Unsung Heroes Of Cooking

[dgridley]

I bring this up at work every now and then and always get a few laughs and "you're really weird, Dave" remarks.. but have you ever really thought about how many people must have been taken ill or even died discovering what was safe to eat and how to eat or cook it?

I can see them taking notes now..

"Hm, well, that wasn't safe to eat raw.. let's cook it and bring Mikie in here to test it out.. and get that body out of here, will ya?"

and naming foods..

"Guess chicken was taken last week.. we're gonna have to call this one "duck".."

And finally... describing to others how it tastes...

"Well, everything can't taste like fricken' chicken.. taste it again!"

But, seriously.. ya have to wonder about the origins of some foods and cooking methods.. well, at least I do!

 

[andysyme]

What a great thread!!

 

[dgridley]

Hehe.. I also wonder if the thing about everything "tasting like chicken" is universal? What about people who have never even seen a chicken? What does it taste like to them?

I love frog legs, but to me, they taste like chicken!

 

[.X.]

yep Dave....same here...frog legs - rabbit -rattle snake all taste like chicken to me.

 

[Grey_OwL]

Ever thought how disgusting those raw meat are long before men discovered fire and started cooking their food?

 

[HHDomains]

It wouldn't be disgusting if it was all you knew.
We base our opinions on what we are familiar with.

I have always eaten my meat rare so I find well done meat to be disgusting.

There are many foods that I think of when I wonder who was the first to try it.

Some cheeses smell absolutely vile but taste great. Who was the first to take the plunge.
The same with some tropical fruits. Dorian fruit for instance, smells so bad it you are not allowed to take in on the subways in Thailand, but again it tastes good.
A fruit like passion fruit looks terrible, something you would never consider eating.

Our natural instincts usually protect us from any real danger. We have a natural aversion to very bitter foods and most naturally occuring poisons in nature are quite bitter.

There was a time when no one ate tomatoes because they were believed to be poisonous. It turned out that the people who were getting sick who the rich who used pewter plates and cutlery which reacted with the acids in the tomato to create lead poisoning.
The poor who ate with their hands and wooden utensils didn't have such problems.

 

[dgridley]

Speaking of utensils.. there was no such thing as a fork until the 11th century.

It wouldn't be disgusting if it was all you knew.
We base our opinions on what we are familiar with.

I have always eaten my meat rare so I find well done meat to be disgusting.

There are many foods that I think of when I wonder who was the first to try it.

Some cheeses smell absolutely vile but taste great. Who was the first to take the plunge.
The same with some tropical fruits. Dorian fruit for instance, smells so bad it you are not allowed to take in on the subways in Thailand, but again it tastes good.
A fruit like passion fruit looks terrible, something you would never consider eating.

Our natural instincts usually protect us from any real danger. We have a natural aversion to very bitter foods and most naturally occuring poisons in nature are quite bitter.

There was a time when no one ate tomatoes because they were believed to be poisonous. It turned out that the people who were getting sick who the rich who used pewter plates and cutlery which reacted with the acids in the tomato to create lead poisoning.
The poor who ate with their hands and wooden utensils didn't have such problems.

 

[HHDomains]

7th century.
http://www.hospitalityguild.com/History/history_of_the_fork.htm

 

[dgridley]

Ah, I was using Panati's Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things which gave 11th century Tuscany as the origin.

7th century.
http://www.hospitalityguild.com/History/history_of_the_fork.htm

 

[Grey_OwL]

7th century.
http://www.hospitalityguild.com/History/history_of_the_fork.htm

Now I know why stabbing while at the dining table was so rampant during those period.