Wikis tagged with Food-History

Salt was an essential item on every medieval table. It was served not in shakers, as we do, but rather in a communal mound upon a bread trencher, or else in a communal saltcellar. Such saltcellars were often ornate, intricate, and fashioned of precious metals. A particularly popular style was the nef, in the shape of a ship, replete with tiny rigging, cannon, and sailors. Dipping food directly into the cellar was frowned upon. One would take a small portion and place it upon a clean trencher. Good quality salt was made from brine springs by evaporation, or from peat that contained...

As I stumbled into the kitchen this morning, I glanced out the window and was somewhat surprised to see a wild tom turkey strutting about in the back yard. Half asleep, I drifted from thoughts of roast turkey with all the trimmings to recollections of Chef Paul Prudhomme's marvelous recipe for turducken, a wonderful dish of a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. Collecting illusion food recipes has been a hobby of mine for a long time, you see, so it doesn't take much to get me thinking about it. (If you're not familiar with them, illusion foods are dishes that appear to be...

Ice Cream: America's favorite dessert! How did it all begin? Where did it come from? How did this plentitude of diverse flavors develop? Back in the early 1600's, confectioners of royal families in Europe first created ice cream. Only the wealthy few could afford the necessary ingredients. Ice, a scarce commodity at the time, and salt were required to freeze the cream. Sugar, an integral part of the formula, was an extremely expensive commodity. The early ice creams were molded like elaborate confectionery pieces and served at royal banquets, such as swans, flowers, birds and even...

Chefs, for the most part, wear their uniforms almost every day of their working lives, replete with toque, checked pants and double-breasted jacket. Though these uniforms are ubiquitous in the foodservice industry worldwide, they are often taken for granted and worn without much thought. However, many may find that the origin and reasons behind traditional chef's attire are as interesting as it looks. Much of the chef's uniform has developed out of necessity. The jacket, for example, is double-breasted so it can easily be reversed to hide stains that may accumulate throughout the day;...

What's in a name? History says plenty!So you want to open a little place of your own. It's something you always wanted to do. Just a cute little place with good food, a few plants and small intimate tables where people like to gather. You've spent months mulling over the name. You could go with the obvious-"Henry's Restaurant". After all, this was the name given to the little stops along a travel route that served food and beverage to "restore" its weary patrons. Nice title, but you're right-it's obvious. You might consider a name that is a little more down to earth and not quite as...

This delicious recipe for Pears in Syrup is from a manuscript cookbook dating to circa 1450 (Harleian MS. 4016). These pears make a perfect dessert for a hearty autumn or winter feast! Present individual servings in crystal glasses to show off the exquisite color of the sauce. ( [th] stands for the Old English character 'thorn.') The original recipe: 96 Peris in Syrippe. Take Wardons, and cast hem in a faire potte, And boile hem til [th]ei ben tendre; and take hem vppe, and pare hem in ij. or in iij. And take powder of Canell, a good quantite, and cast hit in good red wyne, And cast...

It never ceases to amaze me that supposedly new and exciting recipes can be so very old in origin. Take, for example, the recent craze for fried mozzarella sticks. 10 years ago they were nowhere to be found. Now suddenly almost every Italian-American restaurant offers them, and they're available in a heat-n-eat form from the supermarket as well. Amazing. Especially when you consider that one form of this recipe dates back to at least the 14th century! This recipe for fried cheese sticks, or "pipefarces", appears in Le Ménagier de Paris, a French work of c. 1393. PIPEFARCES. Prenez des...

Mention popcorn and most Americans think of theaters, sporting events, circuses and their microwave ovens. By far the largest use of popcorn is as a confection. However, popcorn also has a long history as a cookery ingredient. While conducting a computer search of the National Agricultural Library's holdings, I misspelled popcorn, leaving a space between the "p" and the "c." On the computer screen, out popped Mary Hamilton Talbott's Pop Corn Recipes, published by the Sam Nelson, Jr., Company of Grinnell, Iowa. Popcorn had long been viewed mainly as a snack food. Few processors realized...

"...Mezclun mix, $5.99/lb. this week at A & P!" How times have changed. Or should that be, what goes around comes around? Twenty years ago the average customer would have angrily criticized the assortment of mixed greens on his plate as weeds and grass clippings, before sending it back to the kitchen to be replaced with his beloved iceberg lettuce and hothouse tomatoes. Now what's touted as "mezclun mix" (the new "in" assortment of leaf lettuces mixed with arugula, spinach, escarole, and other colorful greens of various shapes) can be found in many restaurants across the country, and...

Almost exactly three hundred years ago Londoners could buy the first English-language book on how to make a salad. Called Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets (acetaria being an old word for salad greens), it instructed that only the freshest leaves straight from the garden should be used. They should be 'sprinkled', not soaked, in fresh water, drained in a colander, and then they should be swung"all together gently in clean, coarse napkin." They should be dressed with oil of a pallid olive green . . .such as native Lucca olives afford," with vinegar of the best quality infused with flowers...

While our early ancestors may have employed hot water to heat foods in natural containers, the cooking technique of boiling was not commonly-used until the invention of waterproof and heatproof containers about five thousand years ago. Boiling was advantageous as a cooking technique. Water turns to steam at a constant temperature that does not exceed F. 212 at sea level. Compared to heating with hot air over a fire, boiling water is more dense and comes more fully in contact with the entire surface of submersed foods. Hot water easily and quickly imparts its energy to the food. In addition...

One may find this hard to believe, but humans have been toasting things since the beginning of time. Man discovered early on that the only way to separate the edible part of the grain from the husks was to toast it. Deliberate toasting of the grain would make it digestible and improve its taste considerably. The early oven resembled today's seashore clambake; a pit was dug, lined with flat stone, and a fire was set. Then the cinders were brushed from the rock, which left the pit very hot. The baker would lay the stalks of grain on the rocks and roast them until the grain and the husks...

The Beginning of Civilization The origin of the date palm is lost in antiquity. It gave a means of existence to thousands of people. It has been said to offer man "three hundred and sixty" uses including thread, needles, baskets, lumber, mattresses, rope, numerous other household items and an integral part of their diet. It is certain that the date palm grew between 4000-5000 years ago. Formerly known as Mesopotamia, The Garden Of Eden is supposed to lie at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the beginning of mankind. The three ancient kingdoms of the area, Chaldea, Assyria...

Various pudding recipes, especially bread pudding, have been traditional Christmas dishes since the 19th century.  Before discussing bread pudding we must first illuminate what pudding in general is, and that's the real challenge.  According to the culinary encyclopedia Larousse Gastronomique, pudding is "Any of numerous dishes, sweet or savory, served hot or cold, which are prepared in a variety of ways."  I think that's the broadest definition I've ever encountered.  With those parameters, a McDonalds Happy Meal could be considered pudding.  The problem is the word "pudding" has been...

"Fruitcake is a geological homemade cake," Charles Dickens When I was a kid I hated fruitcake. Ok, hate is a pretty strong word, an intense dislike is probably more appropriate, and this is coming from someone who's had a sweet tooth since the day they were born. But to be honest I didn't really gave it a chance. One of the sticky little blocks always seemed to appear around holiday time, I'd spot it stashed in the back of the refrigerator. I wouldn't eat it even when there were no other sweets in the house. The way its plastic wrapping stuck to it kind of grossed me out, and it had...

New Orleans Classics In 1604 the French colonized Acadia, the region surrounding present day Nova Scotia.  Disputes with Great Britain over the sovereignty of the territory quickly arose.  Over the next two centuries control of Acadia shifted between the French and the British, highlighted by interminable armed conflicts, political haggling, and treaties.  Finally in 1785 the British had the upper hand and forced the Acadians from their homeland.   The Acadians then migrated to Louisiana where successive translations of their name produced the term "Cajun."  Cajun cooking, a hearty and...

I completed my doctorate degree at Yeshiva University in the Bronx.  One of the things I remember most, (aside from the cost), was not the education, but the extraordinary matzo ball soup in the cafeteria.  I never had lunch in the cafeteria without enjoying it.  This was years before my culinary interests took a more serious turn so I never queried how it was made.  At the time I was more than satisfied to simply savor the soup and temporarily escape the grueling schedule, the horrendous commute, and the prospect of student loan payments for decades to come.  Matzo, also spelled...

Perhaps the one tool that can give you an edge when presenting certain dishes and drinks. But this tool is almost never found anymore. The most common place used to be the bar, but since the new generation of Franchise Eatery barkeeps has come along, they all reach for the soda gun! While I understand the grind out the drinks mentality, I am surprised to see a lack of younger bar keeps picking up the traits involved in serving a proper drink. Order a scotch with a splash of soda, the gun, the gun, the gun! What happen to pride in the craft? But enough on Barkeeps that is an entirely...

Soybeans are one of the world's most important crops. Soy, like wheat and corn, plays a substantial role in feeding large numbers of people throughout the world. Soybeans have been part of the Chinese diet for at least 5,000 years. Indeed, many Asian countries have been consuming a wide range of soy products for centuries, and it is often to the soy-rich diets of these cultures that scientists now attribute their populations' heart health and longevity. Because many soy products originated in Asia, they have Asian names America has grown soybeans for only a fraction of the time that they...

Whenever I mention that I write on the history of food, someone is bound to ask "When was pasta invented?" For Europe, that's a tricky question to answer. For China, though, we have a pretty good idea: about 300 BC. We have it on the authority of Shu Hsi, an official editor of ancient texts and one of the most learned men of China. A pasta enthusiast, in about 300 AD he composed a poem "A Rhapsody on Pasta." Although today we don't think of poems as culinary reference works, they were back then. Shu Hsi's rhapsody was effectively a pasta encyclopedia. The Chinese cuisine of 300 BC was...