Mrs Bode cooks

this is not meant to be the thousandth guide to historical cooking. Rather, I would like to invite you to travel back in time with me and participate in the exploration of nutrition and food preparation in the Neolithic and Bronze Age.
 

Cooking – the modification of food as encountered naturally – also influenced the social behaviour of our ancestors. The vital intake of food became a pleasure also through communal action.

When it comes to the utilisation of animals this becomes particularly clear. Unlike today, our ancestors did not discard any parts of the animals they killed. In the truest sense of the word, animals were utilised from snout to tail.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Everything we know about nutrition and food preparation is based on archaeological finds and findings as well as scientific analyses of macro- and microbiological remains up until the advent of written sources.

All of the following food suggestions have been tested by me and tried out on my family and colleagues – all of whom are still alive.

This phase of human history was characterised by cold and warm periods. The climate determined the resources of the habitat and forced people to adapt to nature and its conditions. They learned by observation and self-experiment.

In groups they hunted wild animals and gathered edible plants and their fruits. If the group was too large, it was split up. The size of the community and the “technical kit” determined the prey.

For processing food – usually on a piece of leather placed near the fireplace – flint implements such as knives and scrapers were used. The fireplace was the central element of cooking. Wood was collected for it and cooking stones were kept at the ready. For special dishes a cooking pit was prepared in which also whole animals could be cooked.

Many parts of plants were used as food – be it leaves, bark, or roots. The same applies to seeds, fruits, and nuts. Animals were hunted and the meat made edible in various ways. The diet had to be frequently supplemented with insects, shellfish, snails, birds and their eggs. Honey for sweetening and salt in the form of brine or crystals were used together with various herbs for seasoning.

The climate has changed. The major phases of the warm and cold periods were gradually replaced by the change of seasons with which we are familiar today.

Around 7,500 years ago, people from the so-called Fertile Crescent migrated to central Germany along the fertile loess soils, bringing with them a fully developed farming culture, including the first crops and domesticated animals. Cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs formed the domestic animal population. People established settlements, worked with stone, and made ceramic vessels.

Some food was still prepared outdoors, but with hearths secured by stones and clay, earthenware vessels, and the baking oven, it was also possible to cook indoors.

The basis of the diet was most likely porridge, soups, and flat bread in the most varied of forms and with a wide variety of side dishes. They are easy to make and very satisfying.  However, this does not mean that the three big B’s (bread, barbecue, beer) were dispensed with. Also pastries were prepared.

The search for the new raw materials copper and tin brings people even more mobility and connectivity with other communities. Agriculture and animal husbandry remain the basis of nutrition. New plants are added: millet and the broad bean and a speciality that is still popular today, the „noodle“.