Although we eat every day, we do not give much thought to how our food became what it is today. In the beginning, human meals were primitive bits of meat hurled onto the flames. Now, you can eat genetically engineered plants topped with Parmesan foam. It’s safe to say that our culinary talents have come a long way, but what happened in between?
Humans have concocted some very strange recipes to feed the masses. It was only until relatively recently that food was cooked for pleasure rather than necessity. In this gallery, we have chronicled the evolution of food and the cultural contexts that prompted these changes.
From the very start of cooking until the present moment, click through to learn more.
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The beginning
Researchers are not exactly sure when fire was discovered, but when it was, the art of cooking was born. Archaeologists did, however, uncover evidence that suggests that Homo erectus discovered campfires 1.5 million years ago.
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Evolution
Evolutionary scientist Richard Wrangham has even come up with a theory that cooking food led to faster evolution. He asserts that when food is cooked, it is easier to consume. Consequently, humans could absorb more nutrients, eat a more varied diet, and thus grow stronger.
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Necessity
Based on how modern-day hunter-gatherers prepare their food, anthropologists determined that humans used to eat for necessity rather than flavor. They would throw meat on the fire to cook it or boil it to make it tender.
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More variety
In some cultures, they found ways to eat things that are poisonous when raw. For example, certain Native American tribes cooked acorns to remove their tannic acid. Native peoples in South America also removed the cyanide in cassava to make tapioca.
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Preserve
Soon hunter-gatherers realized that they could increase their food security by using methods such as smoking and drying. This way they could have food all year round. It is through this process that humans discovered how to ferment fruits and vegetables to make alcoholic beverages.
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Sedentary
Although the hunter-gatherer lifestyle was healthy, there were frequent famines due to natural disasters. Tribes started to stay in one place and grow their own food in the same spot. This was humans’ conversion to sedentary agriculture.
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Sedentary
While life became easier because there was less risk, humans also became a lot less healthy. Groups would specialize in growing one crop and thus they had a much less varied diet. The food they were eating was much less diverse, and so chefs started to try and make it more culinarily interesting.
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Civilizations
As early civilizations blossomed, cuisine became increasingly important. There was a split between the kind of food cooked for royalty and the average person. This gave rise to many different kinds of cuisines popping up all over.
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Early cooking
A staple in most diets was the flatbread. It came in different forms. For example, in India they had chapati, and in Mexico they made tortillas. Indeed, the main sources of carbohydrates usually came from bread-like creations.
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Medieval cooking
In the Middle Ages, there was a need for food that was both functional and delicious. Men would still work long days in the fields and would start very early in the day. They would eat a lot of bread for sustenance.
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Medieval cooking
At around 10-11 am, they would have their main meal, which would be served hot. Pottage was a common dish for both the rich and poor. It consisted of a bit of meat such as mutton, boiled for a long period of time in vegetables and water. Wealthy people would add almond milk and saffron.
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Humours
In the Middle Ages, the concept of humours was central to cooking. People believed that the body was made up of four humours: earth, air, fire, and water. These were represented by black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. The cooking process was meant to balance the four humours out.
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Venison
In the 17th century, venison was one of the most prized meats to eat. This is because, throughout Europe, it was mostly royalty who owned the venison parks. They would usually bake it in pastry. These pastry casings were called koffins.
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Venison
The meat became a status symbol. For those who aspired to be aristocratic, there were recipe books that taught you how to make mutton look like venison by soaking it in red wine or blood.
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Eating in tongues
One of the most popular ingredients that was available to all walks of life was tongue. Cow tongue was the most popular because it was cheap and widely available. It would be salted and smoked for 19 days. Then they would cut it up, fry it, and serve it on bits of toast.
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Ovens
We are used to having ovens in all our homes. However, a few centuries ago not many people had ovens. Instead, they had a fire to boil things over. When they had things they wanted to bake, they would send them out to the local baker.
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France
Around this time, French aristocratic cooking was all the rage. In 1651, one of the first renowned chefs, François Pierre La Varenne, released his book ‘Le Cuisinier Francois.’ It was translated into English in 1653.
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Sandwich
The sandwich as we know it was invented by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792). He was busy at his desk because he was the head of the Navy. He was so busy that he just wanted something he could pick up with one hand. He called for two slices of bread with meat in the middle, and with that the sandwich was born!
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Industrial Revolution
In 1760s Britain, the Industrial Revolution hit. People flocked from the countryside to the cities, resulting in their lifestyle and eating habits changing.
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Industrial Revolution
In large cities like London, laborers would eat hearty lunches to keep them going through the day. The meals would be in chophouses where they would be served nose-to-tail meals. This means that the whole of the animal would be consumed.
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Industrial Revolution
Having to work harder in cities meant that lunch breaks were shorter. It was in this period that fast food was invented for lunch. People would have stalls in the street to feed the lower-class masses at lunchtime.
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Aristocrats
While workers were eating hearty meals, the aristocratic class were hiring the most creative chefs in the world to create specialties such as Parmesan ice cream and eel pie.
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Culinary diversity
Even though there is a link between culinary advancement and stable power structures (i.e. monarchies and dynasties), in northern countries diverse ingredients were lacking. Countries in Scandinavia, Britain, and Northern Europe didn’t have a wide array of flavors in their dishes.
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Assortment
Even though countries could import ingredients, it is in countries in Asia, the Middle East, Southern Europe, and South America that really interesting feasts were prepared. They had better access to fresh fruits and vegetables as well as sweet things such as dates, grapes, and spices.
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Changes
At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe went through turmoil when war struck. Food became scarce in many countries, leading culinary progress to temporarily halt.
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Wartime
People would have to make do with what they had. Everyone was encouraged to grow their own food and raise their own animals. It was a return to the basic ways of cooking, and a lot of canned food.
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Food explosion
After the economy recovered from the two world wars in the 1950s, convenience was the buzzword. Supermarkets opened up selling everything from cake mix to microwave roast meals.
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Refined
Nowadays, food has entered the scientific realm with molecular cooking. Chefs are experimenting with the senses to produce omnipotent meals that infiltrate the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.
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