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British Sugar Colonies: Giving Rise to Tea and Dessert Culture
Document: Letter from Horace Walpole to Horace Mann (1779). British colonization of islands for sugar cultivation gave way to mass consumption of sugar and, consequently, a rise of tea and dessert culture. Source: Walpole, Horace. The Letters of Horace Walpole. London: Bentley, 1891. -
French Enlightenment: Ideas that Inspired Change in the French Cuisine
Document: Vincent La Chapelle’s cookbook The Modern Cook (1733). Ideas and trends seen in Enlightenment—such as harmony and science—transmitted into the realm of cooking of France. Transformations in the the cooking style, the image of the cook, and the organization of the practice can be observed. Source: La Chapelle, Vincent. The Modern Cook. 3rd ed. London: Osborne, 1744. -
The Industrial Revolution Across Europe: Inventing the Modern Era of Chocolate
Document: Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875 (Britain). Technological advancements and mass production lowered production costs of chocolate, transforming it into a commodity for the masses. Inventions at this time also enabled chocolate to take on different forms (for example, the solid chocolate bar) which are seen today. Source: "Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875." The National Archives. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1875/63/section/6/enacted. -
Italian Unification: Culinary Identity Through Regionality
Document: Pellegrino Artusi’s cookbook Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (1891). Following Italian unification, regionality of cuisines was emphasized. With railways and cross-peninsula regulations came facilitation of cross region (culinary) exchange, with the emergence of a national identity alongside a stronger sense of regional identity. Source: Artusi, Pellegrino. Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 2003. -
Post World War I Germany: Aiming for Self-Sufficiency
Document: Hitler’s Confidential Memo on Autarky (August 1936). After Germany’s defeat in WWI as a result of being blockaded and therefore losing the foreign exports on which they relied, Hitler and the Nationalist Socialist party aimed to make Germany an autarkic nation. Source: “Hitler’s Confidential Memo on Autarky (August 1936).” German History in Documents and Images. http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/English61.pdf. -
Soviet Rule: Cuisine as a Reflection of the Goals of the Regime
Document: Images from Book of Tasty and Healthy Food (1939). The goal of the leaders was to bring uniformity to the cuisine and to make newly manufactured Soviet products widespread. The Institute of Nutrition of the Academy of Medical Scientists of the USSR published cookbook as a way to standardize recipes, while also advertising the emerging Soviet products. Source: "Soviet Book about Tasty and Healthy Food." http://bashny.net/t/en/33967
