Food is one of the basic human needs. Its preparation is one of the most important areas of human activity. The history of the development of culinary excellence is inextricably linked with the development of civilization, the emergence of various cultures.
First experiments
The art of cooking, the history of which is considered in this article, originated with human civilization. Researchers found that an ancient man, who had not yet been able to make fire, began to mix various ingredients. Our ancestors liked some plants to eat with meat, others ate bittersweet with larvae, and still others acted as an independent dish.
The role of the invention of fire
The brain of a primitive man for high-grade functioning required high-calorie food. Before the fire was first invented, a person ate roots, fruits, raw meat. Researchers in the history of cooking believe that no one invented fried meat on purpose. Animals that died during the fires were simply more to the taste of primitive people. They had the best tastes and were absorbed faster.
In the history of the development of cooking, a new stage began with the invention of fire. Food is no longer a danger. The heat with which the ingredients were now processed helped to destroy the dangerous helminth larvae. In addition to fried meat, people began to bake fish and tortillas on charcoal. With the advent of fire, there has also been a leap in the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Bread precursor
Scientists also found that primitive people ate a special dish, which they conditionally called "polenta". It looks like a Romanian mamalyga. Later the polenta was taken over by Roman soldiers. To prepare this dish, water was mixed with seeds of various herbs. Then the seeds were crushed to obtain a homogeneous paste. The resulting mass was fried on stones until it was covered with a golden crust on top. It is believed that in this way the first bread arose.
Drinking Ancient People
The first drink of the ancients was milk. Initially, it was given only to children to stimulate growth. But raw milk was not always useful, because after its use there was a danger of infection with various infections. In some cases, this led to death.
In ancient times, hunters rarely remained in one place. They constantly wandered from one territory to another, and therefore did not store milk or other liquids. The same tribes that led a sedentary lifestyle faced epidemics due to pollution of water bodies.
Cultural Exchange and Cooking
Then the changes came when people began to use salt, sugar and various seasonings. Each nationality has its own culinary preferences, which were transmitted during travel and geographical discoveries. For example, important events for the history of cooking were the Viking campaigns in the south, the creation of the Great Silk Road. Culture began to mix, to adopt habits. There is still no consensus on who the idea of creating pasta, ice cream and other dishes first belonged to.
Where did they invent the flour?
Those interested in the history of cooking often ask this question, because flour is one of the oldest fundamental ingredients in any kitchen. As for flour, as a rule, three states are awarded the championship - China, Italy and Egypt.
By and large, any of them could become the discoverer of these dishes. Dried slices of dough were the precursors of pasta, in the past they were the most optimal food for travelers. After all, they are not subject to spoilage, and by welding them, you can quickly satisfy your hunger.
Rich Oriental Cuisine
Historians suggest that culinary art first reached its peak among the Persian peoples, Babylonians, as well as ancient Jews. While the neighbors of these nationalities were forced to be content with modest cuisine, their eastern comrades long ago invented a wide variety of dishes.
The first of those who succumbed to the temptation of Eastern traditions were the inhabitants of Ancient Greece, who had close contact with these countries. Gradually, the Greeks began to adopt the magnificent gastronomic traditions, and later even surpassed them. Then the culinary relay was transferred to Ancient Rome. Historians believe that it was the Greeks who first began to record culinary recipes. At first, doctors did this, creating special culinary drawings for diets and exploring the benefits or harms of certain foods. And after a while, literary sources arose. Entire books on culinary art began to be created. They were written by authors such as Homer, Plato, Herodotus and many others.
In ancient Greece, cooking was a purely feminine affair. The mistress of the house and all the slaves in it also controlled the kitchen. Until the beginning of the 4th century, male chefs simply did not exist. Only for very large feasts were invited male chefs.
The sad story of Mitikos, the Greek cook
The history of cooking describes an interesting case related to a certain Mitikos. He was one of the first authors of books on culinary excellence. In the IV century, he appeared in Sparta to demonstrate his incredible skills there. But he was simply expelled from the country, because Mitaykos tried to accustom the Spartans to exquisite dishes. And excesses even in food in Sparta were condemned. The unlucky cook had to leave the country.
Early greek cuisine
The food of the inhabitants of ancient Greece was not luxurious. According to the history of cooking, the daily Athenian lunch looked something like this: 2 sea urchins, 10 oysters, a little onion, a slice of salted sturgeon, as well as a slice of sweet cake. Dinner could be like this: hard-boiled eggs, small birds fried on a spit, a few pieces of honey cookies.
Food storage
When they began to invent masterpieces of culinary excellence, the first question arose about the possibility of their storage. This issue was resolved only in the era of technological progress. Until this time, people had to go to various tricks in order to save food for at least a short period of time. Food was kept in the basement, canned foods. Smoking was popular, salting. To preserve meat and fish, they were sprinkled with salicylic acid.
Vegetable oil was poured into dark glass bottles. A small amount of vodka was poured on top. She did not allow air to penetrate into the vessel, which increased the shelf life. Our ancestors kept sauerkraut for a very long time - until the beginning of next summer. To save the product, it was enough to stick a birch stick in the tub. Even champignon mushrooms were stored for several years. For this purpose, they were poured with diluted sulfuric acid. If necessary, the mushrooms were removed and washed. Cucumbers were placed in clay pots, sprinkled with sand and buried in the ground - so they could be stored for up to several months. This is briefly, and in the history of cooking you can find several dozen more options on how to save cooked food.
From the history of Russian culinary
Researchers call the time of the emergence of Russian culinary from the period from the 10th to the 16th century. Conventionally, this time is called Old Russian cuisine. At this time, a large number of dishes prepared from yeast dough appeared. The "head" of the then Russian cuisine was rye bread, which to this day has not disappeared from the tables of our contemporaries. This bread is considered very useful for those who adhere to a diet and in order to lose weight, and for health.
The first stage in the history of culinary in Russia was characterized by the emergence of almost all of the now-known national flour dishes. These are pies, crumpets, pancakes, pancakes. At that time, all kinds of jelly were very popular - oatmeal, rye, as well as wheat. Now they are very rare, the best known today are jelly from berries.
Porridge, which was considered both an everyday and a festive dish, was always famous. They were served mushrooms, vegetables, fish. As for meat products, they were rarely found on tables in Old Russian cuisine . Of the drinks, the most common were kvass, sbiten.
Lenten dishes were also popular, since most of the days in the year the common people did not eat fast food. All kinds of spices were often used in cooking: onions, garlic, horseradish and others. Gradually, imported products and seasonings began to be used.
Class stratification and kitchen features
The next stage in the history of the development of culinary Russia falls on the XVI-XVII centuries. One of the main features of this time is that dishes began to vary in accordance with the classes of society. Boyars had the opportunity to eat more sophisticatedly, and simple, poor people were content with ordinary dishes. Among the nobility, meat dishes became popular: fried pork and lamb, ham, poultry.
Then the Russian table gradually began to be enriched with dishes of oriental cuisine, which was associated with the accession of such peoples as the Tatars and Bashkirs to Russia. Tea and candied fruit, cane sugar appeared on the tables. But all these innovations were available only to a wealthy layer of the population. The peasants were not able to eat like that. While the nobility spent eight hours a day at the dining table, an ordinary person could not dream of such a variety even in his wildest dreams.
As for the subsequent stages of the history of world culinary, at this time there was a borrowing of dishes from Western and Eastern cuisines. A considerable contribution was made by culinary masters from Germany and France. Their dishes were brought to Russia as a curiosity.
Currently, the cuisine of each country is enriched with a variety of recipes. Thanks to globalization, people have the opportunity to enjoy the dishes that have come to the culture of their country from the most distant parts of the globe.