INTRODUCTION<br > Why is tbere a handle on my teacup in Tulsa， but not in Tokyo? Why do I eat with a<br > fork in Paris， but not in Peking? Why is it appropriate to have a biscuit， berries， and<br > cream at breakfast， while the exact same ingredients reassembled into strawberry short-<br > cake are unsuitable in the morning? What made a high-fat diet essential for survival in<br > the past and a killer today? For some reason that I cannot explain， questions like these，<br > about how and why people eat and drink the way they do， have fascinated me for over<br > 30 years， and I have spent most of those decades researching and reporting on our<br > consuming passions.<br > In 1989， I began videotaping a series of fifty-two television programs that take a look<br > at the history， folklore， food habits， and recipes of various cities around the world. I<br > wanted to understand why the people in these towns eat the way they do， to discover<br > some of their best-tasting foods and recipes， and adapt them for use in the average<br > home kitchen. I also began evaluating the information being presented by scientists on<br > ~ the relationship of food to health and incorporating the most reliable nutritional rec-<br > ommendations into the specific recipes. This book contains the information presented<br > jn the first twenty-six episodes of that series， which is called "Butt Wolf/Eating Well. "<br > I have chosen recipes that reflect the cooking of the commt， nities I have studied， hut<br > I have made a great effort to avoid ingredients that are hard to crone by as well as<br > techniques that are difficult to perform. I like recipes that are simple， easy， and worth<br > .the time， effort， and money.<br > I hope this book gives you as much pleasure in its use as it gave me in its preparation;<br >~ and if the text leads yon to join me on your local educational television station when it<br > is broadcasting "Eating Well" . . . all the better.<br > BURT WOLF<br > NEW YORK CITY MARCH 1992<br >