It is not clear whether the articles collected in this volume are the proceedings of a conference, or whether it was conceived as a thematic volume. If the latter, it is a pity that the volume is quite short, because it raises a number of interesting debates. The topic would certainly benefit from more research. As the editors explain in the introduction (p. 7), 'for a long time, food and cuisine were dealt with in an antiquarian fashion cataloguing data and customs rather than analysing them with a historical focus'. Recently, food has received more attention in the context of cultural exchange. Changes in food consumption can show how a culture is in 'continual transformation and adapts to internal and external forces' (p. 7). The editors explain how food is an essential expression of identity, but identity is not static and the result of a dynamic process. Therefore, in studies of ancient identity, food should certainly not be neglected. Food culture 'negotiates between tradition and change' (p. 9), but foreign elements can be included in the diet fairly easily. However, they must fit people's needs and experience: 'to be fully integrated, they need to be socially valid' (p. 9).