History of food and drink

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about History of food and drink

Answer 1

History of seafood

The harvesting and consuming of seafoods are ancient practices that may date back to at least the Upper Paleolithic period which dates to between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish.Archaeology features such as shell middens, discarded fish bones and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, where there are early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied) such as those at Lepenski Vir, they are almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.

The ancient river Nile was full of fish; fresh and dried fish were a staple food for much of the population. The Egyptians had implements and methods for fishing and these are illustrated in tomb scenes, drawings, and papyrus documents. Some representations hint at fishing being pursued as a pastime.

The Israelites ate a variety of fresh and saltwater fish, according to both archaeological and textual evidence. Remains of freshwater fish from the Yarkon and Jordan rivers and the Sea of Galilee have been found in excavations, and include St. Peter’s fish and mouthbreeders. Saltwater fish discovered in excavations include sea bream, grouper, meager and gray mullet. Most of these come from the Mediterranean, but in the later Iron Age period, some are from the Red Sea. Fishermen supplied fish to inland communities, as remains of fish, including bones and scales, have been discovered at many inland sites. To preserve them for transport, the fish were first smoked or dried and salted. Merchants also imported fish, sometimes from as far as from Egypt, where pickled roe was an export article. Remains of Nile Perch from Egypt have been found, and these must have been smoked or dried, before being imported through the trade network that connected ancient Near Eastern societies. Merchants shipped fish to Jerusalem and there was evidently a significant trade in fish; one of the gates of Jerusalem was called the Fish Gate, named for a fish market nearby. Fish products were salted and dried and sent great distances during the Israelite and Judean monarchies. However, even in the later Persian, Greek and Roman periods, the cost of preserving and transporting fish must have meant that only wealthier inhabitants of the highland towns and cities could afford it, or those who lived close to the sources, where it was less expensive.

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Answer 2

History of South Asian cuisine

The history of South Asian cuisine, which consists of the cuisines of modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, is rich and diverse. As a land that has experienced extensive immigration and intermingling through many millennia, the Indian subcontinent has benefited from numerous food influences. The diverse climate in the region, ranging from deep tropical to alpine, has also helped considerably broaden the set of ingredients readily available to the many schools of cookery in India. In many cases, food has become a marker of religious and social identity, with varying taboos and preferences (for instance, a segment of the Jain population consume no roots or subterranean vegetable; see Jain vegetarianism) which has also driven these groups to innovate extensively with the food sources that are deemed acceptable.

One strong influence over Indian foods is the longstanding vegetarianism within sections of India's Hindu and Jain communities. At 31%, slightly less than a third of Indians are vegetarians.

Around 7000 BCE, sesame, eggplant, and humped cattle had been domesticated in the Indus Valley. By 3000 BCE, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were harvested in India. Vegetarianism was facilitated by the advent of Buddhism and a cooperative climate where a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains could easily be grown throughout the year. A food classification system that categorized any item as saatvic, raajsic or taamsic developed in Ayurveda. Each was deemed to have a powerful effect on the body and the mind.

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Answer 3

Spice use in Antiquity

Spices have been around in conjunction with human use for millennium, many civilizations in antiquity used a variety of spices for their common qualities. The variety of spices were used for common purposes among the ancient world, and they were also used to create a variety of products designed to enhance or suppress certain sensations. Spices were also associated with certain rituals to perpetuate a superstition, or fulfill a religious obligation, among other things.

Spices classified as coriander, fennel, juniper, cumin, garlic and thyme are named in 1550 BCE Egyptian papyri for their specific health effects.

The early Chinese publication of "The Classic Herbal" dating from around 2700 BCE listed more than a hundred medicinal plants.

Sumerian clay tablets dating from the 3rd millennium BCE mention various plants, including thyme. King Merodach-baladan II (721-710 BC) of Babylonia grew many spices and herbs (Ex: cardamom, coriander, garlic, thyme, saffron, and turmeric). The Babylonian moon god was thought to control medicinal plants.

Spices and herbs such as black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, and cardamom have been used by Indians for thousands of years for culinary and health purposes. A poultice of sesame was used by surgeons as early as the 4th century BCE for its antiseptic purposes on post operative wounds.

Largely due to Alexander the Great's conquest, of Asia Minor and the Hellenic World, was he able to gain access to many Eastern spices. Many Eastern spices like pepper, cassia, cinnamon, and ginger were imported by the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, often called the "Father of Medicine,"wrote many treatises on medicinal plants including saffron, cinnamon, thyme, coriander, mint, and marjoram. One of the most important Greek medicinal spices was used as early as the 7th century BCE and was known as Silphium, a plant that went extinct in the 1st century CE.

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Answer 4

History of sugar

The history of sugar has five main phases:

Known worldwide through the end of the medieval period, sugar was very expensive and was considered a "fine spice", but from about the year 1500, technological improvements and New World sources began turning it into a much cheaper bulk commodity.

The people of New Guinea were probably the first to domesticate sugarcane, sometime around 8,000 BC. After domestication, its cultivation spread rapidly to Southeast Asia and southern China. India, where the process of refining cane juice into granulated crystals was developed, was often visited by imperial convoys (such as those from China) to learn about cultivation and sugar refining. By the sixth century AD, sugar cultivation and processing had reached Persia; and, from there that knowledge was brought into the Mediterranean by the Arab expansion. "Wherever they went, the [medieval] Arabs brought with them sugar, the product and the technology of its production."

Spanish and Portuguese exploration and conquest in the fifteenth century carried sugar south-west of Iberia. Henry the Navigator introduced cane to Madeira in 1425, while the Spanish, having eventually subdued the Canary Islands, introduced sugar cane to them. In 1493, on his second voyage, Christopher Columbus carried sugarcane seedlings to the New World, in particular Hispaniola.

Sugarcane originated in tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea.

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Answer 5

History of sushi

The history of sushi began with paddy fields in Southeast Asia, where fish was fermented with salt and rice, after which the rice was discarded. The dish is today known as narezushi, and was introduced to Japan around the Yayoi period. In the Muromachi period, people began to eat the rice as well as the fish. During the Edo period, vinegar rather than fermented rice began to be used. In pre-modern times and modern times, it has become a form of fast food strongly associated with Japanese culture.

The earliest form of sushi, a dish today known as narezushi, has its probable origin with paddy fields along the Mekong river in Southeast Asia. The prototypical narezushi is made by lacto-fermenting fish with salt and rice in order to control putrefaction. Spreading southwards down the Mekong, narezushi then entered Austronesia. In Japan the dish's distribution overlaps with the introduction of wet-field rice cultivation during the Yayoi period.

Narezushi appears in the Chinese dictionary in the 2nd century AD as the character sa (鮓, pickled fish with salt and rice), which was during a period in which Han people were migrating south of the Yangtze river, adopting the food from the non-Han minority peoples.

The Japanese preferred to eat fish with rice, known as namanare or namanari (生成, なまなれ, なまなり, semi-fermented). During the Muromachi period namanare was the most popular type of sushi. Namanare was partly raw fish wrapped in rice, consumed fresh, before it changed flavor. This new way of consuming fish was no longer a form of preservation but rather a new dish in Japanese cuisine.

During the Edo period, a third type of sushi was introduced, haya-zushi (早寿司, 早ずし, fast sushi). Haya-zushi was assembled so that both rice and fish could be consumed at the same time, and the dish became unique to Japanese culture. It was the first time that rice was not being used for fermentation. Rice was now mixed with vinegar, with fish, vegetables and dried food stuff added. This type of sushi is still very popular today. Each region utilizes local flavors to produce a variety of sushi that has been passed down for many generations.

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Answer 6

Timeline of food

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Answer 7

Tudor Food

Tudor food refers to the food consumed during the Tudor period, which occurred in 16th century England.

For the poor, they ate whatever meat they could find, such as rabbits, blackbirds, pheasants, partridges, hens, duck, and pigeon, and also fish they caught from lakes and rivers. Meanwhile, the rich Tudors' diet was based around eating meat. They ate the types of meat like the poor as well, but they also consumed more expensive ones, for instance, swan, peacock, geese, boar, and deer (venison).

Herbs were often used to flavor their meals and the rich had a separate herb garden to grow what they needed, such as parsley, mint, rosemary, thyme, and sage.

Tudors from all classes consumed bread in all of their meals as a main source of carbohydrates, the difference is in the quality of it. The cheapest bread available was the Carter's bread which was a mixture of rye and wheat. The middle class or prosperous tenants ate ravel—also known as yeoman's bread—made of wholemeal. The most expensive bread was marchet, made of white wheat flour.

The held banquets and feasts consisting of different courses where each course had a variety of dishes brought out at the same time. People then could choose what they want to eat.

Desserts:

Everyone drank ale liberally during the Tudor period because water was considered unhealthy. Ale at the time was brewed without hops and was not particularly alcoholic. The rich also drank wine, which was mostly brought from Europe, but some of them were produced in the vineyards in Southern England.

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Answer 8

History of vegetarianism

Vegetarianism has its roots in the civilizations of ancient India and ancient Greece. Vegetarianism is the theory and practice of voluntary non-consumption of the flesh of any animal (including sea animals), with or without also eschewing other animal derivatives (such as dairy products or eggs). The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people concern ancient India and the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece. In both instances the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals (called ahimsa in India), and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.

Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th-6th centuries), vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe. Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons, but none of them abstained from the consumption of fish; these monks were not vegetarians, but some were pescetarians. Vegetarianism was to reemerge somewhat in Europe during the Renaissance, and became a more widespread practice during the 19th and 20th centuries. The figures for the percentage of the Western world which is vegetarian varies between 0.5% & 4% per Mintel data in September 2006.

In the ancient Vedic period, eating some kinds of meat was allowed by their laws, although vegetarianism was encouraged. The Manusmriti law book states, "There is no sin in eating meat... but abstention brings great rewards."

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Answer 9

History of yerba mate

The history of yerba mate, that stretches back to pre-Columbian Paraguay, is marked by a rapid expansion in harvest and consumption in the Spanish South American colonies but also by its difficult domestication process, which even if discovered in the mid 17th century had to be rediscovered later when production was industrialized around 1900.

The consumption of yerba mate became widespread in the Spanish colony of Paraguay in the late 16th century both among Spanish settlers and indigenous Guaraní people, who had to some extent consumed it before the Spanish arrival. Mate consumption spread in the 17th century to the Platine region and from there to Chile and Peru. This widespread consumption turned it into Paraguay’s main commodity above other wares like tobacco, and Indian labour was used to harvest wild stands. In the mid 17th century Jesuits managed to domesticate the plant and establish plantations in their Indian reductions in Misiones, sparking severe competition with the Paraguayan harvesters of wild stands. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in the 1770s their plantations fell into decay as did their domestication secrets. The industry continued to be of prime importance for the Paraguayan economy after independence, but development in benefit of the Paraguayan state halted after the Paraguayan War (1864–1870) which devastated the country both economically and demographically. Brazil became then the prime producer of yerba mate. In Brazilian and Argentine projects in late 19th and early 20th century the plant was domesticated once again opening the way for modern plantation systems. When Brazilian entrepreneurs turned their attention into coffee in the 1930s Argentina, that had long been the prime consumer, took over as the largest producer, resurrecting Misiones Province where the Jesuits had once had most of their plantations.

Before the arrival of the Spanish the Guaraní people, indigenous to the area of natural distribution of the plant, are known to have consumed yerba mate at least for medicinal purposes. Remnants of yerba mate have also been found in a Quechua tomb near Lima, Peru and has therefore been suggested to have been associated with prestige. The first Europeans to establish themselves in the lands of the Guaranís and the yerba mate were the Spaniards that founded Asunción in 1537. The new colony developed with little commerce and contact from outside and which made the Spanish to establish fluid contacts beyond labour relationships with the local tribes. It is not clear exactly when Spaniards began to drink mate but it is known by late 16th century to be widely consumed.

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