Can we talk about the history of food and it's role in cultures. Also how traditional cuisine has changed throughout history (ie Spanish food was influenced by the Islamic Empire as well as traditional South and Central American food)
>inb4 not /his/ yes it is. It's the history of food
pic barely related
I'm interested, but have nothing to contribute. So have a bump
OP here with some info to get the conversation going.
When the Umayyad Caliphate reached Spain, they brought their spices and other . This helped lead to Spain's unique cuisine compared to the rest of Europe. When Spanish colonists went to the Americas they brought their food with them, where it was combined with traditional cuisine there. The Spaniard were responsible to introducing the Natives to many kinds of meat.
Another example is Al Pastor meat in Mexico. This is actually something that is not Mexican despite being one of the most popular Mexican foods. Al Pastor was actually originally from Lebanon and it is similar to shwarma.
I don't have a ton of info (hence why I started the thread) but anyone that could provide examples or anything else would be much appreciated.
>>1058089
It is LIKELY from Lebanese immigrants
Can any change in diet compare to the spread of New World crops?
Food is probably one of the biggest influences in the spread of intermingling cultures. How many immigrant groups in the US began by cooking traditional recipes changed for American eaters. Food brings the world together. You can share a good meal with someone you don't even know the language of and it won't impact the meal itself. Its a universal human experience.
>>1057790
Cultural exchange rarely altered food dishes until the advent of more modern trade technologies. There are some exceptions but mostly stem from one area being able to grow the others crop/spice effectively as well.
All dishes from cultures are just crap they happen to have around and could mass produce cheaply. They won't alter their foods simply out of not being able too. Just because some spices got traded around doesn't mean that the cuisine changed much.
>>1058273
Even if a culture's food was originally a mish mash of things that happened to grow well in their environment, you have to say it can still teach us a lot about the culture. For instance Korean chopsticks are made out of metal because kings used to use silver chopsticks that would change color if the food was poisoned. Some also say that the reason chopsticks are blunted is to reflect peacefulness (it could also just be so you don't stab your mouth though)
Why do Asians use chopsticks?
>>1059258
Have you ever used them? They are actually pretty effective for certain foods
>>1059258
>>1059258
Many theories.
1) Chopsticks - by consensus- did originate as utensils to stir cooked food in a pot.
The following things happened. All of them at once:
1) Chinese got lazy and just used the utensils to eat the food off the pot.
2) A lot of Chinese were on the go during the T'ang-Song Chinese due to the huge trade scene going on. This led to a tradition of selling packed meals to merchants and sailrs in either little boxes or wooden bowls (most carried their own). Chopstics then became popular because you didn't need a table. You could eat anywhere while on a cart, on a deck of a ship, some while walking even.
3) During the Song-Ming dynasties, Lacquerware became affordable to almost a lot of people. Since metal/ceramic spoons fucked up the lacquer, it wad considered superior to use wooden chopsticks. Which were friendly to lacquerware.
Chopsticks became the main method of eating by everyone in China during the Ming Dynasty. It most likely spread from there. Prior they used spoons or hands.
>>1060813
>All of them probably occuring and no one theory being the single root*
Sorry.
