r/AskFoodHistorians

Sorry if this also has some elements of food science to it

So we all get told to eat in season stuff because it tastes better, has more nutrients and less climate impact, and back in the day they could only eat what the land gave them at that point and it worked well (especially in the Mediterranean) but then we see recipes with the classic mirepoix for year round recipes when carrots and especially celery do not grow year round.

Now I know there are greenhouses, imports, cold stores and other various methods. But when were people actually starting to be able to eat fruit and veg not in season? Also, from the methods I just mentioned (and maybe others throughout history I forgot about) that actually still count as eating food that was grown ‘naturally’ (whatever that word means) in season ?

And my final question, what does this all mean for the modern man trying to eat seasonally and locally but adhere to good traditional recipes?

I've heard the anecdote many times over the years that honey is a food that never spoils, and that there was honey found in Egyptian pyramids that was still perfectly edible after thousands of years. Did archaeologists eat the ancient honey? Did they do a chemical analysis of it? How do they know it's still good?

This question prompted by an episode of The Pitt, where someone is offered their choice of three flavors of Ensure: chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry.

And it got me wondering why strawberry became (perhaps?) the most common fruit flavor/third option for dairy treats.

Milkshakes, ice cream, flavored milk — other flavors are often available, but if options go beyond chocolate and vanilla, strawberry seems to be codified as as the go-to third. It's codified in Neapolitan ice cream, which offers all three flavors in one batch.

Why strawberry? Why not raspberry or lemon or peach? Why is one flavor more common than the others? How far back does that go? Is it even accurate, or only accurate in the US or parts of it?

I'm curious if something like that really happened. I don't mean just spices like pepper but actual meals.

Edit. Thanks for the feedback. Situation was resolved once I realised teaspoons were drams not 5ml.

When did the UK move to the 15ml tablespoon measure as standard from the 20ml tablespoon standard? In Australia we still use the 20ml standard ie 4 teaspoons =1 tablespoon.

I’ve just started reading a book of Florence White’s, Good Things in England and I already have questions and I haven’t even started in on the recipes!

Bonjour à toutes et à tous,

Je suis en train d'écrire un article sur le beurre, dans le cadre d'un travail éditorial autour des patrimoines culinaires européens et d'une sélection bretonne que nous préparons pour notre maison créative.

Je cherche à rassembler des anecdotes, des souvenirs, des témoignages de producteurs, ainsi que des sources historiques fiables pour mieux comprendre la richesse de ce produit si simple et pourtant si culturellement chargé.

Je serais heureux de découvrir :

* de petites histoires familiales autour du beurre.

* des souvenirs de fabrication ( à la ferme, à la maison, en Bretagne ou ailleurs)

* des anecdotes de producteurs ou d'artisans.

* des variantes régionales ( beurre cru, baratte, demi-sel, fermier, etc....)

* des témoignages personnels sur ce que représente le beurre dans votre région ou votre culture)

Mon objectif est de présenter aux lecteurs étrangers la diversité des beurres, leurs modes de production, leurs histoires locales, et la manière dont ce produit raconte quelque chose de profond sur nos traditions.

Si vous avez des liens, des archives; ds lectures; des vidéos ou simplement une petite histoire à partager, je vous lirai avec un immense plaisir.

Merci d'avance à celles et ceux qui prendront le temps de contribuer. Même une phrase ou un souvenir peut enrichir ce travail.

Stéphane

I just don't understand this.

Rice noodles are a staple in the rice-heavy regions of southern China and mainland Southeast Asia—Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar—as well as maritime Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore (although it’s mostly southern Chinese immigrant dishes in those three).

Japan and Korea have also consumed rice heavily for centuries, yet neither developed a tradition of rice noodles. Some people might argue this is due to limited use of rice flour, but Korean rice cakes (tteok) are made from rice flour, showing the ingredient itself was clearly available.

i know spicy food has always been popular, but lately i’ve noticed way more people specifically chasing that electric numbing feeling from sichuan pepper instead of pure heat. honestly after trying real tingly snacks for the first time, i kind of understand why. the floral aroma + mouth buzz combination feels completely different from normal spicy food. also random thing i learned recently: coffee and citrus flavors somehow make the tingle stand out even more. curious if the numbing sensation itself historically played a big role in why sichuan pepper became so popular.

When I was recently in France, our university dining hall offered a 4 course meal presented cafeteria style: two starters, a main course (which itself consisted of a starch, vegetable, and protein), and fruit/cheese/dessert. It was quick (lots of students had to be served quickly), tasty, and healthy.

In the U.S., the only cafeteria-style I know of is IKEA, which offers meals that are similarly quick, tasty, and healthy. Other cafeteria-style restaurants of my youth seem to have disappeared, although perhaps there are some I don't know about.

Why have cafeteria-style eateries disappeared? It seems like a solution to so many food service problems (by which I mean, food-consumption problems) in the U.S.

Edit: Several commenters have mentioned restaurants that offer buffets, including for example the hot bar at Whole Foods. I think buffets are quite different (fixed-price buffets encourage people to overeat, for one thing) but perhaps I am being narrow-minded.

Edit 2: I don't know what modern University cafeterias are like. I have the idea that they are more like food courts but perhaps I am wrong.

Edit 3 (most important): Thanks to everyone who has responded & opened my eyes. I realized that my "models" are a specific mix of quasi-automat (cold and room-temperature food served on a prepared plate that the diner served himself to) and cafeteria (hot food main dishes available in a serving line). Both examples are healthy and the portions are restricted.

This allows -- or requires, depending on your viewpoint -- the diner to have a meal that is close to restaurant style (specified portions, but also not pre-packaged) but quickly and with less labor involvement in serving. This is what I would like to see come back.

I'm in the USA. We have different meanings of the word "barbecue" by region.

My mom, from Illinois, added barbecue sauce to some pork, and it was barbecue pork.

In some places it involves a lot more than a sauce.

I'm just curious how this word became contentious. Thanks in advance!

I came across ‘evaporated vinegar’ on a list of food to bring to the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush. I had never heard of such a thing and I have been unable to find an answer while searching online. It must have been common place to be included in the list with no caveats, and yet I still can’t find what it is.

From the former USSR to North Korea, from former Yugoslavia to modern-day Venezuela, all countries that have experienced communism have mayonnaise salads as an important dish, including for holiday meals. A clear pattern seems to immerge.

Some people in other countries, such as the Anglo-Saxon world, do like this dish, but it is never universally liked, to the point of being an important holiday dish, outside of places that experienced communism.

I would like to know the history of this and how mayonnaise became so important across different cultures and continents, that seemingly have only one thing in common.

I know that artichokes were eaten as far back as Ancient Greece and Rome, but I haven’t a clue how they actually were discovered and developed into a part of cuisine. They seem among the least likely of plants to experiment with, and the effort vs reward ratio in terms of nutrition can’t be that great. Are there any good theories?

thanks all