Clipmarks | ouyangwulong's Silk Road Cuisine collection

The History of Onions

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:31:01 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong

onion

It probably originates from Central Asia (between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan) where some of its relatives still grow in the wild

In Caananite Bronze Age settlements, traces of onion remains were found alongside fig and date stones dating back to 5000 BC.

Archaeological and literary evidence suggests cultivation probably took place around two thousand years later in ancient Egypt

Workers who built the Egyptian pyramids may have been fed radishes and onions

Egyptians worshipped it, believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life

In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it would lighten the balance of blood

Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onion to firm up their muscles

The onion was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his 1493 expedition to Haiti

Onions are a staple food in India, and are therefore fundamental to Indian cooking

The History of the Potato

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:21:08 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: There apparently is a school of historians who ascribe all turning points of any historical significance to the potato.

I am most amused by the section headings such as "Potatoes in Wartime" and "Fear of Potatoes" and "Potato Diaspora."

Is it just me or are we starting to anthropomorphize our food?

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Potato

When the Spanish arrived in South America around 1537, they were not impressed by the potato.

he Spanish realized that potatoes were perfect food for sailors on ships returning from Peru.

Returning to Spain by way of sub-Saharan Africa, the Spanish introduced potatoes there in 1538

The Potato Diaspora

Spanish ships carried the vegetable to Italy around 1560, making that country the first after Spain to eat potatoes

The potato was introduced in India, possibly as early as 1615, and had reached the most remote parts of China by 1643

Fear of Potatoes

Aside from its odd, unaesthetic appearance and initially bitter taste, the tuber was feared for a variety of reasons. Since it was not mentioned in the Bible, it was often associated with the devil.

The Potato in Time of War

Europeans quickly discovered that the potato afforded them a military advantage

Historical and genetic evidence suggests that the potato reached India not very much later than Europe, probably taken there by the Portuguese

The History of the Tomato

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:09:55 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Tomato is a Nhuatal word, apparently.

Still confused as to what brought the tomato to the Near East.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Tomato

Although the tomato originated in South America, little evidence has surfaced indicating that indigenous peoples in South America ate tomatoes before the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century.

When the Europeans arrived, tomatoes were consumed only in a narrow geographical area from Central America to Mexico City

Tomato plants were disseminated first to the Caribbean, and then to Spain and Italy

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, tomatoes traveled west to the Philippines, from where they were introduced into Indonesia and later onto the Asian mainland.

The tomato was introduced to France through Provence from Italy during the late 18th century and became a culinary symbol of the French Revolution due to its red color. They are widely eaten in French cuisine.

in Mediterranean climates, and cultivation began in the 1540s.

The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692

The History of Chili Peppers (Part II)

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:58:15 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Notes on their spread through Europe from the Renaissance to the Napoleonic Era.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Venice was the center of the spice and oriental trade for central Europe, and Venetian merchants depended on the Ottoman Turks to supply them with goods from the Asia

Gujurati traders received supplies from Portuguese ports on the west coast of India and Hormuz

Goods introduced to central Europe were taken to Antwerp and from there to the rest of Europe. Antwerp, the major European shipping port, also received goods from the Far East, and from the Portuguese sources via India, Africa, and Lisbon

From these trading routes chili peppers came to be known in Italy by 1535 (Fernández de Oviedo, 1535), Germany by 1542 (Fuchs, 1543), England before 1538 (Turner, 1965), the Balkans before 1569 (Halasz, 1963), and in Moravia by 1585 (L'escluse, 1611)

It was only in the Balkans and Turkey that chili peppers were used to any extent until the Napoleonic blockade cut off the supply of spices to Western Europe

Notes on trade dynamics in the Mediteranean after 1492

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:55:00 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong

Clip Source: www.answers.com

In 1492, after ousting the Moors from Spain following their seven-hundred-year occupation, the Spaniards established dominance over the western Mediterranean while the Ottoman Turks succeeded in seizing control of northern Africa, Egypt, Arabia, the Balkans, the Middle East, and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. At that time, for all practical purposes, the Mediterranean was two separate trading spheres divided by Italy, Malta, and Sicily with little or no trade or contact between the western Mediterranean and the Ottoman Empire (Braudel, 1976). This is an important consideration in the history of the diffusion of American peppers and other economic plants.

The History of Chili Peppers (Part I)

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:50:40 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: This is an outrageously detailed article. Really really worth reading.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Chili Peppers

It is difficult to determine where Capsicum originated because the genus is still not fully understood

In his journal Columbus faithfully recorded his sighting of a new pungent, red-fruited plant that he called pepper, and he brought back specimens to Spain

When Columbus arrived in the West Indies, he found at least two species of capsicums being cultivated by the Arawaks

From early Portuguese "factories" in Africa and/or the eastern Atlantic Islands, the American food plants went to the east coast of Africa and India

Along the Malabar Coast of India, three varieties of capsicums were being grown and exported within fifty years of Columbus's discovery of the New World

In southwestern China, American foods were known by the middle of that century, having been transported over the ancient caravan routes from the Ganges River across Burma and across western China into India and the Middle East

The (Confusing) History of Chinese Cabbage

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:32:59 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Depending on who you ask, it is not a cabbage at all. It seems to have been refined from selective cultivation of mustard plants, just like in the west, but in a totaly distinct process.

Apparently, they are the same species of turnip. Whatever that means.

Interesting that Gavin Menzies thinks it was introduced to America in Pre-Columbian times.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Chinese cabbage

The heading "Chinese cabbage" is confusing, at best.

Chinese cabbage has been cultivated for over six thousand years in China. Brassica rapa seeds have been found in jars in the excavated New Stone Age settlement of Banpo. They were a common part of the diet in southern China by the 5th century.

The Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen studied the Chinese cabbage for its medicinal qualities. Before this time the Chinese cabbage was largely confined to the Yangzi Delta region. The Chinese cabbage as it is known today is very similar to a variant bred in Zhejiang around the 14th century. During the following centuries, it became popular in northern China and the northern harvest soon exceeded the southern one. Northern cabbages were exported along the Grand Canal to Zhejiang and as far south as Guangdong.

Either of two widely cultivated members of the mustard family, bok choy and Brassica pekinensis.

The History of Cabbage

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:26:30 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: This is interesting, but it doesn't talk about how it got to China. Mustard plants grow wild in China, so perhaps the Chinese cabbage was independently derived through a selective process similar to the one that produced the European cabbage.

Otherwise, there is a big gap between East Asian Cabbage communities and the European Cabbage communities. (Since the cabbage doesn't seem to have any historical presence in the Middle East or Central Asia - I could be wrong...)

Clip Source: www.answers.com

cabbage

The cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group) is a plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae). It is herbaceous, biennial, and a dicotyledonous flowering plant with leaves forming a characteristic compact cluster. Cabbages grown late in autumn and in the beginning of winter are denominated coleworts.

The cabbage is derived from a leafy wild mustard plant, native to the Mediterranean region. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans; Cato the Elder praised this vegetable for its medicinal properties, declaring that "it is first of all the vegetables".^[1]. The English name derives from the Normanno-Picard caboche ("head"). Cabbage was developed by ongoing artificial selection for suppression of the internode length. The dense core of the cabbage is called the babchka. It is related to the turnip.

The (Fascinating) History of the Cucumber

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:21:11 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Also, apparently, the Spaniards bartered cucumbers and watermelons with the Mandan Indians who began cultivating the crop in South Dakota.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

cucumber

The cucumber is believed to be native to India, and evidence indicates that it has been cultivated in Western Asia for 3,000 years. The cucumber is also listed among the products of ancient Ur and the legend of Gilgamesh describes people eating cucumbers

From India, it spread to Greece (where it was called "vilwos") and Italy (where the Romans were especially fond of the crop), and later into China. The fruit is mentioned in the Bible

The Romans reportedly used artificial methods (similar to the greenhouse system) of growing to have it available for his table every day of the year

Charlemagne had cucumbers grown in his gardens in ninth-century France. They were reportedly introduced into England in the early 1300s, lost, then reintroduced approximately 250 years later. The Spaniards (in the person of Christopher Columbus) brought cucumbers to Haiti in 1494. In 1535, Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, found "very great cucumbers" grown on the site of what is now Montreal.

History of Coffee

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:29:16 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Austin's clipping brought to you by: COFFEE!

It is my firm belief that coffee is at the root of all modern western scholarship.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

coffee

The history of coffee can be traced to at least as early as the 9th century, when it appeared in the highlands of Ethiopia. Shepherds were the first to observe the influences of caffeine from the coffee beans when, after their goats consumed some naturally occurring coffee beans in the pasture, the goats appeared to "dance" and have an increased level of energy. From Ethiopia, it spread to Egypt and Yemen,^[8] and by the fifteenth century had reached Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa.

Coffee plays an important role in many societies throughout the world today. From the coffeehouses of the 16th century to modern day cafés, coffee has had a profound effect on the lifestyles of people from all walks of life.

This usage in religious rites among the Sufi branch of Islam led to it being put on trial in Mecca for being a "heretic" substance much as wine was

At least 1,000 years ago, traders brought coffee across the Red Sea into Arabia

The History of Tea

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:16:57 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong

Clip Source: www.answers.com

tea

There are four basic types of true tea: black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea. The term "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or of herbs (such as rosehip, chamomile, or jiaogulan) that contain no C. sinensis.^[2] (Alternative terms for herbal tea that avoid the word "tea" are tisane and herbal infusion.) This article is concerned exclusively with preparations and uses of the tea plant C. sinensis.

China is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use in its history dating back to the first millennium BC. The Han Dynasty used tea as medicine.

Darjeeling tea is grown in the foothills of the Himalayas, and is a prized Indian black tea. The use of milk and sugar in tea is also linked to India. This convention may have originated during the British Raj. It is also possible that the Indians, who had enjoyed cow's milk as a favorite beverage, developed it on their own and passed it on to the British.

History of Yogurt

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:10:30 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong

Clip Source: www.answers.com

yoghurt

There is evidence of cultured milk products being produced as food for at least 4,500 years since the 3rd millennium BC. The earliest yoghurts were probably spontaneously fermented by wild bacteria living on the goat skin bags carried by the Bulgars (or Hunno-Bulgars), a nomadic people who began migrating into Europe in the 2nd century AD and eventually settled in the Balkans at the end of the 7th century. Today, many different countries claim yoghurt as their own, yet there is no clear evidence as to where it was first discovered.

The use of yoghurt by ancient Turks is recorded in the books Diwan Lughat al-Turk by Mahmud Kashgari and Kutadgu Bilig by Yusuf Has Hajib written in the 11th century. In both texts the word "yoghurt" is mentioned in different sections and its use by nomadic Turks is described.

Dahi yoghurt of the Indian subcontinent is known for its characteristic taste and consistency.

The word "yoghurt" comes from the Turkish yoğurt ^[10],

Notes on Chinese Noodles

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:57:57 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: There's also a great chart here on the different types of Chinese noodles and their names in different dialects, but it's too big to clip.

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Chinese noodles

Chinese cuisine includes many different types of noodles, called miàn (Traditional Chinese: 麵; Simplified Chinese: 面; often transliterated as "mien" or "mein" ). "Miàn" (麵) refers to noodles made from wheat while "fěn" (粉) or "fun" refers to noodles made from rice.

The character mian

The character for miàn (wheat noodles) can be written a number of ways in Chinese. The standard Traditional character is 麵; the standard Simplified character is 面. Variant characters include 麪, 麺, and 靣. The characters 面 and 麵 are separate characters in Traditional Chinese, the former meaning "face" and the latter meaning "noodles" or "flour". In Simplified Chinese, the two characters have been combined and both meanings are expressed by 面.

Nomenclature of the noodles is difficult due to the vast spectrum available and the many dialects of Chinese used to name them.

Notes on Pilaf

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:53:03 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong

Clip Source: www.answers.com

pilaf

Pilaf, (Armenian փիլավ, Azeri plov, Bosnian pilav, Serbian pilav, Turkish pilav Romanian pilaf, Persian polow, Afghanistan palow, Greek πιλάφι, India/Pakistan pulav/ pulao, Uzbek and Russian plov, Kazakh palaw, Tajik полов) also spelled pilau, perloo, perlau, plaw, pilaw, and pilaff is a Middle Eastern and Central Asian dish in which a grain, such as rice or cracked wheat, is generally first browned in oil, and then cooked in a seasoned broth. Depending on the local cuisine it may also contain a variety of meat and vegetables.

The Persian rice recipes probably go back to the expansion of rice cultivation within the Persian Empire under Darius the Great. There is historical evidence that the cultivation of rice was introduced systematically into Mesopotamia and South Western Iran on a large scale in the 5th century BC, making rice available to the people of Central Asia and the Middle East on a scale unthought of previously.

Notes on Khubz (Arab Flat Bread)

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:51:15 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Khubz

Khubz is an Arabic flatbread, which is part of the local diet in many countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

Khubz is a large flat bread baked in a special oven. The dough is rolled out like a pizza dough then it is positioned on a round board and slapped on to the inside wall of the large round stone oven. The impact of the slapping action causes the dough to stick to the wall of the traditional oven, where it remains until it is bubbling and brown and cooked through, then a long wire hook is used to remove the finished Khubz and throw it over to a tile counter where it is ready to be sold.

The whole process is carried out by two or three men. Khubz is much larger than a Lebanese Pita bread.

Numerous Khubz bakeries dot the neighbourhoods of Bahrain. They are essentially traditional in nature. Khubz comes cheap at a cost of 20 fils (BD 0.020) a piece (about 6 cents).