Discoverer's Day is
October 14. It is hardly a widely celebrated holiday. Typically,
it's a day to honor the great explorers of the world:Christopher
Columbus, Lewis and Clark and Marco Polo, for example. But these
men and many others who traversed the land and seas in search
of new worlds not only discovered another continent, or the American
West, or the Far East but, very often, the foods that flourished
there.
The discovery of foods
was critical for the creation and survival of civilization. In
1825, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in his book, The
Physiology of Taste, "The discovery of a new dish does more
for human happiness than the discovery of a new star."
This month, if are
strolling through the aisle of your local grocery store restocking
your larder, or browsing online for that special hard to find
gourmet product, don't pass all those products you haven't tried.
This is the day to stop and try one of them.
What do have to lose?
The discovery of food
began during the prehistoric era. It is the inherent need for
sustenance that propelled prehistoric man to not only discover
many of the foods that we eat today but also ways to cook these
foods. This quest for survival propelled man to discover ways
to capture wild game, preserve fire, forage for food, cultivate
food and raise livestock.
Early man learned quickly
that it was easier to hunt and gather in groups. Thus, the first
communities were founded and civilization as we know it was beginning
to form. Early man was nomadic, moving from place to place in
pursuit of food. 800,000 years ago man was able to contain fire
and, thus, able to cook captured animals, making them digestible,
palatable, and sanitary. 17,000 years ago man learned how to gather
and prepare naturally grown grains such as emmer grain, a precursor
to what we now know as wheat. The bow and arrow was invented some
10,000 years ago, facilitating the hunting of larger game, which
could feed a wider community and could last longer if preserved
correctly. At that time, the two most common forms of preservation
were salting and drying. Since then man has no longer needed to
move as often and agriculture began to be developed.
Agrarian society, developed
about 10,000 years ago, altered the path humans were to take forever.
Man no longer had to move as the seasons dictated in order to
find animals, wild berries and grains. Wheat and other grains
could be cultivated and stored over the winter. Grains were among
the first plants to be cultivated while lentils, dates, walnuts
and beans were cultivated between 8,000-6,000 BC Man had to discover
a way to mill wheat and barley so that it could be cooked into
a gruel or bread. Otherwise, it would be virtually indigestible.
Various forms of cooking
were developed during this time as well. Spits were used to grill
meat, stomachs of large animals were used as containers to boil
food, hot stones were buried in the ground and heated by fire
above and once they were heated through, the food would be placed
in or on the stones or cooked in the surrounding ash.
Since there was a sufficient
crop, there was enough food to domesticate and sustain cattle,
goats and sheep. These animals were used for meat and milk; bones
used as utensils, stomachs as cooking vessels, skin and fur as
clothing. The Egyptians invented the sail 6,000 years ago, allowing
them to catch much larger fish than the small coastal fish that
had been the basis of their diet. This fish could be preserved
and kept for months. From these small agrarian and coastal communities,
villages and then cities arose.
Prior to the agrarian
community, men were mainly responsible for hunting while women
concentrated their efforts on gathering, cooking, and tending
to any garden that they were able to cultivate. In these villages
and cities, there were now enough people to create a division
of labor that was new to civilization. Now, only a few men were
required to cultivate the land and hunt but everyone still needed
the fruits of their labor. As a result commerce was developed.
As rulers amassed wealth, they were able to create armies of men
that would capture more land for their domain where new foods
and technology were discovered thus trading between regions began.
By the Roman period,
trade was fully developed and many foods were imported from around
the world. Spices were the most highly prized commodities, propelling
the trade industry into a highly lucrative business. After the
fall of the Roman Empire, little trade was conducted between Europe
and Asia during the Middle Ages. From the 15th Century to the
20th Century there was a dramatic increase in the trading of spice,
coffee, chocolate and tea.
Christopher Columbus
was on his way to find a faster route to Asia where the Spanish
would be able to import spices but he discovered America instead.
Corn and cocoa were two of the most important foods he and subsequent
explorers brought back with them to Europe. European countries
raced to develop faster ships in order to reach their destinations
and shorter sea routes. Governments and monarchies backed large
trading firms. Wars broke out over control of regions that grew
the products and, as a result, colonies were formed in those areas.
The Industrial Revolution
brought on a whole new food industry and many packaged products
were invented. Glass jars were mass produced enabling foods to
be packaged and preserved. Refrigeration made it possible to preserve
perishable produce and for people to discover foods from around
the world that they never had before. Large machinery and gas
stoves rather than wood burning hearths made it possible for even
and predictable cooking and, therefore, allowing for the mass-production
of food. The temperature of ovens could be regulated and foods
could now be cooked with a finesse never achievable before, exemplified
by many of the pastries we expect at our holiday tables. People
were discovering foods and combinations of ingredients at a rate
inconceivable prior to the Industrial Revolution.
Discoverer's day is
the perfect day to try a few new foods. Forge ahead and discover
what the world has to offer. You may not be discovering a new
mushroom in the Amazon but you will be expanding your horizons
in your own kitchen.
TIMELINE:
Prehistoric: Salt
is discovered.
Prehistoric: Fish are caught.
Prehistoric: Rice is discovered.
800,000 years ago: Man controls fire.
17,000 BC: Emmer Grain is gathered.
10,000 years ago: Bow and arrow is invented in Europe.
10,000 BC: Agriculture begins and bread is created. The Goat
is domesticated in Persia.
9,000-10,000 years ago: Cattle and sheep are domesticated in
Near East. 8,000 BC: Lentils are cultivated.
7,000 BC: Pigs are domesticated. Walnuts and beans are cultivated.
6,000 BC: Dates and Maize are cultivated. Cheese
making is discovered. Sail boats used in Egypt
5,500 years ago: Wheel invented in Summer. Potatoes are cultivated
in South America. Honey is discovered. Chickpeas are cultivated.
5,000 years ago: Plow is invented in the Near East. Olive Oil
is discovered. Squash is cultivated.
4,000 BC: Grapes are cultivated. Chicken is domesticated in
the Indus valley. Oranges are cultivated.
3,000 BC: Peas, Fava Beans, Onions, Carrots are cultivated.
Many spices and tea is discovered.
2,700 years ago: Rome is founded.
1,500 BC: Chocolate is discovered.
850 BC: Celery is cultivated.
500 BC: Artichokes are cultivated. Sausages and pasta are created.
300 BC: Bananas are cultivated.
100 AD: The Romans invent cheesecake, ice cream and flan.
800 AD: Codfish is discovered.
1482: Columbus discovers America bringing potatoes, corn, tomatoes,
peppers, and peanuts to Europe.
1550: Pancakes are invented.
1700: Shortbread is invented.
1756: Mayonnaise is invented in England.
1762: The sandwich is invented in England.
1767: Man-made soda water is invented in England.
1796: Pumpkin pie is invented in New England.
1856: Condensed milk is invented.
1863: Breakfast cereal is invented in America.
1885: Evaporated milk is invented.
1897: Jell-O is invented in America.
1903: Tuna is canned.
1911: Crisco is invented.
1920's: Frozen foods are created.
1950's: Many candies and the TV dinner were invented.
2 002: What are you going to discover this year?
Recipes>>
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