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11,000 BCE
The cultivation of Soy beans
The cultivation of soybeans in China predates recorded history and spread from there to other countries in eastern Asia before the modern period. So essential was the soybean to Chinese civilization that it was considered one of the five sacred grains (the others being rice, barley, wheat, and millet). The popularity of soybeans in the Orient was due to their wide use as a food. https://www.superior-natural.com/blog/2022/2/24/soy-history -
Period: 11,000 BCE to 700 BCE
Cooking History
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9000 BCE
Plant Cultivation
Plant cultivation begins in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East. Sheep are domesticated in the Middle East.
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/development-agriculture/ -
7000 BCE
Domesticating plants
Mesoamerican (what is now Mexico and Central America) peoples begin domesticating plants –gourds, peppers, avocados, and a grain, amaranth
https://www.britannica.com/topic/agriculture/Mesoamerica -
4000 BCE
Yeast
Yeasts can be considered man’s oldest industrial microorganism that was used before the development of a written language. Hieroglyphics suggest that ancient Egyptians were using yeast and the process of fermentation to produce alcoholic beverages and to leaven bread over 5,000 years ago.
https://www.anchor.co.za/knowledge-centre/history-of-yeast/ -
3500 BCE
Bread Making
Bread making originates from Egypt during these times.
https://lyonbakery.com/the-origin-of-bread/ -
2737 BCE
Origins of Tea Culture
The origins of tea culture and the brewing of dried tea leaves into a beverage are obscure; experts believe, however, that the tea plant originated in a region encompassing Tibet, western China, and northern India. According to ancient Chinese legend, the emperor Shennong (Shen-Nung) learned how to brew the beverage in 2737 BC when a few leaves from the plant accidentally fell into water he was boiling.
https://www.tea.co.uk/history-of-tea -
2500 BCE
Corn
Corn was customized and developed in Mesoamerica.
https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/chiwonlee/plsc211/student%20papers/articles11/A.Shanahan1/History.html -
2000 BCE
Cooking with copper
Water-treatment knowledge dates from 2000 BC, when Sanskrit writings indicate that methods for purification of foul water consisted of boiling in copper vessels, exposing to sunlight, filtering through charcoal, and cooling in earthen vessels. This all began in the Leolithic period.
https://proware-kitchen.co.uk/cooking-copper-history/ -
1020 BCE
The first Cooking Competition
It turns out that one of the first recorded instances of a cooking competition took place in Medieval Baghdad, more than 1,000 years before the very first episode of "Chopped" aired.
https://www.salon.com/2022/07/13/when-cooking-became-cut-throat-a-brief-history-of-the-culinary-competition/ -
1000 BCE
Freezing method of food preservation
The Incas were freezing potatoes in the snow for preservation Geese known to have been popular in Germany. Chinese are thought to be producing a type of alcohol spirit from rice.
https://freshfromthefreezer.co.uk/about-frozen-food/history-of-frozen-food/ -
800 BCE
Tomatoes
Tomatoes, also called wild husk or green tomatoes are one of the oldest cultivated plants. Domesticated by the Aztecs as early as 800 BC, they are a great source of nutrition and usually added to pickles and sauces.https://urbanagnews.com/blog/functional-food/have-you-had-your-blt-today-part-3-tomatoes/ -
700 BCE
Aubergines/Eggplant
Eggplants were first cultivated in China and India during this time period. The eggplant is originally from India and reached coastal regions of mainland China first and then Taiwan; the long slender variety is the preferred one for cooking.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/august/tracing-the-evolution-of-the-aubergine.html