FOOD CLASS

MERP

primary source

a primary source is an artifact, document, diary,

manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any

other source of information that was created at

the time under study.

secondary source

a secondary source is one that was created later

by someone who did not experience first-hand

or participate in the events under study. For

historical research, secondary sources are

generally scholarly books and articles.

roman triad

wheat→ bread

olives→ olive oil

grape → wine

ancient roman cuisine

grains, olive oil, wine

meat & fish

vegetables, legumes &

fruits

dairy & honey

herbs & spices

germanic influences in roman food

Bread, wine, and oil + meat, milk/beer, lard/butter

christian liturgy

Wine ----> Christ’s blood

Bread----> Christ’s body

Eucharist

Olive oil----> God’s Spirit

Other Sacraments

new foods from islam

sugar, pasta, rice, almonds, eggplant, citrus, basil

islamic influence on italian foods

Sweeter (more cane sugar)

More sour (new citrus fruits)

More spices (new spices)

what is the most salient characteristic of European

food culture

the diversity of tastes, despite

relative standardization of foodways across

Europe.

dark bread

you’re poor

white flour bread

you’re rich

cuisine

is all about tastes

italy in the middle ages

from 476 to 1300 ce there were germanic and christian kings and kingdoms

• The most salient characteristic of European

food culture is the diversity of tastes, despite

relative standardization of foodways across

Europe.

1. pasta

2. pies

3. veggies

two categories of food for poor italians

1. pane

2. companatico

during the middle ages:

• cooking becomes an art which requires skills and knowledge

• Class distinctions were visible in the way

  different people cooked and ate different foods.

• Perugia’s architecture and art can provide us

  with important primary sources about this

  historical period.

What is the relationship between

the città and the contado?

In medieval and Renaissance Italy, the città (urban center) exercised deep political, economic, and tributary control over the contado (the surrounding rural countryside). This dynamic created a relationship of dependency where the city relied on rural resources, while villagers were subjected to urban taxation and political dominance

How did Italians think about food &

health in the Renaissance?

what is a cuisine?

1) a cooking style

2) “ingredients, techniques, and finished dishes in a

standard repertoire” (Ken Albala, Three World Cuisines)

3) “a site of exchange and contamination, beyond its

origin” (Capatti & Montanari, Italian Cuisine)

what did the poor people in the renassiance eat?

dark bread, a companatico, and mediocre wine

what are rich in the renaissance eating?

sugar, songbirds, white bread, high quality wine, utensils

novel elite social practices

• eating with forks

• individual plates instead of large sharing dishes

• table etiquette and code of behavior

Food becomes a way to communicate patrons’ taste, status, and

wealth ----> visual propaganda.

galen

greek physician & health nut

the humoral theory

-4 humors (liquids) in our body

-1 humor dominates

• determines diet, personality, and body

• aim: balance and equilibrium

choleric and melancholic:

emotionally unstable

phlegmatic and sanguine

emotionally stable

ways to stay in balance during the renaissance

1. selecting

2. pairing

3. seasoning

4. cooking

5. serving order