Let’s cook History

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Lets Cook History

Is an entertaining and informative five part series exploring the origins of European cooking and eating habits. Each episode reconstructs a famous meal on from a different period in history, depicting the evolution of tastes, customs and world trades that have shaped the contemporary cuisine.

Ancient cooking

Egyptian wall paintings that date back to 4000 BC show that ancient Egyptians used cooking methods such as roasting, broiling, frying and boiling. There were also Biblical references to ancient methods of cooking, and early carvings from Assyria and Babylonia indicate the use of charcoal in cooking pans. Baking came during the invention of the oven, and the first ever oven discovered dated back 6,500 years ago. During 168 BC, the first baking guild was established in Rome.

The civilization of Mesopotamia brought one of the biggest developments in human history. Plant irrigation and cultivation, as well as plant and animal domestication, were done by people of Mesopotamia since 9,000 BC. Crops such as grains, barley, wheat, beans, peas, lentils, leeks, turnips, onions, radishes, and garlic were being planted during 3,000 BC, and the Mesopotamian diet is usually made up of such. People knew how to take care of sheep, cattle, and ducks for food. They also hunted pigs, deer, game birds, gazelle, and fish. Generally, meats were smoked, dried or salted for preservation, and were cooked by roasting, broiling or boiling.

Boiling and stewing were done using pots placed near the fire, or in cauldrons suspended over a fire by hanging from a tripod formed by three poles joined at the apex or by fastening chains attached to a beam. A basic dish was made up of lentils, beans, and grains.

When the Egyptian civilization began around 3,100 BC, more types of animals were domesticated and more food-bearing plants were grown. By then, the nobles and the rich were served with elaborate stews which were prepared with more sophisticated cooking methods. Meanwhile, the peasants’ basic meal consisted of bread, onions, fruit, and beer. The leavened bread was also believed to have been first prepared in Egypt.

The Roman Empire made cooking into an art form. During the 1^st century AD, simple meals were replaced by elaborate banquets, and chefs specialized in disguising food. That time, the earliest collection of recipes that survived in Europe was also written, and it was known as the Apicius or De re coquinaria. The compilation was done in between 4^th and 5^th century AD.

Medieval cooking

In the Middle Ages, what people eat depends on who they are. During feasts, large numbers of invited guests were served different dishes of varying number and quality of courses according to social status. The rich always ate better than the poor (and it looks like it has never changed, even today).

The average men had no kitchen; but in castles, monasteries, and palaces, there were huge kitchens equipped with all kinds of cooking wares and utensils. Huge houses had bread made in tall ovens, and their dinner included a roast, white bread, quarry, and custard or pudding.

From the 1400s through the 1500s, spice trading became popular, and more ingredients had been gradually added to recipes. Portuguese vessels reached South Africa, India and China to trade spices. These were used generously to create savory and flavorful dishes.

Renaissance cooking

The Renaissance period brought in famous cooks and notable advancements in cuisine. That time, Italy had the most famous, skilled and creative chefs in Europe who took fine dining into new levels. The banquet tradition and the flavors of Medieval times were carried over to the Renaissance.

The menu during the Renaissance period has greatly expanded. You can find a large selection of foods like pasta, bread, hard biscuits, wine, rice, cheese, pecorino, pizza (with no tomato sauce yet), sausages, omelets, meatballs, pork, fish and small birds or game. People developed a taste for the giblets of butchered animals. Soups and stews were staple foods and were eaten both by the poor and the rich. Cakes and flan became popular for desserts. Olive oil was used in cooking. Milk and dairy products became a need, and most households could make their own cheese.

In addition to spices, fruit and citrus became basic flavoring agents. They also used light sauces made of aromatic plants or fruit, to be mixed with bread, flour, eggs or almonds.

In 1533, Catherine de Medici arrived in France from Italy. She brought her master chefs with her who carried Italian staples like broccoli, artichokes, veal, baby peas, and pasta. The French court tasted, and the country’s cuisine started to produce the most complex and refined dishes in the West.

When Louis XIV was king of France, his second wife founded a school that granted blue ribbons for girls who won honors in cooking. Up to now, the blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality in food. His steward, Louis de Béchameil, had the béchamel sauce named after him. And during his term, coffee was popularized in the French Court because of his ambassador of the Turkish government.

Modern cooking

Other processes on handling food were developed in the coming centuries. One of the biggest changes came in the mid-17^th century when the cast-iron range was developed and began to replace open fireplaces. It radiated more heat and burned less fuel than typical fireplaces. The first instance of cooling was recorded in 1748 when William Cullen at the University of Glasgow tried to produce refrigeration. It was successful but did not advance past the laboratory stage. The first refrigeration machine, however, was developed in the US in 1844. Meanwhile, the tin can was invented as a tool for preserving food in 1810. Its development was triggered by the problem of feeding military forces in the field. In addition, gas was first used for cooking during the 1840s – and since then, the use of gas in the kitchen has been popular.

The 1700s and the 1800s brought us our fast food favorites. The sandwich was invented by John Montagu, the 4^th Earl of Sandwich in 1762. The Margherita pizza, the first relative of the pizza we know today, was invented in 1889. Meanwhile, the first hamburger and steak sandwich were sold in 1895.

In 1765, the first modern version of the restaurant appeared in Paris and was opened by a soup salesman named Boulanger. That was also the year when the word “restaurant” was used for its current usage for the first time. And by 1789, just before the French Revolution began, there were already 100 restaurants in Paris. Some of the most notable chefs of this period include Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who published the first book on the fine art of gastronomy, La Physiologie du gout, or “The Physiology of Taste”; and Marie-Antoine Careme, who was the first “celebrity chef” as he served European royalties and pioneered in early French haute cuisine.

It was during the 1860s when the first cereal and margarine were introduced. That decade, Kellogg started to manufacture toasted wheat flakes and other vegetarian foods in the US. Margarine was developed using beef fat as a primary ingredient.