Hunting, Gathering, and Stone Age Cooking
Oct 02, 2017
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In episode one of Food: A Cultural Culinary History, we’re going to consider food as a catalyst in human history, and what our food choices reveal about our values and ambitions. Then we’ll look at food culture in prehistoric times—our ancestors’ wide-ranging diet of everything from mammoths and seafood to acorns, insects, seeds, and grasses—and the ways in which how they ate directly drove evolution.
Here’s an interesting exercise that simply shows how one can cook in an animal skin. Take a large paper shopping bag, and cut out an eight-by-eight inch square with no seams. (Seams would cause it to leak.) Fold it in half diagonally once into a triangle, and then fold it again in half into a smaller triangle. Open it up so that you have a cone, and tape or staple the ends so that it doesn’t unfold. Notice that one side will be thicker than the other; that’s fine, it will hold water. Next, fill the cone halfway up with water, and place it immediately over a burning candle. In a few minutes, the water inside will boil, and the paper will not burn. This replicates the technique of cooking in an open skin stretched over a fire. If you have the patience, try cooking a carrot in the boiling water.
• Pit Cooking
A pit oven with yams
To get a sense of how people cooked in prehistoric times, first find an open spot with soil soft enough to dig, at least 20 feet from any trees or buildings. Dig a circular hole about three feet deep. Line the perimeter of the pit with large stones for safety purposes and so that you can balance sticks across the pit. Make a fire inside the pit, starting with small kindling and building up to larger logs. When they have burned down to coals, you can start cooking.
This is the original way to barbecue, incidentally. You want to cook long and slow, but because this is before the discovery of metallurgy, you need to make a lattice using fresh green sticks. Lay them across the pit in one direction, and then lay more in the other direction so that you have a kind of primitive grill. They should be far enough away from the hot coals so that they don’t burn, but they probably will char a little. Place on top of the sticks any meat you prefer: a few split chickens, large cuts of pork shoulder, or even a fish wrapped in sturdy leaves. Your seasoning should be minimal—whatever herbs you can find and salt. Because you are using a very gentle fire, expect larger pieces of meat to cook for at least an hour or if you have a flare-up, you can always sprinkle a little water on the fire to prevent the meat from burning. It will smoke a lot, which is good. Smoke is unquestionably a major flavor category that we have learned to enjoy in the millennia of cooking in this way.
• Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin: Louis-Jean Allais [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Depiction of aurochs, horses and deer from Lascaux cave in France. By Prof saxx (Own work) GFDL , CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons • Group of Yugambeh Aboriginal warriors men demonstrate fire making craft during Aboriginal culture show in Queensland, Australia. Shutterstock • Grinding stone: Shutterstock • Diagram of an Earth oven: By Earthoven_hangi.jpg: KVDP derivative work: Beao (Earthoven_hangi.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Salmon weir at Quamichan Village on Vancouver Island: By Dally, Frederick [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Homo erectus using fire: By Nathan McCord, U.S. Marine Corps [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • White Oak acorns: By Dcrjsr (Own work) CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons • Fish grilling over an open fire: Shutterstock • Pit oven with yams: By Jaejay77 (Own work) CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Early Agriculturalists Ate
Oct 02, 2017
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The transition to agriculture is perhaps humanity’s single most important social revolution – and one that was not without its tradeoffs. In episode 2 of Food: A Cultural Culinary History we’re going to explore the factors surrounding the rise of agriculture, how plants and animals were domesticated, and why agriculture directly led to civilization as we know it.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Making Neolithic Flatbread
This is a simple flatbread such as would have been eaten before ovens came into common use. It is something like pita bread, but chewier and with a lot more flavor. If you can find freshly ground whole wheat, or even grind it yourself, all the better. Any whole wheat flour will work well.
Begin by fermenting half of a cup of the flour by mixing it with water until a thick batter is formed. Leave this out on the counter, uncovered. The next morning, add another half of a cup each of flour and water. Continue every morning for about one week, at which time the mixture will be bubbling and smell sour. You have just captured and nurtured wild yeast and lactobacilli.
Remove half of this starter to another bowl, and add another cup of water and enough flour—and a good pinch of salt—to make a stiff dough. Knead this well, and set aside for several hours until risen. This will happen quickly in the summer and slowly in the winter. Keep the rest of the starter to make another batch or for risen bread.
Divide the dough into fist-sized balls, and pat out into flat rounds with your hands. Stretch each one until thin, but not so thin that they break. If you have an outdoor fire, these can be cooked on a flat stone set over hot coals, but indoors is just as good. Heat a pan, and simply throw in one flatbread. Count to 30, and turn over. Count to 30 again, and then move the bread directly to an open burner (assuming that you have a gas stove) or a barbecue. With tongs, flip repeatedly until lightly charred on each side. Then, put into a covered plate or casserole and continue with the rest of the flatbreads. They will stay warm for a long time.
Serve with a dip like hummus or baba ganoush, made of charred eggplant. These are also the Neolithic ancestors of pizza and can be topped with a fresh cheese to wonderful effect.
• Akkadian Recipe
Three surviving cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia constitute the earliest recorded recipes on Earth. They are quite cryptic, largely because the ingredients have not all been identified. The following recipe is an adaptation of the original recipe that fills in the procedural details. It gives an approximation of what cooking would have been like 35 centuries ago. The meat, which is domestic lamb, probably indicates that this is a dish for the wealthy—or perhaps intended for a special occasion. Beer was the common drink of all classes and was used widely in cooking as well. Consider how all of these ingredients would have been comparatively uncommon before the advent of agriculture.
Tuh’u Beet Broth
(adapted from Jean Bottéro’s The Oldest Cuisine in the World , p. 28) Start with one pound of lamb shoulder cut into walnut-sized chunks or lamb stew meat. Remove any visible fat, and dice finely. Fill a medium pot halfway with water, and add the fat and the lamb.
Add a teaspoon of salt; 12 ounces of beer; a finely chopped onion; a handful of arugula, finely chopped; ground coriander seed; and ground cumin. Bring the pot to a boil, and simmer for about one hour.
Add in three peeled and quartered beets. Then, make a paste of one clove of garlic and the white part of one leek by pounding them in a mortar or reducing them to a fine paste in a food processor. Add to the pot. Let simmer until the beets are tender, about 30 minutes longer.
Sprinkle the soup with chopped fresh coriander before serving. Notice how all of the ingredients would have been cultivated, though other dishes that use wild game and birds were also recorded on these tablets. Also notice how similar this dish is to Middle Eastern cooking today.
• Map of Origins of Agriculture: Shutterstock • Thomas Malthus: John Linnell [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Comparison photo of a wild strawberry with a modern strawberry: Shutterstock • Carolina Yaller Dogs: Flaxseedoil [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Einkorn: Shutterstock • Spelt: Shutterstock • Jericho: By A. Sobkowski (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Milking a goat: Shutterstock • Cheese aging in a cave: Shutterstock • Dough rising: Shutterstock • Wine fermenting: Shutterstock • Pithoi: Shutterstock • Domesticated fowl: Shutterstock • Guinea Fowl: Shutterstock • Oyster rope: Shutterstock • Flatbread: Shutterstock
Egypt and the Gift of the Nile
Oct 02, 2017
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Ancient Egypt’s prosperity, impressive court culture, and their isolation from conflict led to a sophisticated food tradition and the emergence of the world’s first “elite” cuisine. In this podcast we’ll study the archaeological evidence of Ancient Egyptian food customs, the religious significance of Egyptian foodstuffs and animals, and the specific components of their cuisine.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Egyptian Beer
Barley sprouting
Sophisticated archaeological techniques that have been developed in the past few decades have allowed researchers not only to identify vessels that stored beer in ancient times, but they also can identify exact ingredients as well. Patrick McGovern at the University of Pennsylvania is the best-known biomolecular archaeologist of ancient drinks, and he has even worked with breweries to develop modern versions. Although they taste quite good, they use modern strains of yeast and brewing protocols that are very different from ancient practice. These are the dictates of modern regulations and the demands of commerce—but at home, you can brew exactly as the ancients did, using wild yeast and simple pottery vessels. Be prepared, though, it will not taste like your standard fizzy lager.
First, you will need barley, which must be whole, fresh, and not pearled, which kills the seed. You are going to germinate the grains by sprinkling on some water, leaving it in a sunny spot, and waiting until they just begin to sprout. Turn them around every now and then, drain off the liquid, and replace it if it begins to smell a bit. They should stay moist during germination. This should only take a few days. Once you see them sprout, dry them off, and place them in the sun to dry completely. If you want a darker brew, toast a few of the grains gently and add to the rest. Then, break everything up in a large mortar. You want small pieces, but not powder. Next, heat the grain in water at about 140 degrees, and maintain that temperature for an hour. Strain this into another pot, and pour some more hot water over just to release the last bit of sugars in the mash. Now is the fun part. Cover the pot with a cheesecloth, and let it ferment at room temperature. Wild yeasts will invade, and it will start to bubble in a few days. Taste it periodically; it will probably be a little sour, thick, and of course still room temperature. That’s ancient beer—fairly low in alcohol but refreshing. If you insist, strain it again, funnel into bottles, and refrigerate.
Ancient Judea—From Eden to Kosher Laws
Oct 02, 2017
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Practices regarding food were deeply integral to the lives of the ancient Hebrews. In episode 4 we’ll explore prescriptions regarding food in Biblical Genesis, and consider that the Fall of Adam and Eve itself was an act of eating. Then we’ll learn about Hebrew eating rituals and meaning of sacrifice, and note the Hebrews’ complex food prohibitions, rooted in what was considered clean and unclean.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Passover Seder
A table set for Passover Seder
Passover, or Pesach, is the most ritualized meal in the Jewish faith. Readings from the book of Exodus dominate, along with Talmudic commentary, but certain foods are also part of the liturgy. Matzo, or unleavened bread, is absolutely essential and replaces risen bread entirely for the entire seven or eight-day festival. The Seder is the traditional meal, during which four glasses of wine are consumed; people eat reclining, dip bitter herbs in salt water, and eat only unleavened bread.
These peculiarities are recorded in the “Four Questions,” which are sung or read by the youngest member of the family. The exact order of the Seder is prescribed in the Haggadah, a small book used through the service. Apart from foods that are eaten merely traditionally, such as matzo ball soup or gefilte fish, a Seder plate contains these ritually prescribed foods, each of which commemorates the story of being freed from bondage in Egypt. The maror are bitter herbs, such as horseradish; charoset is a thick paste of fruits and nuts to recall the mortar used by slaves; karpas is another vegetable, usually parsley dipped into salt water to commemorate tears; z’roa is a roasted lamb bone commemorating ritual sacrifice in the Temple; and beitzah is a roasted egg, a symbol of mourning. If you are lucky enough to be invited to a Passover dinner, this may help to make sense of the ritual. Otherwise, try making your own gefilte fish. The stuff that is sold in jars is pretty vile, so it’s worth making it yourself.
• Gefilte Fish
Gefilte fish
Use freshwater white fish, such as pike or carp—but any white fish will do. Remove the fillets, and save the bones and heads. Discard innards and gills if the fish hasn’t been cleaned. Put the bones and head into a pot, cover with water, and add chopped carrot, celery, onion, fresh dill and parsley, and a little salt. Simmer gently for 30 minutes and strain, pressing on solids. Return strained liquid to the pot. This is your poaching liquid, or court bouillon.
Next, pound or process the fillets into a fine paste. Add a little salt and matzo meal as a binder and an egg. With two spoons, form large torpedo shapes, or quenelles, and drop gently into the simmering poaching liquid. Repeat until all of the fish is used, removing the fish quenelles after about five to seven minutes, when they should be light, fluffy, and cooked through. Next, return all of your quenelles to the cooled poaching liquid, and put them into the refrigerator for at least several hours, until they are completely cold. Serve cold with freshly grated horseradish on the side and a sprig of dill. Aficionados will also want some of the jelled poaching liquid; if you’ve used enough bones, it will have congealed.
• Ancient hebrew sacrifice: By Illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop’s “Treasures of the Bible,” 1894 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Garden of Eden: Lucas Cranach the Elder [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Eve eating the forbidden fruit: By Hendrik Goltzius (1558–1617) (Musée des Beaux – Arts de Strasbourg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Cain and Abel: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons • Noah’s sacrifice: James Tissot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Drunkenness of Noah: By Simone Brentana [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Esau going hunting: By illustrators of the 1890 Holman Bible [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Seder plate: Shutterstock • Moses and Manna: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons • Cloven hooves: Shutterstock • Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Latkes: Shutterstock • Table set for passover: Gilabrand at en.wikipedia GFDL , via Wikimedia Commons • Gefilte fish: Shutterstock
Classical Greece—Wine, Olive Oil, and Trade
Oct 02, 2017
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In this episode, we’ll discover how the ancient Greeks’ need for arable land led to their imperial and mercantile system, and we’ll consider what we learn about their food culture from such sources as Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, and Plato. Then we’ll observe the role of food in the rituals of Greek festivals, religious cults, and symposia, and we study simple components of the classical Greek diet that later influenced the rest of the world.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Archestratus’s Shark Recipe
Shark steaks
Archestratus, who lived in about 330 B.C. near the Greek colony of Gela in Sicily, was renowned for his knowledge of where the best ingredients came from throughout the Greek world. He was a connoisseur, in both ancient and modern senses. Most of the surviving fragments from his cookbook are about fish. He doesn’t offer recipes per se, but, rather, gastronomic commentary about foods and how to prepare them. The following is a reconstructed recipe based on his commentary about karcharia, probably a kind of small shark.
Take two shark steaks and place them in a ceramic casserole with a handful of basil leaves, sprinkle them with ground cumin and salt, and drizzle on a generous amount of olive oil. Bake these in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes. Serve topped with a dollop of “pounded sauce,” which is an ancestor of pesto. Make the sauce by taking a handful of basil, a small garlic clove, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt, and pound in a mortar until smooth and fine. Serve on top of the shark steak. Because the description only says to use “fragrant leaves,” feel free to substitute another herb such as parsley or sage, but because basil comes from the Greek word basileus, meaning “king,” it seems appropriate. If you are so inclined, eat this with your fingers while reclining on a couch. Serve with a fragrant retsina, a white wine flavored with mastic resin.
The Alexandrian Exchange and the Four Humors
Oct 02, 2017
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Alexander the Great’s conquests heralded an era where previously unconnected cultures mixed on a large scale. In this podcast, we’ll trace the diffusion of foodstuffs over vast trade networks in the Hellenistic period. Then we’ll go on to study early dietary regimens based in Galen’s famous theory of the body’s “humors,” and examine the influence on food culture of Greek philosophical schools such as the Stoics and Epicureans.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Recipe for Myma
The following is a recipe for a meat dish from the cookbook of Epaenetus. This dish is savory because of the meat and liver, spicy because of the cumin and coriander, sour because of the vinegar, sweet because of the raisins and honey, and aromatic because of the hyssop, thyme, and silphium.
A myma of any sacrificial animal, or chicken, is to be made by chopping the lean meat finely, mincing the liver and offal with the blood, and flavoring with vinegar, melted cheese, silphium, cumin, thyme leaf, thyme seed, Roman hyssop, coriander leaf, coriander seed, geteion (maybe a spring onion), peeled fried onion, raisins or honey, and the seeds of a sour pomegranate.
• Galenic Meal
Chickpeas
Just as today, there is no way of knowing if the ancient Greeks followed their physicians’ instructions when it came to eating a healthy diet, but Galen of Pergamum’s writings became so popular—and dominated medical thought for 15 centuries following his death—that it is safe to assume that people knew a great deal about what was considered best to eat. While Galen doesn’t offer recipes, his comments about specific ingredients are so detailed that it is possible to reconstruct a healthy meal using the system of humoral physiology, or balancing the hot, cold, moist, and dry humors in a single dish.
Chickpeas, Galen notices, are made into soups in the country, sometimes using chickpea flour cooked with milk. He thinks that chickpeas are less prone to cause flatulence than other beans, are more nutritious, and even serve as an aphrodisiac, but there is also the skeleton of a recipe that he says is common among us. The following is a reconstructed recipe. The combination, apart from being delicious, fits into his definition of a healthy meal, as it does ours.
Take two cups of chickpeas, and soak them overnight. Then, simmer gently in fresh water for about an hour. When the chickpeas begin to get tender, add a teaspoon of salt, a dash of olive oil, and some oregano. Continue cooking until completely cooked through. Then, take a dry cheese, such as Greek kefalotiri or kashkaval, and pound it or process it finely until it resembles flour. Sprinkle this on the chickpeas and serve. Feta cheese crumbled on top of the chickpeas is also very good, and because Galen doesn’t specify the type of cheese, feel free to use what you like best.
• When to Eat Peaches
Prunus Persica (Peaches)
Peaches were first imported to the West in antiquity—hence the name persika, meaning that they come from Persia, but they are actually from the Far East. Galen warns us, despite the lovely taste, that the juice and flesh of peaches easily corrupts and, therefore, should not be eaten at the end of the meal because the peaches float on the surface of the stomach, where they corrupt. However, before a meal, they serve as a lubricant, helping other foods down the digestive tract. As an experiment, try eating peaches at the end of a meal and then, next time, at the start. Is there any difference? Were you psychosomatically influenced by Galen’s suggestion, or is his model of digestion completely outdated?
Ancient India—Sacred Cows and Ayurveda
Oct 02, 2017
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In this episode, we’re going to learn about the culture of the Aryans, whose religion prefigured Hinduism; we’ll discuss food customs relating to India’s caste system; and we’ll even touch upon the traditions of vegetarianism in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Then we’re going to hear about the dietetic system of Ayurvedic medicine and break down the components of Indian cuisine.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Making Ghee
Clarifiied butter, also known as Ghee
Among the explicit food taboos in ancient India, there were a few substances considered absolutely pure. Ghee, a kind of clarified butter, is one of those. It was used in sacrifice, and because it is made from cows’ milk, it is considered among the most nourishing substances on Earth. There are also very practical reasons why ghee is used in India; it is practically imperishable, even in intense heat. You can even fry in it.
Take a pound of butter, and place it in a pot on the lowest possible heat— or even in the oven at about 200 degrees. Let it slowly simmer without disturbing. After foaming up briefly, the excess water will evaporate, and the milk solids will come together and eventually will precipitate to the bottom of the pot. Unlike clarified butter, this gives the ghee a deep, nutty flavor. Simply pour off the clear fat, and store in a jar. Discard solids.
•A Recipe Using Ghee
Unlike in the West, spices in the East are always gently toasted before cooking, which brings out the flavor, and then ground fresh. This recipe is vegetarian and could be eaten by any caste, as long as it was prepared by someone of the same caste.
In a small iron skillet, dry toast spices, including coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and pepper. Be careful not to let them burn. Transfer to a mortar or spice grinder, and reduce to a powder. Add to this ground turmeric and fenugreek. This is a simple spice mix, and every family has their own; these mixes are often extremely complex, which is not surprising because may of these spices are native.
Next, cut up an eggplant, leaving the skin intact. Heat some ghee in a pot, and add the spice mixture and the eggplant pieces. Leave to stew very gently until the eggplant has cooked through and is tender. For observant Brahmans, onions would be left out, but they are actually a very tasty addition.
• Map of Ancient India: By Dbachmann (talk · contribs) (Own work) GFDL , via Wikimedia Commons • Mohenjo Daro ruins: By Saqib Qayyum (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons • Ghee: Shutterstock • Sacred Cow: Shutterstock • High Caste members: By Charles Shepherd and Arthur Robertson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Siddhartha Gautama :Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons • Asoka:World Imaging assumed (based on copyright claims). GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons • Paneer: By Ian Brown (Flickr: Homemade Paneer) CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons • rice comparison photo: By nagualdesign (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons • Indian Spices: Shutterstock • Vindaloo: Shutterstock • Chutney: Shutterstock • Indian Sweets: Shutterstock • Paan: Shutterstock • Chicken Tikka Masala: Shutterstock • Ghee: Shutterstock • Eggplant: Shutterstock
Yin and Yang of Classical Chinese Cuisine
Oct 02, 2017
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Chinese culture has produced what is arguably the most complex, sophisticated, and varied culinary tradition on earth. In this podcast we’re going to trace the rise of civilization in China from the Hsia to the Han dynasty. We’ll look at the social and technological factors underlying China’s elaborate food traditions, and we’re going to investigate the role of Taoist thought and Chinese medicine in the Chinese diet.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Seasoning a New Wok
A round bottom wok with a steel wok spatula
Although you can purchase preseasoned and even nonstick woks nowadays, it is really best to buy a rounded-bottom steel wok and season it yourself. It will become virtually nonstick because the fat transforms with heat into a polymer and literally becomes one with the metal surface. This is something you must do outdoors.
Properly seasoned wok
Over an open flame, either wood or a barbecue grill, heat your new wok for an hour on a high flame until glowing red. Put on sturdy oven mitts. Then, take a fist-sized lump of pork fat (or any animal fat), and with a pair of tongs, swirl it around the interior of the work and quickly remove it. This will create a lot of smoke, so be prepared to step back. Repeat over and over again until you have a dark, shiny, slick surface inside the wok.
Never use soap on this surface. After stir-frying, simply put the wok in the sink while still hot, and swirl around a sponge or cloth with a pair of tongs and hot water. Dry thoroughly, and wipe on some oil to prevent rusting. You will be amazed how wonderfully food will cook on this surface without sticking, even though the technology is centuries old.
• Using Your Wok
We usually think of a wok in terms of stir-frying, but it is actually used to braise, boil, steam, deep-fry, and practically perform any procedure in the Chinese canon. Stir-frying is still classic, but it demands just a little practice and know-how.
A wok should be heated to a very high temperature, ideally over a wok ring.
First of all, the wok should be heated, over a very high flame. Ideally, you will have a burner that will steady the rounded bottom or a wok ring. A flat-bottomed wok is a waste of time; you might as well just use a pan. All of your ingredients should be cut up ahead of time, into thin pieces that will cook very quickly. The actual cooking should only take a few minutes, which means not only less fuel used but, in a professional kitchen, rapid service.
Stir fry marinade
If using meat, marinate it first in soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and cornstarch—or whatever you like. The cornstarch will not only act as a thickener in the end, but will also seal the surface of the meat when it goes into the hot wok. Keep your cut-up vegetables separate. You can use bok choy, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and carrots—again, whatever strikes your fancy.
Proper wok technique demonstrated
When your wok is red hot (it will smoke a little), pour in oil—peanut or neutral vegetable oil is best—and immediately add your meat so that it sears. Wait a minute before you begin to toss. This should be done with a Chinese spatula, which has a metal end and a long shaft ending in a wooden handle. One hand should be on the handle of the wok (use a dish towel if it’s a short, ring-type handle) and the other on your spatula. The idea is to tilt the wok slightly and toss the ingredients up.
When browned lightly, remove the meat to a bowl, and add vegetables to the wok, using the same procedure. Add a little more oil if necessary. You want to sear these quickly, which won’t happen if you overcrowd the surface of the wok. Then, add the meat back in again, and finish with a little soy sauce, perhaps rice wine, and some broth. These are usually kept in little bowls next to the wok and added with a ladle. When the ingredients all come together, move them to a bowl and immediately rinse out and scour your wok with hot water and return to the fire to start another dish, or dry and set aside if you’re done. Serve the dish with white rice.
• Map of China: Shutterstock • Extended Chinese Family cooking: Shutterstock • Vibrant Chinese court culture: By Yan Li-pen [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Map of Xia and Shang Dynasties: By SY (Own work) CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons • Xia Dynasty pottery: By Gary Lee Todd (Luoyang Museum) GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons • Water Buffalo :Shutterstock • Chinese bronze cooking vessels from Shang era: By Daderot (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons • Zhou Dynasty map: By Territories_of_Dynasties_in_China.gif: Ian Kiu CC-BY-SA-3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons • Shi, Chinese scholars: See page for author CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons • Millet: Shutterstock • Confucius: See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Chopsticks: Shutterstock • Lao Tzu: See page for author [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • The Vinegar Tasters: By Kanō school artist (Tokyo National Museum) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Sesame plant: Shutterstock • Szechuan pepper: Shutterstock • Noodles: By ProjectManhattan (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons • Wok and Spatula: Shutterstock • Seasoned Wok: Shutterstock • Smoking Wok: Shutterstock • Stir Fry Marinade: Shutterstock • Wok Technique: Shutterstock
Dining in Republican and Imperial Rome
Oct 02, 2017
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In this episode we’re going to Ancient Rome, where we’ll delve into some intriguing contrasts in the dining habits of the ancient Romans. We’ll examine the simple food customs of republican Rome, and then trace the expanding empire and learn how exotic food became a status symbol. We’re going to read from an ancient Roman cookbook aimed at those eager to flaunt their wealth and then we’ll bear witness to the gastronomic decadence of the late empire.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Minutal of Apricots
Apricots
This dish captures the wide range of flavors that were popular in ancient Rome—what we might call sweet and sour, though it is actually even more complex than that. The ingredients aren’t particularly rare or exotic, but the dish would have been considered very fashionable and elegant. Tracta are perhaps the ancestor of pasta, a kind of flat cracker that was crumbled into stews as a thickener. They are also called laganae, which is etymologically related to lasagna. Today, you can use plain crackers, crumbled up. For garum, you can use Southeast Asian fish sauce, such as nuoc mam or nam pla. For the raisin wine, Marsala is okay (or any sweet, fortified wine). To “temper” means to balance the flavors and consistency. Obviously, because there are no measurements, all of the ingredients should be added at your discretion.
Add in a pot oil, garum, wine, chopped scallions, cooked pork shoulder cut into cubes. When all is cooked pound pepper, cumin, dried mint, dill, and drizzle in honey, garum, raisin wine, vinegar, and a little pork broth, temper it, then add pitted fresh apricots, let it simmer until they are cooked through. Break up a tracta to thicken it, sprinkle with pepper and serve it up.
• Map of Rome: Shutterstock • Cato: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons • Farming on a Latifundia: Public Domain, via Wikimedia commons • Carbonized bread: By User:Beatrice (Lavoro personale) CC BY-SA 2.0 it, via Wikimedia Commons • Nuoc Mam: Shutterstock • Amphorae for wine: By M.Dirgėla (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Triclinium: By Szilas (Own work photo by Szilas in the Aquincum Museum) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Petronius: By P. Bodart (GoogleBooks) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Gliraria: By Marco Daniele (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons • Frontispiece for De re coquinaria: By Bonho1962 (Own work) GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons • Rooster: Shutterstock • Juvenal: By Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (Original: Nuremberg Chronicle) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Emperor Elagabalus: Cnyborg assumed (based on copyright claims). CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Early Christianity—Food Rituals and Asceticism
Oct 02, 2017
Hello, Great Courses fans. This audio-podcast has been cooked, removed from the oven, and is being lovingly delivered to a new audio-platform. In its absence, please enjoy the video series that it was based off, streaming now Wondrium. Click here to watch it now.
The following episode transcript and images will remain for posterity. Enjoy!
In today’s podcast we’re going to observe the role of food in Jesus’s parables and miracles, as well as in the ritual of the Eucharist. We’ll take a look at early Christian and monastic dietary prescriptions, we’ll examine practices regarding ritual fasting in Christianity, and we’ll examine the significance of purification through self-denial in practices such as Lent.
Images for this Episode:
Culinary Activities for this Episode:
• Fasting Exercise
This is an odd thing to try at home, but trying it can have very interesting results. If you fast for very long periods, you will feel lightheaded and may even hallucinate. This may very well be the source of some early ascetic’s visions. Even a short fast can be a challenge as well as a way to expand your sensory perception. In many respects, our taste buds, like all of our senses, are dulled by overstimulation. Think of this as a temporary deprivation chamber to reawaken your taste buds.
As a purely gastronomic exercise, go an entire 24 hours without any food or water. Prepare a food you normally eat for dinner, and consume it slowly and mindfully. Did you appreciate the taste more than you normally would? Does it taste different—perhaps more intense? Which particular flavors do you notice as standing out?
• Map of the Holy Land: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons • John the Baptist: By Meister von Gracanica (I) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Jesus: Workshop of Titian [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Parable of the Vineyard: By Unknown/Άγνωστος (Byzantine gospel. Paris, National Library.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • The Wedding Feast at Cana: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Loaves and Fishes: Ambrosius Francken I [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • The Last Supper: Leonardo da Vinci [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Communion: Shutterstock • Peter’s Dream of a Sheet with Animals: Domenico Fetti [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • St. Paul: Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • Ichthys: By UnknownMarie-Lan Nguyen (Own work) [Public domain, Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons • St. Benedict of Nursia: By Georges Jansoone (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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