Have A Taste Of History
The past is a foreign country, but some of the oldest menus are legible to human eyes. If you've ever spread butter over a slice of bread you baked yourself (we all remember the great sourdough craze of 2020), you took part in a beautiful tradition spreading back millennia. Here are 20 foods that have stood the test of time.
1. Beer
While not a food, the oldest surviving recipe we have is for beer! Beer has been produced for over 5,000 years, and was drunk throughout ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. It's too bad King Tut didn't reach drinking age.
2. Popcorn
It blew our minds a little bit to learn that the ancient Inca were popping corn all the way back in 3600 BCE. Corn (or maize) was a staple crop for these people and was popped over a fire. We liked to imagine they ate some while watching plays or dances.
3. Focaccia
We didn't include "bread" as a whole category because it seems, well, rather obvious. However, specific breads make things a bit more interesting. Focaccia is derived from the Latin word from the hearth, so this delicious dish dates back to ancient Rome.
4. Tamales
Tamales are a Mesoamerican invention dating back to 5000 BCE. Because tamales are portable, Olmec, Toltec, Maya & Aztec peoples packed them for hunting trips and wars. Not only were tamales portable, they were also seen as a sacred food of the gods.
5. Hot Chocolate
We're not ready to leave Mesoamerica quite yet, at least not without a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Hot chocolate was an essential part of Maya and Aztec culture, though it was quite different from the drink we enjoy today. Theirs was much more bitter, as sugar was not available, spiced with chili, and served cold.
6. Feta
Like bread, cheese as a concept is so old it's difficult to understand, so it helps to get specific. Sharp and briny feta cheese was enjoyed by ancient Greeks. Feta is even mentioned in the Odyssey! The cyclops Polyphemus made cheese from sheep's milk.
7. Cheesecake
Speaking of ancient Greeks and cheese, they were also fond of cheesecake, as were the Romans. There were three different kinds of ancient cheesecake: libum, savillum, and placenta (no not that placenta). Placenta cake was the closest to our modern cheesecake, with a honey and ricotta mixture and a separately prepared crust.
8. Champagne
Champagne first became associated with royalty in the 17th century, but French monks (in the Champagne region, of course) were brewing it centuries before that. The earliest champagne recipes are around 1000 years old and born out of spite. The Champenois envied Burgundian red wines, but the climate made it difficult to produce their own, and thus, champagne was born.
Alexander Naglestad on Unsplash
9. Butter
For as long as we've domesticated cows, we've had butter. Butter traces back to the Sumerians in the Fertile Crescent, who used butter as a ritual offering. Butter didn't do well in the Mediterranean climate, so its use in ancient Greece and Rome was medicinal, rather than culinary. "Butter-eaters" became a derogatory term for barbarians.
10. Lentil Soup
Lentil soup dates all the way back to the Bible. In Genesis, Esau gives up his birthright for red lentil soup his brother Jacob cooked for him. While we may not necessarily agree, it's always good to see yourself represented.
11. Pancakes
Don't flip out when you learn how old pancakes are. Pancakes—or something resembling them—were eaten in the Stone Age. When Ötzi the Iceman, Europe's oldest mummy, was discovered his stomach contained traces of 5,000 year old pancakes.
12. Dragon's Beard Candy
Dragon's beard candy isn't just the latest TikTok sensation. Dragon's beard rose to popularity in 1980-1990, but its origins are much older. According to legend, dragon's beard candy was invented for one of the Han dynastry emperors, putting it's creation between 200 BCE and 200 CE.
13. Beef Jerky
Salting meat to prevent it from spoiling was essential for survival in a pre-refrigeration world, so it's no wonder that jerky is far older than you think. We couldn't find just one origin story for this road trip essential. Jerky comes from the word ch'arki in the Quechua language of the Andes, which is good enough for us.
14. French Toast
When we first read that the oldest recipe for French toast comes from an ancient Roman cookbook, we feared we had another French dress/French fries situation on our hand. Luckily, the roman recipe in question was for honey fritters, which is nowhere near French toast. A 14th century French recipe is much closer.
15. Chutney
The simplest forms of chutney were prepared in ancient India, around 500 BCE. Since then, chutney has grown to encompass an array of delicious spreads. During the colonial era, chutney and pickles were army fare for British soldiers.
16. Sauerkraut
A popular legend states that sauerkraut made its way to Europe with some help from the Mongols. Unfortunately, like other legends, it isn't true. There are records of Romans in the 1st century CE preserving salt cabbage in earthware vessels.
17. Tofu
Tofu's origin is contentious among Chinese scholars. The most common belief is that prince Liu An of the Han dynasty was the first to discover tofu; however, Chinese history is filled with famous figures inventing everyday essentials. Another theory states that the Mongols were the first to do it. So, no conclusive creator, but a delicious outcome.
18. Soy Milk
Soy milk was invented long before venti triple-shot vanilla lattes. Not long after tofu, in fact and, like tofu, it owes some credit to the Mongols (though not for inventing it). The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty drank a watery both form of soy milk; so, too late for Genghis Khan, but not for his many great-grandchildren.
Nikolai Chernichenko on Unsplash
19. Kombucha
If kombucha proves anything, it proves that trend cycles never die, they fall out of style. Much of the marketing buzz around kombucha, such as it being based on ancient Chinese medicine, or being invented by China's first emperor, was invented by in the 2010s to make the drink more appealing to western buyers. Still, it surprises us to learn that kombucha was around in the 1970s; we thought it spontaneously manifested in 2017.
20. Rice Pudding
Nearly every culture on earth has some variation of rice pudding to be found in its national cookbooks. However, the modern, sweet version that we enjoy today dates back to 15th century Europe. Savory forms date back even earlier—we're talking 8,000 years ago.
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