in with the overflow in that other room, but none of us has a key." Breathless, i asked "Remember those cookbooks I was drooling over last week? Any chance that they could be in there?" "Maybe, but we'd need a maintenance guy to unlock the door." 'If they're in there, could I reserve them? "Sure." "Thanks. How much would you want for them?" "Oh, they were in the discard pile. You could have them for whatever you feel like donating." (She would've GIVEN them to me, and the best price I saw online was $88!) I tracked down a maintenance guy with a key. He unlocked the room. There were various books, and a large, lidded white box, like the one that the FotW books had been displayed in. The book sale lady opened it... Romance novels. :SIGH:  ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 28 June 2014 at 15:27
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Melissa, Too bad !! Never hesitate when you see a great cookbook !!! Sorry to hear the downer news. Happy July 4th. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 28 June 2014 at 16:44
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Or in this case, many great cookbooks. :) Thanks! ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 23 July 2016 at 10:58
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At last, I own some FOTW cookbooks! I found the Latin America and Spain and Portugal ones at a booksale today.
------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 06 August 2016 at 11:45
Awesome, Melissa! Span/Portugal was the first FOTW book that I read, and is still my favourite!  Now, let's see some cookin'! ------------- If you are a visitor and like what you see, please http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/registration_rules.asp?FID=0" rel="nofollow - click here and join the discussions in our community! |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 07 August 2016 at 14:12
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:) I have a friend who's been to Portugal. Maybe she can suggest a favorite dish. It's been too hot to cook here for a few days, so I've just been reading cookbooks. ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 17 June 2017 at 10:15
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I found the Scandinavia book! My mom says she had the whole set once (inherited it), but gave it away. :( ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 17 June 2017 at 11:18
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Ron, Portugual is my neighbor and I have been to Lisbon several times ( 1 / 2 hour flight via Tap Air or Iberia Airlines ) .. I have several books on a wide variety of Portuguese regions .. Is there something specific that you are looking for ? 365 Days a year promoted by the Tourist Office, with 365 Cod Fish Dishes !! The Squid is amazing and so are the hugh red prawns amongst other sea adventures .. However, the cuisine in the North has alot of similarities to Galician Rias Biaxas Cuisine and the Duero which is red wine country near Salamanca, is quite similar to this western border región of Spain. The southern coastal área Algarve, is similar in cuisine to Cadíz and Huelva on the southern Atlantic .. I had bought a few books at the International Book fair last year in Lisbon. They speak English and Spanish very well .. If you send me an email or message via F.B., I can scan a few récipes for you. Have a lovely weekend .. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 24 August 2020 at 14:27
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If there's anybody besides me who doesn't own all the FOTW books, and wants to, check this out: https://www.thriftbooks.com/browse/?b.search=foods%20of%20the%20world#b.s=mostPopular-desc&b.p=1&b.pp=30&b.oos&b.tile I'm going to have the Germany book at last! :) ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: pitrow
Date Posted: 25 August 2020 at 09:01
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Nice find Melissa!
------------- Mike http://lifeinpitrow.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow - Life in PitRow - My often neglected, somewhat eccentric, occasionally outstanding blog |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 25 August 2020 at 13:23
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I'm TRYING to be thrifty, because COVID's messing with my job situation, but 6 books for $27, including a couple I've never seen for sale- I couldn't resist.
------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 15 November 2021 at 18:31
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Youngest Nephew (15) is turning out to be a talented baker. I got him the Scandinavia book and recipe booklet for Christmas. ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 16 November 2021 at 11:45
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Melissa, Lucky you ! I am sure they shall be very useful too .. Hope all is well and it is nice to see a new post !!! It is quite quiet here .. It saddens me a bit .. All is well and we are looking forward to the holidays and 2022 of course. Has been a challenging and complex era. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 16 November 2021 at 16:53
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It's not quite the same without photos. I hope he likes them. He sounded interested in the danish pastries. He made a great chocolate mousse cake for my birthday. (From scratch!) ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 18 November 2021 at 22:16
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Hi Melissa. Great to hear from you. Is your nephew just interested in pastries? Or does he want to make bread, too? If so you might direct him to my bread primer: http://www.foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/the-staff-of-life-a-primer-on-baking-bread_topic3089.html It's really nice hearing about somebody that young developing an interest in the culinary arts. Not very common, despite what some food celebrities claim. Hope he stays with it. ------------- But we hae meat and we can eat And sae the Lord be thanket |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 20 November 2021 at 10:36
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His favorite thing seems to be cakes. He made pineapple upside-down cake when he was 11. ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 22 November 2021 at 13:34
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Melissa, This is great news .. Have a lovely evening. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 23 November 2021 at 15:43
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Sadly, I got the book, but not the recipe booklet that was advertised as included. THe book has a bright orane covr, not the usual one. ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 24 November 2021 at 07:15
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Hmmmmmm? I wonder if that's a later edition? My copy of that one is white, with a photo of a glass container of herring, a cheese of some kind, and a glass of, what I presume to be, aquivit. Too bad about the recipe booklet. I'd contact the seller about it. But, meanwhile, there certainly are enough recipes in the book to whet his whistle. And, let's face it, there is a plentitude of Scandinavian recipes on the web, if the topic trips his trigger. He made a pineapple upside-down cake when he was 11. How ironic. When I was about 12, in the Scouts, I made a pineapple upside-down cake in foil, on an open fire. Won the cooking merit badge on the strength of that cake. ------------- But we hae meat and we can eat And sae the Lord be thanket |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 26 November 2021 at 13:34
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Melissa, Great news !!! I really enjoy the historical and geographical aspects of the series. I also love CULINARIA Series too. All my best wishes. It has been a long time since we have had a chat or two. Have a lovely weekend. 26 / 11 / 2021 Happy Thanksgiving too. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |
Posted By: Melissa Mead
Date Posted: 27 November 2021 at 11:43
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I read them at least as much for the culture as the recipes. ------------- Melissa http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ - http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 27 November 2021 at 14:13
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I too love The Time Life and The Culinaria for the history, geographical, products, cultural and photography as well. Great for research especially when travelling too. Dessert Cookbooks: I love the Le Cordon Bleu Series for Desserts .. I love the Chocolate edition. They also have an amazing selection of books on appetisers, winter specialties, sauces, soups etcetra. Got mine at an International Book Festival held in May yearly except for 2020 .. Take care, getting late here now. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. ------------- Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina. |