The strangeness of food history - a few foul anecdotes
Too much sugar is bad for you
Boston proved this irrefutably on January 15, 1919.
It wasn’t a simple case of acne or bad teeth or even obesity. A molasses tank exploded and brought down a train and a fire station. Twenty one people died. There’s a picture here. Every time I read about it I marvel that molasses can move at 35 miles an hour in January. Here are some more articles.
Onions are good food, but eating other bulbs can lead to jail and worse.
During the tulip mania of the seventeenth century, there are several stories of men eating tulip bulbs by mistake. For the lucky, they were simply jailed for the crime.
There’s a Japanese flour made from tulip bulbs, I believe. I do wonder what the seventeenth century Dutch would have made of it? More on tulips here and here and even here.
Poor tea-making skills can lead to violent behaviour
Making tea with salt water leads to dire consequences. Australians don’t do things like that. Only Bostonians. No links for this one - the American Revolution is common knowledge. Besides, everyone knows that you can’t make decent tea using seawater.
Gourmandise is worth the highest sacrifice
Apicius - the Roman gourmand - committed suicide rather than putting up with food that was less than the best the Ancient Roman world could offer. More here. I will translate a recipe or two of his during the year and you can judge for yourself if his death was in vain.
The fact that the book with his name on may not be by him is perhaps a problem, but it’s still worth checking out whether his suicide was noble or whether he just should have learned to read Cato and try a simpler diet. Which reminds me, Cato has a recipe for a delicious cheesecake which would make perfect summer eating. Think of baked ricotta with a smidgeon of honey.
Murder most gourmand
John Fletcher described it as the Coward’s Weapon, but poison has a certain sexiness for lovers of detective fiction. The Lex Cornelia was brought into effect in 82 BCE by a rather desperate Sulla trying to prevent who from poisoning whom at far too rapid a rate. This didn’t stop a clever Medieval scientist turning arsenic into an edible (but highly toxic) powder and setting the scene for detective tales and early deaths.
There are too many tales of historical poisoners and they all seem to have an ill-deserved glamour: the Borgias, Catherine de Medici, la Toffana. The real experts were members of the Venetian Council of Ten, who brought a whole new meaning to the notion of combining dinner with politics. More here and here.
Grand nineteenth century exploration and the meagre diet
Exploration is sometimes only as hungry as you make it. Burke’s ill-fated expedition into central Australia was all about mishandled meetings and assuming that it was impossible to live off the land.
Burke and Wills are forever-famous in Australian history, and it was lack of food that made them that way. King is less famous but then, he ate indigenous foods properly prepared (correct cooking saved him from beri-beri, not only starvation) and he lived.
Food and drink were major concerns for the Burke and Wills expedition, whether it was supplies that had been whisked away too soon or buried beneath the trees or even camels that were tipsy. For a more balanced view (and perhaps some information on the predilection of camels for good rum) try here here and here and here.
PS I stopped at six, not because there weren’t many more bizarre foodish stories over the last millenium, but because it really is too much the fun season to weather all this gloom.
December 21st, 2006 at 7:12 am
[…] The strangeness of food history - a few foul anecdotes by Gillian […]
December 21st, 2006 at 10:17 am
Well, I for one have a huge appetite for foul food stories. Your commentary would make a fine book.
Found you thru ProBlogger…my story…
http://tinyurl.com/yby5ms
December 21st, 2006 at 11:34 am
[…] The strangeness of food history - a few foul anecdotes by Gillian […]
December 21st, 2006 at 1:03 pm
This is such a well-written post, Gillian! And I would gladly trade liqueurs with you, but I am broke like a college student. I can send you the recipe for the “razzcello” though…it’s quite easy and the color is gorgeous!
Happy Holidays!
Jenny
December 21st, 2006 at 5:16 pm
I keep a partial food blog. So your post interests me ! Nice…
May the Force be with you, the Blo-gedi way
December 21st, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Gosh jailed for eating tulip lol.Yu have some unique stories.Nice entry for darrens project.
I also got entry in darrens project.
http://technospot.net/blogs/index.php/2006/12/19/predicting-the-evolution-of-techspot-insideout/
And i am feeding your blog.There wont be another chance to meet so many bloggers
Merry Christmas
December 21st, 2006 at 7:50 pm
[…] The strangeness of food history - a few foul anecdotes by Gillian […]
December 21st, 2006 at 7:50 pm
[…] The strangeness of food history - a few foul anecdotes by Gillian […]
December 21st, 2006 at 9:53 pm
Jenny - when do I ever refuse a good recipe?
Everyone else - welcome. I hope I haven’t frightened you off molasses for life. One day someone is going to make a horror movie out of molasses oozing down the road at 35 miles an hour.
December 21st, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Gillian, what an interesting concept for a blog! I’m a huge fan of food blogs, but I’ve never seem one on food history, and I love that you include recipes. It’s sad that people often disassociate their eating habits from the history of the food and the culture it represents. If you haven’t already, you should read Michael Pollan’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, it would be right up your alley.
December 21st, 2006 at 10:19 pm
I’ve read some stuff by Pollan, but not “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” - it’s now on my must read list!! (can never have too many good books to read!!)
The reason for the blog being all kinds of foodie and all kinds of history is that the historian in me rebelled at the thought of people not knowing the history and culture behind what we eat and the foodie in me rebelled at there being no recipes to cook with :). The blog is bringing all sorts of people together - my favourite group are the testers of early 19th century recipes for a banquet at a science fiction convention next year. It turns out that way more people want to combine the past with food than I would have thought ie I’m not the only one who wants to understand it all.
December 22nd, 2006 at 7:58 am
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December 22nd, 2006 at 7:58 am
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November 26th, 2007 at 12:51 am
[…] their cans were made on the cheap and the solder leaked. I really should have mentioned it on my evil food anecdotes post a while back, but stories of ill fated expeditions to the North Pole suit the mood now, […]