Food History Quotes

“Surely we should try to save something that, when done well, is not only a supreme example of the art of cooking, but a dish that encapsulates humankind's entire culinary history?”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“Before there was wedding cake, there was bride pie.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“A Wrong Planet Chef always take an interest in the origins of the food he cooks. A particular dish of vegetables, herbs and spices could, for instance, have begun life 5000 years ago on the Indian subcontinent, perhaps in Central India where vegetarian Hindi food is considered as God (Brahman) as it sustains the entire physical, mental, emotional and sensual aspects of the human being. The dish may then have migrated to the Punjab region of the Indian-Pakistan border - The Land of Five Waters - around 250 BC, and from here could have moved on to Western Asia or North Africa as soldiers and merchants moved west with their families into the Eastern parts of the Roman empire, where the cooks would have experimented with new combinations of food, adding fruits, shellfish or poultry to the exotic dish. The dish could then have travelled in any direction heading North through Germany or Sweden to Britain or maybe migrating through Persia or North Africa to Spain and Portugal, creating two very distinct and separate menus but meeting once again in France”
― Karl Wiggins, Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe

“It is hardly surprising that to this day New England is considered to be the pie capital of America, whose inhabitants traditionally eat (sweet) pie for breakfast. Apple pies in particular became deeply embedded in the history of America - associated with the old country, the new country and the pioneering spirit, and indelibly identified with the sense of nationhood and patriotic sentiment.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“Whilst the food we eat nowadays has much to be grateful to the likes of Marco Polo, Alexander the Great and Vasco De Gama, who would have introduced the tangy flavours of South Africa’s Rainbow Cuisine on his way around the Cape of Good Hope to India, Arabic cuisine, with spices of cinnamon, cloves, saffron and ginger was a lot more enterprising than Western cooking at the time. The medley of colours that the spices offered the food had mystical meanings to the Arabs”
― Karl Wiggins, Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe

“The Japanese only really started eating what we think of as Japanese food in the years after the Second World War.”
― Bee Wilson, First Bite: How We Learn to Eat

“Food preservation became more than a jar of pickles; it became a direct link to our matriarchal history.”
― Christina Ward

“In America, the unqualified word 'pie' unequivocally means a sweet dessert item, whereas in Australia it just as certainly means a meat pie.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“The traditional ingredients of the 'oggie', as it is called in the old Cornish language, are naturally disputed, but on some things most experts agree: the meat must be chopped, not minced, the vegetables (perhaps potato, onion and turnip) must be sliced and the ingredients are not pre-cooked before they are put in the pastry.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“A discussion of the pie in movies would hardly be complete without mention of the classic comic device of custard-pie throwing, now legitimized and made semi-serious as the subversive political act of 'entarting'. 'Entarting' is delivering (by 'lovingly pushing', not throwing) a cream pie into the face of a deserving celebrity, preferably in full view of the world's media, in order to make a point.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“Food is a macro consideration for our planet and is ultimately intimate and personal to every single person. It nurtures, soothes, fuels, and fulfills. Taste is the physical manifestation of memory making what we eat a nostalgic continuum.”
― Jeff Swystun, TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals

“The city of Gloucester, by ancient custom, presented a lamprey pie to the sovereign at Christmas time, as a token of loyalty. Lampreys are scaleless freshwater sucker-fish resembling eels, desirable in the past for their oily, gamey flesh. The tradition of gifting lamprey pies to the royal family continued until the end of Queen Victoria's reign, but was revived for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 when a 42-pound pie was cooked by the RAF catering crops.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“We humans are constantly on the move around the world, and when we migrate we take our eating habits with us. We do so to use our agricultural and culinary knowledge, and because eating familiar food maintains our link with home and eases our homesickness. We may have to substitute ingredients and adapt our cooking methods, but even after several generations, our heritage is still evident in the food we serve at home.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“Today's pasty is the working man's version, a perfect meal in the hand, easily transportable to the mines or the fields.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

“Noodles arrived in Japan with Buddhist monks from China in the Middle Ages, but until the twentieth century they tended to be made from buckwheat, or a mix of wheat and rice.”
― Bee Wilson, First Bite: How We Learn to Eat

“We're craftspeople, We're folk artists, We're barbecue royalty, We're Black Smoke.”
― Adrian Miller, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue

“Thanks to a documentary series on Netflix, I knew that nachos were called nachos because of their inventor's name (Ignacio, nicknamed Nacho). Croissants originated in Australia, not France, a tricky question that knocked all the other teams down... except for Bennett. Thanks to a paper I'd written in college on the history of the celebrity chef, I knew that the first TV celebrity chef was Fanny Cradock in England, not Julia Child, which three of the other teams thought.
Not Bennett, of course. I wondered how he knew about Fanny. She wasn't exactly a household name. At least, not here. If I asked him, he'd probably expound upon a teenage trip to England, where he'd visited the former set.
The first food eaten in space? Applesauce. The first sushi restaurant in New York City? Nippon.”
― Amanda Elliot, Best Served Hot

“Legend has it that the South Sydney Rugby League team acquired their ‘Rabbitohs’ nickname because, in the late 1920s, several players worked in the trade on Saturday mornings, later taking the field in their bloodied jerseys.”
― Jan O'Connell, A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef

“Weet-bix has been the best selling [sic] breakfast cereal in Australia for more than 35 years. [at the time of publication, of course, which was 2017]”
― Jan O'Connell, A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef

“The inventor of Aeroplane Jelly was a tram driver.”
― Jan O'Connell, A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef

“In the days before plastic containers, families took their saucepans along to be filled with takeaway food.”
― Jan O'Connell, A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef

“[describing ‘nouvelle cuisine’] …’children’s portions put on a plate by an interior decorator’…”
― Jan O'Connell, A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef

“A whole generation of Australians may well agree that abolition of school milk was one of the finer achievements of the Whitlam government, up there with free university education and ending conscription.”
― Jan O'Connell, A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef

“The squabs in wine sauce and the fragrant, steaming frumenty and apples seethed in almond milk went some way to reviving his strength, as did the sweet, potent ice-wine with which they plied him.”
― Elizabeth Chadwick, The Greatest Knight

“This is a significant, steadily growing industry representing hundreds of billions of dollars. The popularity of pre-cooked, frozen options that are reheated and ready-to-eat in minutes is not in question. The average American eats more than seventy frozen meals annually and China’s consumption is catching up to the United States.”
― Jeff Swystun, TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals

“If McDonald’s was a fine dining establishment, the chain would have failed years ago because customer surveys routinely return less than fifty percent satisfaction with both the food and service. Ubiquity and familiarity are the chain’s secret sauces. McDonalds survives by operating in thousands of convenient locations. This was once the strategy for the clothing retailer, The Gap and remains important to Starbucks. McDonalds is a real estate company first and a food business second.”
― Jeff Swystun, TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals

“Simply put, if our relationship with food was rational, there would be no obesity. We pursue what feels good and eating certain foods is a biochemical way to reduce stress. Comfort food, such as TV dinners, “are tied to times and places that remind people of safety, joy, warmth and the flavors of childhood.” This is why Swanson dinners were re-marketed in 2007 as Swanson Classics proudly proclaiming them as the “Original TV Dinner” with the slogan “Swanson Classics, Comfort Food Then, Comfort Food Now.”
― Jeff Swystun, TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals

“While there is an enthusiastic foodie culture craving new experiences, larger numbers of the population seek comfort in the familiar. People have their favorite restaurant at which they order the same dish, time and again. This is especially true in fast food and fast casual restaurants who strive to eradicate variability. Most of what is bought in the world is a form of mass customization. Everyone with an iPhone feels unique and special but over two billion have been sold.”
― Jeff Swystun, TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals

“Top Shelf made bold claims asserting it was, “faster than frozen”. The company hired Dick Cavett, the well-known and trusted television personality, for a series of commercials. These dinners had no preservatives, did not require freezing or refrigeration, heated in two minutes, and could be carried to work in one’s briefcase without spoiling. Cavett earnestly sold this innovation by admitting all sounded too good to be true. To battle consumer skepticism, the company pledged twice the money back if dissatisfied. That may have sealed its fate as Top Shelf and its “faster than frozen” process quickly shut down.”
― Jeff Swystun, TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals

“The stupidest time to try and change a man’s eating habits is when he is eating.

The second most deadly occasion is when he discovers that a beloved article of clothing has unexplainably become too tight around the stomach.”
― S. Venugopal, Body Traitor's History