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Hmm. I wish this analysis accounted for availability of spices in different regions: I would expect onions and garlic to be more prevalent in Scandanavian dish
by cwkoss 4y ago
Hmm. I wish this analysis accounted for availability of spices in different regions: I would expect onions and garlic to be more prevalent in Scandanavian dishes than cinnamon and ginger simply because those are easier to grow in temperate climates.
Would be interesting to look at which spices have 'broken into' a cuisine despite being not agriculturally viable in that region. How does this set of spices differ from the broader set? More antimicrobial?
- Xylakant 4y agoWhen extrapolating from modern cuisine, or even what we consider “traditional local cuisine”, you need to take into account that most of this is quite new. Germans famed love for potatoes? Only a few generations old. So spices that became “traditional” may well have been brought in by traders, of which Scandinavia had plenty since it’s all accessible by sea.
- cwkoss 4y agoYeah, and further confounding is the timelines for connection to trade for different cultures also vary significantly. I would love to see a good visualization of the history of commodity trade.
- Xylakant 4y agoOver on mastodon someone posted this interesting find about spices on a 15th century Norse shipwreck https://hcommons.social/@bojacobs/109854101759930123 https://hcommons.social/@bojacobs/109854101759930123
- scroot 4y agoAnything with chilies of any kind -- hot peppers, bell peppers, what have you -- none of that was available outside of what is today Mexico/Central America before 500 years ago. So the "traditional" foods that have these are also quite young.
- kps 4y agoAlso tomatoes.
- ReptileMan 4y agoRule of thumb for me - if nobody from the first people that tasted it is no longer alive it is traditional.
- watwut 4y agoTraditional is what my grandma cooked. That is how it is.
- jppope 4y agoI noticed this too. They seem to avoid the alternative hypothesis that it's harder to grow certain plants in different climates. After all Scandinavia isn't known for it's native citrus fruits.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]