Ever wonder what the Romans ate when they set off to conquer Europe? Or how Thomas Jefferson made ice cream? Or what Sir Francis Raleigh said when he presented Queen Elizabeth I with an exotic new food called a POTATO?
Welcome to the DIETARY HABITS REVIEW. This fun and informative guide will explain how our modern diets have evolved from our historic eating habits and how we can learn from our ancestors about the benefits of a healthy diet.
DO IT YOURSELF - Find the history of your own favourite food!
How do you do that? It depends upon the food and how far back you want to go. Take tiramasu. This dish was "created" in the late 20th century but - with just a little research - you would soon discover this dish was based on Victorian-era moulded creams which were based on Colonial-era tipsy cakes which were inspired by Renaissance-era trifles! Mmmm....
[image: Wikimedia Commons]
Old eating habits die hard
Like most human activities, different dietary habits have evolved over time, not invented. Most are contemporary twists on traditional themes. For example, French fries are a modern variation of medieval fritters; while Meatloaf is connected to ground cooked meat products promoted at the turn of the twentieth century which are themselves related to ancient Roman minces!
As a starting point, you can check food history encyclopedias and dictionaries. Cuisine/period cookbooks and history sources may also be helpful.
One of the most challenging aspects of recipe research is spotting trends and making connections. A survey of cookbooks through time often reveals similar recipes with different names. A careful inspection of ingredients and cooking instruction confirms or refutes culinary lineage. To complicate matters, variant spellings often appear in older texts. Of course, the first "real" appearance of any recipe often pre-dates the first occurrence of recorded in print by several years!
Simple guide to doing your own culinary research:
- 1. Examine old cookbooks.
Work your way back from the current recipe. Look for similarities in ingredient and method. But BEWARE - Recipes change names! - 2. Research the history of each ingredient.
Old world or new? Rare commodity or common ingredient? Tomato sauce is the cornerstone of many popular Italian dishes, but these fruits (as they are botanically classed) weren't known to Europe until the 16th century. Some foods (rice, beans, pork, bread, soup) are nearly ubiquitous. These recipes evolved according to ingredient availability, technological advancement, and local taste.