I've recently become interested in the history of food - why have we eaten certain foods at certain times in our American and world history, and what does it all mean?

Happily, our library carries a number of titles that answer these and other questions.

In the time before Thanksgiving and other holidays it's a good idea to take a look back and reminisce about the reasons behind some of our culinary choices.

Here are some recommendations:

• Fast and feast : food in medieval society by Bridget Ann Henisch
• Food in history by Reay Tannahill
• Eating in America : a history by Waverley Lewis Root
• Food : a culinary history from antiquity to the present by Jean Louis Flandrin
• The Cambridge World History of Food by Kenneth Kiple
• Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food by Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto
• Around the Roman Table by Patrick Faas
• Moveable Feasts by Gregory McNamee

I'm also very interested in this website (I plan on trying some recipes myself), and you may enjoy it as well - Four Pounds Flour.