Food history

[onejayhawk]

My wife is a chef. She is interested in the evolution of cooking, but there seems to be a derth of reference material. For example, rabbit was unknown in northern Europe as late as the 15th century. How was it introduced?

Does anyone know of some good (prefereably online) sources?

J

 

[Flying Pig]

The Romans hunted them; I'm fairly sure they introduced them to Britain. The Normans also ate them, so I'm not sure that your example is strictly true.

EDIT: the Torygraph agrees

 

[Silurian]

It is probable that rabbits were introduced a number of times.
When they were reintroduced by the Normans they were kept in man made warrens.
I assume that the ones that escaped did not spread to such an extent until the amount of grass land increased.




http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/rabb_warr.htm

 

[Flying Pig]

The Romans did that, too, from what I'm led to believe. Of course, it's possible that the native Britons didn't have much taste for the stuff, and once the Romans left they decided not to carry on raising the things.

 

[Silurian]

I would also assume that wolves would have held down rabbit numbers.

 

[SeekTruthFromFacts]

You want the Cambridge History of Food. It has a whole chapter on rabbits (II.G.19 I believe).

 

[Domen]

Some data on food in the 1500s in Poland from these two links:

http://cpx.republika.pl/pozywienie.htm

http://cpx.republika.pl/czeladz.htm

Average 16th century daily diet in Poland - but only for these three groups of population:

---------------------------- Peasant / Nobleman / Magnate
Calories -------------------- 3500 --- / 5300 ---- / 6300
% of fat -------------------- 6,7 ----- / 7,9 ------ / 17,7
% of proteins -------------- 11,0 ---- / 13,6 ----- / 18,8
% of carbohydrates -------- 82,3 ---- / 78,5 ----- / 69,5
Price in groschen ---------- 0,3 ---- / 0,6 ----- / 1,2

3500 calories (kcal) refers to both peasants and farm workers (folwark servants).

Here is what such a daily diet of 3500 kcal consisted of on average:

Rye bread - 0,92 kg - 2134 kcal
Wheat bread - 0,022 kg - 53 kcal
Barley groats - 0,016 kg - 54 kcal
Peas - 0,046 kg - 160 kcal
Millet groats - 0,017 kg - 60 kcal
Buckwheat groats - 0,015 kg - 53 kcal
Cheese - 0,01 kg - 15 kcal
Beer (very low alcohol %) - 1,2 litre - 504 kcal
Meat - 0,02 kg - 34 kcal
Pork - 0,03 kg - 160 kcal
Fish - 0,004 kg - 6 kcal
Lard - 0,003 kg - 25 kcal
Oil - 0,005 kg - 45 kcal
Butter - 0,004 kg - 30 kcal
Other things - 167 kcal

TOTAL - 3500 kcal (average cost: 0,3 of a grosch).

And according to the other one of the two links:

Main products which constituted peasant's food:

Cereal products - various groats, cereals, pottages (type of soup), rye bread, sometimes wheat bread
Vegetables - pease, cabbage, turnip, onion, beets, carrots, parsley, broad bean
Meat - pork, poultry, chicken, sometimes beef and other kinds of meat
Fruits - mainly apples, pears, plums and various cherries
Fish - fish and various fish dishes
Dairy products - butter, cheese
Fats - lard, grease
Oils - hemp oil, linseed oil
Drinks - beer, milk, water

And some daily wages / incomes (to compare with prices):

noble owner of a folwark (a large farm) - 15,3 groschen / day
naval carpenter - 7,5 groschen / day
peasant yokel (yokel = one who had a farm) - 2,9 groschen / day
unqualified worker - 1,5 groschen / day
cattleman - 1,2 groschen / day

=======================================================

In periods of crop failures / poor harvests daily diets were of course different.

Such period were for example years 1551-1552 and 1570-1572.