Introduction to the History of Food

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Introduction to the History of Food
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Historians study food in relation to

• Nutrition
• Class
• Ethnic identity
• Gender
• National Identity
• Rituals surrounding food consumption and
  preparation
• Food production and its social and ecological
  consequences

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Nutrition

• What did people eat in the past?
• How nutritious were their diets?
• How have eating habits evolved over time?
• How have ideas about nutrition and health
  changed?
• Why?

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Technological innovation

• How has technology affected eating habits?
• Preservation
• Transportation
• Commercialisation

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Class

• Social class affects diet
• Elites consume more varied and exotic diet,
  though not necessarily a more healthy one
• Elites often consume more meat and luxury
  foodstuffs
• Class considerations proscribe the consumption of
  certain foods by certain groups

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Race

• Food can function as a marker of ethnic identity
• Maize and insects regarded as Indian food in
  Latin America
• Cannibalism
• Eating conventions also important. Is food served
  raw or cooked? In what order? How is it eaten?

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Gender

• Food cultivation/preparation mirrored gender
  divisions
• Mexican women given the task of grinding maize to
  make tortillas
• Women also associated with the consumption of
  certain foods, e.g. chocolate

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National Identity

• Food can help to construct national identities
• What food should constitute a national cuisine?
• Regional variations
• European v. indigenous dishes
• National cookbooks - El cocinero mexicano (The
  Mexican Chef), published in 1831

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Food and Ritual

• Social and religious significance of food
• Meaning of food in Pre-Columbian societies
• Symbolic qualities of certain foods

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Key Themes of this Module

• Reception of New World foods in Europe and beyond
  
• Introduction of non-American foodstuffs to Latin
  America
• Foods link to identity national, class, racial
• Food production sugar, coffee and its social,
  political and ecological implications
• Symbolical and metaphorical aspects

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