To begin our journey through the history of food, we should really know the definition of food. According to Merriam-Webster, food is material consisting of essentially protein, carbohydrates, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes, and to furnish energy. With that definition in mind, the true journey of food started long ago.
The journey of food starts before the naming scale for years, meaning that at this point, we have no idea what the year was. We just know that foods like mussels and scallops as well as insects, amphibians, seafood like fish and squid, and basic grain crops such as rice first appeared during this time. The first food that was invented in a nameable year was emmer grain, which was first used in 17,000 BC. These grains first started showing up in the Stone age, when humans really started to differentiate themselves from other animals.
If we fast-forward another couple thousand years, we get the invention of flour/bread and soup in 10,000 BC, as well as almonds and cherries being harvested for the first time. Another time-skip to 7,000 BC and we see the first appearance of wine, beer, and other fermented drinks, almost 10,000 years ago! We see the entrance of beans and nuts like the pistachio as well as the introduction of apples between the years of 7,000 BC and 6,000 BC. This time was also the beginning of the domestication of cattle.
Now, I could keep going on and on about the appearance of new foods that you probably don’t care about, or I could talk about the inventions of some of the most beloved foods today, like ice cream, which was invented in 3,000 BC! Yes, that's right, 3,000 BC. Ice creams are credited to be built in Asia and mostly started out as ice and snow gathered from mountains mixed with flavors and fruits.
The next revolutionary food to be discovered was fried chicken in the 1st century, which was the beginning of the Roman Empire. The recipe for frying chicken in oil and using seasoning such as salt was found in Roman manuals which taught people how to cook. Isn’t that just crazy, fried chicken in the 1st Century! Another delicious food that was invented during the reign of the Roman Empire was the pancake. It was discovered when historians realized the Romans talked about bread made in a pan, which has evolved into modern pancakes.
If we take yet another time-skip, we would find ourselves in more modern times, where classic foods were invented like sushi and risotto, which were both discovered in the 15th century. If we go even further than that, we find ourselves in the late 15th century, which can only mean one thing, the Columbian Exchange. This was the complete sharing of ideas and lifestyles between the Old and New Worlds. This resulted in the creation of salsa, sweetbreads, European tomatoes and potato salad all during the 16th century.
Now that we are approaching the present day and global connectivity has been achieved, modern foods begin appearing like cornbread and french onion soup in the 17th century, bagels in 1610, rum in 1650, pumpkin pie in 1653 as well as lemonade, pound cake in 1740, as well as eggnog in 1760. Did I mention French fries, too!
It doesn’t just stop there, though. Potato chips were invented in 1853, and fish and chips were invented in 1860. The first Heinz ketchup bottle was sold in 1876, milkshakes and Dr. Pepper were invented in 1885, and Coca Cola first came out in 1886! Pizza also originated in the mid 18th to 19th century, so it would have been invented around the same time. Our journey through the history of food ends with the 20th century where so many new delicious foods were invented like M&M’s and Cheerios which were invented in 1941, and Jolly Ranchers, which were invented in 1949. As we get closer to the present day, the variety of new foods and dishes being created only grows, and I can’t possibly list them all here.
My point is that over thousands of years of human history, you can see the how many connections we've made as a global society, and especially how far we’ve come. From bashing rocks to make fire to figuring out the secret formula for Coca Cola, history teaches us a lot about food, but even more about ourselves.
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