Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I picked up this set because I immensely enjoy reading the Oxford Companion to Food and refer to it often.
Unfortunately, while the scope of the OEFDA is wide and many of the articles are informative and interesting, the quality of the writing is not as high as in the OCF. Perhaps Oxford University Press thought it needed to make this book "accessible" to Americans by limiting the authors to writing at an 8th grade level.
There also are factual inconsistencies throughout the book. For example, Ruffles potato chips are said to have been launched during either the 1950's or the 1970's, depending on which article about snacks you happen to be reading. This sort of sloppy editing and fact-checking is inexcusable, especially from a university press.
Bottom line: the OEFDA is an admirable attempt at creating a comprehensive survey of American food history, but there are some glaring flaws. I recommend starting with the OCF.
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