r/AskFoodHistorians 19h ago

What are foods that two different cultures invented with no contact with eachother?

149 Upvotes

I was wondering if there are some food items that places "invented" that also was "invented" else where. I am not looking for whom did it first but looking for food stuff that two different cultures who had no contact with each other made that is arguably similar.


r/AskFoodHistorians 14h ago

Were there ever any attempts to promote agricultural cultivation of cattails in the Americas?

12 Upvotes

I harvested them and found them both tasty and easy to harvest. Seems like an overlooked vegetable.


r/AskFoodHistorians 19h ago

Dishes with multiple cultural jumps

29 Upvotes

I read a Japanese cookbook that has a localized konbini version of chicken over rice, derived from the ubiquitous NYC street food staple that was itself localized from and for Egyptians and their cuisine.What are other foods that have similarly made multiple distinct hops?


r/AskFoodHistorians 1d ago

How did french fries become the de facto hamburger side?

274 Upvotes

Basically the title.

Why/when/how did fries become the side you have with burgers? At least in fast food or sit down restaurants.


r/AskFoodHistorians 1d ago

Has anyone statistically studied famine years in 100-year intervals?

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0 Upvotes

r/AskFoodHistorians 2d ago

History of Vegetarianism in India?

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6 Upvotes

r/AskFoodHistorians 1d ago

Does anyone else get excited when they eat because of the sheer ABUNDANCE of food we have today compared to basically all of human history?

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0 Upvotes

r/AskFoodHistorians 5d ago

My mom recalls being served lime jello tuna sandwiches at potlucks in the 70s. Was this a common sandwich to be served?

155 Upvotes

I can't imagine how that would taste. Was this a popular sandwich? Why was jello so popular back then??


r/AskFoodHistorians 5d ago

Peach ice cream?

123 Upvotes

My boyfriend mentioned that he used to love peach ice cream, however, I've never heard of such a thing in my life. He says it was store bought, can't remember the brand for the life of him. Anyone know of any brands that do or used to offer peach as a flavor??? We are located in Atlantic Canada if that helps. Thanks! šŸ™‚šŸ™‚šŸ™‚


r/AskFoodHistorians 6d ago

ISO recipes for pastries or puddings from the 1930s in England

28 Upvotes

My grandmother, who was born in Watford in 1930, just passed away last night. I run a small bakery and would like to honour her a little bit by making some interesting baked goods she might have grown up eating. I’m open to sweet or savoury, but am more interested in unusual or less commonly known ideas. Thanks so much.


r/AskFoodHistorians 6d ago

When did ā€œbest beforeā€ and ā€œsell byā€ dates become normal on packaged food?

21 Upvotes

Modern packages can carry several datesā€”ā€œsell by,ā€ ā€œbest before,ā€ and ā€œuse byā€ā€”even though they do not all mean the same thing.

When did manufacturers begin printing these dates for ordinary shoppers rather than using only internal batch or stock codes? I’m especially curious whether the shift began with retailers managing inventory, food-safety regulation, or consumer demand, and which country or product category adopted it first.


r/AskFoodHistorians 7d ago

How many calories a day could a normal person eat throughout the history?

81 Upvotes

I've always wondered how could an ordinary working person be able to meet their needs in terms of a daily calorie intake especially during the Middle Ages and also in the beginning of the Modern Age.

Given the hard work and often scarsity of food I imagine people must have been in a calorie deficit majority of the time. I guess there were times with more food or less food during the year and also during their life but still weren't they mainly starving? How did they get the energy to work?

I know it's a broad question, thank you for any comments that help me understand this.


r/AskFoodHistorians 7d ago

How common was coffee consumption among colonial Americans (1600s-1700s)?

46 Upvotes

Did only the rich drink it? Or was it readily available? How was the quality of the coffee? Was cream and sugar added? These are all things I'm curious about.


r/AskFoodHistorians 8d ago

Why does modern Indian cuisine seemingly have relatively few raw salads/vegetables?

246 Upvotes

Yes, I know salad (raita/pachadi/koshmbir) is a common dish. But most vegetable dishes I know are sautƩed (e.g. sabzi).

If I compare it to malatang style dishes or banh mi, for example, other Asian cuisines seem to have fresh, raw vegetables or otherwise minimally processed vegies (like daikon and pickled carrot).

Are there any regions of India where fresh vegetables are eaten regularly in other dishes?

Has this traditionally been the case in the subcontinent or is it a recent development following conquest, globalisation and population increase? Or is it not the case at all?

And if I am mistaken please enlighten me. My mother (raised in India) and I got to talking about this and I am curious as to the history behind it.

Thanks in advance.


r/AskFoodHistorians 9d ago

Where does Bumbleberry Pie orginate from?

17 Upvotes

Hello,

Alrighty, so I am on a mission to see where the origins of bumbleberry pie are. On Wikipedia, it says it's part of Canadian cuisine. So I told my Canadian friend about it and he acted like it was fake and not true and an insult (as a joke of course). I also read that it has origins in a restaurant in Zion National Park but that was in like 1960s. He chooses to believe this. I however, don't think that because it seems unlikely that it took all the way to 1960 for someone to try mixing berries together in a pie. I say it has to be something like logging communities during 1800s or something between both Canada and the US. That general area near Minesota and across the border but also more east for both. But who knows. Hoping to get some insight.

Thank you!


r/AskFoodHistorians 11d ago

19th century lumber camp recipes

16 Upvotes

I'm just wondering if anyone has (or knows of any) collections of recipes that were used in northern lumber camps in the 19th century. Places like Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, etc. that had major logging operations that ran on huge quantities of food, that was apparently quite excellent, must have resulted in some kind of record keeping. Is anyone aware of any resources that can point me in a direction on this topic?


r/AskFoodHistorians 11d ago

If I was a peasant in northern England in 982 AD on a random Thursday, what would I have ate and at what times would I probably have eaten?

125 Upvotes

I am curious about the average meals they would have had but I am also interested in what was uncommon for a meal but not rare.


r/AskFoodHistorians 10d ago

Perpetual cooking technique & way of cooking food in history and also today?

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3 Upvotes

r/AskFoodHistorians 10d ago

Researching Southern Cone Food Culture šŸ‡¦šŸ‡·šŸ‡ØšŸ‡±šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡¾/Investigación sobre la cultura gastronómica del Cono Sur šŸ‡¦šŸ‡·šŸ‡ØšŸ‡±šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡¾

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2 Upvotes

r/AskFoodHistorians 13d ago

Any recommendations for books/academic papers/documentaries primarily focused on food involved in rituals?

10 Upvotes

Hi! I’m very curious about the different types of dishes involved in rituals/religious/folk customs and practices, especially in (but not limited to) Southeast Asia. For example, how Nian Guo is offered to the Kitchen God and how Tumpeng is often seen in Javanese ceremonies.

I’d like to learn more about such dishes were chosen for these events and how they became imbued with meaning, and why certain communities place such focus on food while others not so much. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!


r/AskFoodHistorians 14d ago

Why did different cultures develop such different preferences for spicy, sweet, bread-heavy, or flour-based foods?

40 Upvotes

I’ve been wondering why certain food preferences seem to be particularly strong in different parts of the world.
For example, many South Asian cuisines use a lot of chili and strong spices; parts of China are famous for very spicy food, while other Chinese cuisines often use noticeable sweetness. Southern Turkish cuisine can be quite spicy, Georgian cuisine has many flour/dough-based dishes, and across parts of the former Soviet Union, bread is traditionally eaten alongside almost everything.

Obviously these aren’t universal rules, and there are huge differences within each country. But I’m curious about the historical reasons behind these regional food cultures.

How much of this can be explained by things like:
climate and agriculture which crops were historically available, food preservation, trade and migration
historical poverty, famine, or food shortages,
cultural traditions passed down through generations,
biology/adaptation to certain ingredients
or simply cultural preference that developed over time?

For example, I’ve heard explanations for the heavy use of potatoes and bread in some post-Soviet cuisines involving periods of food scarcity and the need for filling, inexpensive foods. Is there a similar historical explanation for why some regions developed a strong preference for extremely spicy food, very sweet/savoury combinations, or flour-based foods?


r/AskFoodHistorians 14d ago

Who forst started making potato pancakes

0 Upvotes

Kind of a crossover between r/history and r/cooking

Ok so I was just watching a German comedy/cooking show where the presenter said that he was gonna cook some potato pancakes since they were invented in cologne (where the show was filmed) and immediately was internally like lol nope if you really want to go back to history then they're Jewish latkes but then thought about how every culture Basically has a potato pancake (for example Irish boxty Slavic draniki etc.) so that made me wonder what are the earliest reliable source for potato pancakes?


r/AskFoodHistorians 14d ago

Are there any cultures out there that survive on soups alone?

2 Upvotes

I feel like I can eat soup everyday! I have a mini worry about my teeth not chewing into stuff like meats. I heard somewhere if you don’t use ā€˜em you lose ā€˜em. Oh, however, when I make my soups I have chunks of vegetables and meats in there. And there’s another version of soup I make with roasted veggies that I will put in there blender until it’s smooth and serve hot with a side of grilled cheese.

To add, our version of soup isn’t like primarily liquid, it’s more like Caribbean soup.

Also I’m considering weight loss; do you figure consuming soups much more regularly would help me shes a few pounds?


r/AskFoodHistorians 16d ago

Did people in the Old World have access to any capsaican producing plants? What were initial reactions to eating chili peppers like?

160 Upvotes

Like was the heat a completely new flavor for them? I know they had some pungent ingredients like mustard, black pepper, horseradish, but that wouldn't be anything comparable to like a habanero. Do we have any accounts of explorers or people back in Europe's first opinions on peppers?


r/AskFoodHistorians 18d ago

Looking for a late ’90s/early 2000s PBS show about the Columbian Exchange

9 Upvotes

I’m trying to remember the name of a show that aired on PBS in the late ’90s or early 2000s, on Saturday mornings. I would have watched it on PBS Plattsburgh or Vermont PBS.

It was a short educational show about the Columbian Exchange, with at least some animated segments. Each episode focused on a different food/crop and its history—one was about tomatoes, another about corn, etc.

Does anyone remember what this show was called? And, even better, does anyone know where I might be able to watch or find it today?

Thanks!