A BRIEF HISTORY OF COOKING (by Robert

Ouko)
The most important factor in the early development of cooking was the discovery
and control of fire. Since then cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely
across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions
and trends.
The first cook probably made his discovery by accident. A bit of raw meat probably
fell into a fire, and man, realizing it was tastier and easier to chew, became the only
animal to cook his food. The first method of cooking was broiling. An animal or bird
was placed on the end of a stick and held over a fire until it was considered
sufficiently well done. Later it was discovered that food tasted better when, before
cooking, the covering of fur or feathers was removed and the insides of the beast or
bird were taken out and replaced with a stuffing of grain and herbs. Man next
discovered that food cooks more quickly and evenly on a spit, or metal rod, that
conducts heat to the inside. Roasting on a spit was important until 100 years ago. It
is still used in outdoor barbecues.
Another major advance in cooking was the use of a heated flat stone for frying and
baking. This method was also the earliest way of baking bread. As metals came into
use, the flat stone was replaced by a sheet of iron or copper. A later development
was the oven, which at first was probably a hole in the ground that was lined with
stones and filled with fire. When the fire had burned to ashes, food was put in and
covered with large leaves. This method of cooking is still used by some primitive
peoples. Early brick or stone ovens were also filled with hot coals, but the coals
were raked out before the food was put in. The food cooked while the stones cooled.
With the introduction of these various methods of cooking that were primitive but
reliable, the evolution of man from hominid stage to the homo sapien stage was
boosted tremendously as stated in Wranghams phylognetic analysis of early man.
Wrangham proposes that cooking was instrumental in human evolution, as it
reduced the time required for foraging and led to an increase in brain size. He
estimates the percentage decrease in gut size of early humans directly correlates to
the increase in brain size.
Food has become a part of material culture, and cuisine is much more than a
substance. Good food correlates with a sense of respect between different people
thereby working as a makeshift component that influences the growth and stability
of society for time immemorial.

No longer is food just things that one puts in his or her mouth but it is now viewed
as an art with only th elite having the ability to carry out the rigorous tasks that are
required for the demand of a good meal to be met and to the required standard.

Ancient Cookery
The earliest records of cooking were left by the ancient Egyptians. Wall
paintings that date back to 4000 B.C. indicate that the Egyptians were adept
at roasting, frying, broiling, and boiling. The Bible contains several references
to ancient methods of cooking, and early carvings from Assyria and
Babylonia show the use of charcoal in pans, a cooking method still practiced
by the Japanese in special braziers, called hibachis.
To the ancient Greeks, food was merely an accompaniment to good
conversation and good fellowship. A typical Greek meal consisted of roast
meat, bread, wine, fruit, nuts, and a salad served with a tart dressing. In the
Roman Empire, cooking began to be considered an art. The Romans brought
back food ideas from all over their empire, and simple meals were replaced
by elaborate banquets that included such delicacies as snails and dormice.
Many chefs specialized in disguising food, and a legendary Roman dinner,
described in the 1st century A.D. by the Roman satirist Petronius Arbiter, was
climaxed with the appearance of a carved hen sitting on a nest of eggs. Each
egg was actually a pastry shell containing a roasted ortolan, a tiny bird.
An indication of the eating habits of Middle Easterners during the 8th century
a.d. can be obtained from a section in the Arabian Nights that describes the
shopping spree of a lady of Baghdad. The lady's purchases include a large jar
of excellent wine, apples, apricots, peaches, lemons, citrons, herbs in
vinegar, 25 pounds of boned meat, capers, cucumbers, parsley, walnuts,
pistachio nuts, almonds, almond patties, cloves, pepper, nutmegs, and
ginger. The boneless meat was probably served in the form of a kabob, which
consists of chunks of meat and vegetables broiled on a skewer. Desserts in
Baghdad were rich and heavy.

Medieval Cookery
In the medieval world, food prepared in castles, monasteries, and palaces
was very different from food eaten by the peasants. The average man had no
kitchen, and most of his food was bought from a cookshop. In the great
houses, however, there were huge kitchens equipped with all kinds of
kettles, saucepans, skewers, and other utensils. Bread was made in tall
ovens shaped like beehives, and roasts were carried to the table and served
on the spit, each guest carving off his own portion. Dinner included game, a
roast, white bread, and custard or a pudding.

Renaissance Cookery

With the beginning of the Renaissance individual cooks began to acquire

considerable fame. When Catherine de' Medici left Italy to marry Henry II of
France, she brought along her chef.
Under Louis XIV great advances were made in cookery. His second wife,
Madame de Maintenon, who was a fine chef, founded a school at Saint-Cyr,
France, for orphaned daughters of French army officers. Girls who won
honors in cooking were awarded a blue ribbon, and the term cordon bleu
("blue ribbon") is still the highest compliment a cook can earn. Bechamel, the
favorite cook of Louis XIV, had a sauce named for him, and the famous chef
Vatel is the hero of a classic story. Vatel supposedly committed suicide when
the lobsters ordered for a banquet to be attended by Louis XIV failed to
arrive on time.
The rise of the great French restaurants began just before the French
Revolution, and in 1789 there were 100 restaurants in Paris alone. One of the
great chefs of this period was Marie Antoine Careme, who cooked for Czar
Alexander I, Talleyrand, and Baron Rothschild. Another famous chef was
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who published The Physiology of Taste (La
Physiologie du gout, 1825), one of the first books on cookery, as
distinguished from cooking.

Rise of Cookbooks
Literature on cooking began with the ancient Greeks, who included a few
references to food in their dramas and epic poems. The Romans took greater
pains to describe their elegant banquets. During the Middle Ages the training
of cooks began with an apprenticeship, as did most other occupations. Boys
and girls about nine or ten years old were placed under the supervision of a
cook who taught them his methods of cooking. Since few cooks could read,
recipes were rarely written down. The first recorded cookbook was printed in
Spain in the 14th century. In the 15th century the cooks of King Richard II of
England wrote their Forme of Cury, a manual of cooking.
One of the first English cookbooks, The Widow's Treasure, appeared in 1625,
and it was soon followed by others. The most famous American cookbook is
the Boston Cooking School Cook Book, which was written in 1896 by Fannie
Merritt Farmer. This book has been revised several times, and nearly 3
million copies have been printed, making it one of the all-time best sellers.
Since the appearance of the first cookbooks, written recipes have become
more and more specific. In the early cookbooks, directions were quite
general. They called for such quantities as "the size of a walnut," a "pinch,"
or a "smidgeon," and the exact measurements were frequently left to the
cook's judgment. Because of these vague directions, it was very difficult for

anyone to learn to cook. However, it is now possible for an inexperienced

cook to produce an appetizing dish by following directions in modern
cookbooks.

Modern Cookery
As the sciences of chemistry and physics have progressed, new knowledge
has been applied to the preparation and preservation of food. One of the
biggest changes came in the middle of the 19th century, when the cast-iron
range began to replace the open fireplace. Advances in transportation,
refrigeration, freezing, and canning have made it possible to obtain and
preserve a wide variety of meats and other foods. Electricity has proved
useful not only in kitchen stoves, but also in mixers, waffle irons, rotisseries,
blenders, frying pans, and coffee makers.
One of the major advances in modern cookery has been the development of
frozen foods. Vegetables, fruit juices, rolls, fish fillets, and entire meals may
be purchased frozen in packages. Another relatively recent advance in food
preparation is the development of packaged mixes. Using these mixes, even
an inexperienced cook can quickly and easily prepare cakes, cookies,
brownies, muffins, and other baked goods.
Every day new scientific developments are being applied to cooking.
Improvements in kitchens and in cooking utensils are constantly being made.
One of the most recent developments is the electronic oven, which cooks by
a complicated process of microwaves. In this oven, which produces heat only
in the food, not in the container, a cake can be baked in three minutes, and
roast beef requires only six minutes of roasting per pound. However, certain
foods, such as omelets and pies, are difficult to cook satisfactorily with
microwaves, and there will still be room in the kitchen for the chef to whom
cooking is an art.