THE HISTORY OF FOOD

Everyone knows the saying about what the world’s “oldest profession” is, but you will find a very close runner up in the kitchen. The history of those who cook professionally to make their living goes way, way back to the origins of civilization itself. It’s another epic journey across the ages, this time with a … Continue reading "HOF Episode 28: The Ancient History of Chefs"

When Britain industrialized in the late 1700s and the rest of the western world soon followed, humans were transformed to a degree not seen for 10,000 years when we first settled into farming life. But it wasn’t some simple flick of the switch, where some entrepreneurs decided to build some factories and invent the modern … Continue reading "HOF Episode 26: Factory Food (Industrial Revolution)"

Is good cooking defined by ingredients, skill in preparation, style of cuisine, or is it something even more fundamental and deeply human? We left out of Africa all the way back in Episode 1, and rarely looked back, but in this episode we finally return to the vast continent, specifically south of the Sahara desert, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 24: The Feeling of Fullness (Sub Saharan Africa)"

The “American Melting Pot” is far older, larger, and even more diverse than most people imagine. After Columbus reconnected Eurasia and Africa with the Americas, the world began to change in ways it never had before. Europeans, Africans, Asians, and American Indians began migrating out of their landmasses of origin. Some movement was voluntary, much … Continue reading "HOF Episode 22: Melting Pots and Fusion Foods (Globalization)"

For millions of years, the two main hemispheres of planet earth were separated by an impassible ocean. North/South America and Eurasia/Africa, two divergent ecosystems, food chains, and human civilizations. . . Then one day in 1492, a guy named Columbus passed that impassible ocean, and began the momentous and tumultuous process of bringing the Old … Continue reading "HOF Episode 20: The Columbian Exchange"

How did Europe get out of its dark ages? It’s not a wholesome story, as the secret to their success was mainly the conquest and plunder of other peoples’ luxury goods, namely their foods and spices. Classic Europe. Would it surprise if I told you that the Black Death did a lot to help as … Continue reading "HOF Episode 18: Crusades and Plagues (later Middle Ages)"

In Late Antiquity, without the Roman Empire around to control everything, forest and wilderness reclaimed Europe and its people went local. Start with that, then stir to combine with a rising Catholic Church, and you’ve got a recipe for a brand new culture, one that just might be the foundation of the modern western world. … Continue reading "HOF Episode 16: The Dark Bread Ages (Medieval Europe)"

In what capacity can food serve a spiritual need? The answer is a whole lot! A little over two thousand years ago, the way people thought about themselves and the Universe was beginning to change. Ancient gods, pagan rituals, and beliefs were going out of style, no longer compatible with new, more modern ways of … Continue reading "HOF Episode 14: People of the Book"

Welcome to the second Season of the History of Food! To kick things off, we’ll be walking ground we’ve tread before. The history of pastoral nomadism, that is the animal herders in Europe, Asia, and Africa, has frequently come up in our studies of urban civilizations, but until now, we’ve always looked at them from … Continue reading "HOF Episode 12: Herders of the Old World"

Of all the food discoveries made across the ancient world, few are more impressive than the domestication and then nixtamlization of maize (corn) in the lands that would one day be called Mexico and Central America. Mesoamerica is one of just three places where urban civilization evolved from scratch. Come listen, and be amazed how … Continue reading "HOF Episode 10: Hombres de Maíz (Mesoamerica)"

No civilization lasts forever.  In fact, it’s kind of a miracle any starts at all.  The conditions must be exactly right for people to come together into urban environments.  So like an overextended, teetering Jenga tower, it’s not if but when the whole system will fall, as it did again and again across history. Come … Continue reading "HOF Episode 8: Hunger and Collapse (Mesopotamia and Bronze Age)"

Egypt needs no introduction.  But here’s one anyway! The ancient people along the Nile built a civilization out of grain like Mesopotamia, but diverged on their own unique path, transforming their food surplus into the greatest monuments the world has ever seen.  An overview of Ancient Egyptian history in its entirety, through the lens of … Continue reading "HOF Episode 6: Lands of the Nile (Egypt)"

We’ve done it. We’ve finally crossed into the realm of written records and recorded history.  Join me on an odyssey going back 6,000 years ago, when the Sumerians of what is today southern Iraq, took a mega-surplus of grain and transformed it directly into wealth and power.  In the process, they managed to invent cities, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 4: How to Turn Food into Wealth (Sumer)"