The Way The Renaissance Influenced Our Eating Habits | Absolute History

[Music] [Applause] [Music] in Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century the winds of change came blowing from the southern nations such as Spain or Italy more precisely Venice or Florence they brought radical changes in the arts the sciences and a new outlook to eating habits the Renaissance swept away age-old beliefs the new world America was now within reach of the caravels small three-masted Spanish and Portuguese sailing ships while the rest of Europe erupted into religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics even at the table ironically the period saw the invention of the first rules of civilized etiquette thanks to Gutenberg at his printing press table manners and recipes could be published and become part of all good households [Music] the banks of the Loire River and the elegant shutters that dominate the riverfront we can imagine times past with us for the first King of France offering clue Lucy his mana house as a welcoming present to Leonardo da Vinci the residence was just a stone's throw from the Kings palatial Chateau de Noirs it is a beautiful end to an afternoon in the year 1517 Leonardo would be enjoying these conditions to discuss new projects with Paciello the landscape designer Leonardo wanted to continue the gardens of Clos lucé a to the Royal Gardens of operas Chateau thus maintaining close ties with his friend and patron Leonardo knows his days are counted he quickly draws a plan he has just finished a new codex of anatomy he will present it the next day two monks from Milan who are still baffled by the enigmatic painting of the Last Supper [Music] Leonarda now master of Clos lucé a is always at work he is also an epicurean he has just entered a quotation in his notebook happiness is to be found where one finds good wine [Music] a master of charm Leonardo Lords the soft velvety wines of the Loire region he promises a compatriot his guests to dinner this evening that the meal will be refined with good wine together with pleasant company [Music] today in the kitchen of Clos lucé a the evening feast is being prepared master chef suicide a revered specialist of historical recipes of France in particular odd cuisine from the Navarre region oversees the lighting of the fire and the large chimney as was done when King Francois the first came to dine in private with da Vinci during the Renaissance Chateau kitchens became more spacious and well lit chimneys were also rebuilt and enlarged for cooking purposes and new techniques of simmering dishes [Music] spits were still extremely rare but the handles of pots and pans became Blanca improving the comfort of grill chefs [Music] [Applause] cooking methods used in the Middle Ages are still employed we still crush various spices to our to our preparation foul weather wild or farm produced is still considered a noble dish there have been no real revolution in taste sweet and sorted dishes were still present at Renee's horse tables but as from the beginning of the 16th century the art of presenting dishes are preparing new delicacies and a code of table manners entered a new era of innovation [Music] the subjects of the king of France made real progress in eating habits thanks to the Renaissance well before them however in florence lorenzo de medici became Lorenzo the splendid at his table [Music] in opulence northern Italy elegance and refinement crown repasts some 60 years before the rest of Europe caught off [Music] it all started in Florence Leonardo's home city [Music] settle accordingly fiscal submit or plasticity this new form of social behavior began in the court of the de Medici family for the first time and eating accessory together with a flat plate came on teachers breaking with the medieval tradition when diners ate out of bowls or on eating boards with their hands eating from a plate became the model Italy was the home of such inventions this custom was adopted by other courts in Europe but very much later on Dalia's otra cosa go penetrative more [Music] eating bowls were cast aside and civilized eating habits took over the first luxury of the Renaissance was the creation of a part of the residents reserved for meals it became the dining [Music] prepared by servants the dining table became a spectacle where diners closely observed the master of ceremonies the cook the Cox task was to taste every dish before being served the scandal of the terrible bore Gaea family together with great progress in preparing poisons may prudence part of daily organization while the cook remained watchful guests seized on another great innovation the food gina the fork [Music] the fork with its two points made the eating process more elegant and in theory healthier the advent of the fork is a mystery it may have originated from the Middle East or Catalonia in Spain historians are still debating on this subject fervently but one thing is sure the Florentines democratized the habit the only proof we have to date is from a painting by Botticelli commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici we can see that each guest is holding a for China a two-pronged for the fork is truly an invention of the 15th century it inspired the development of table etiquette of the Renaissance was awesome further north in Europe and a little later in time towards 1540 an acclaimed author spends his days in moribund humor in lad davinia his country house [Music] Francois Rabelais the great French author dying scantily no doubt use a fork but alone he is the author of gargantuan Rabelais has yet again become the subject of controversy at the Sorbonne University in Paris with farcical literary style and a deep concern for humanism laughter is the spice of man writes Rumley but the author doesn't have the heart to laugh and ill wind blows across Europe that of religious intolerance [Music] since 1520 Martin Luther has been preaching religious reform in Germany he targets the clergy in Rome he preaches self purpose to practicing Christians now Catholics and Protestants clash with texts in hand and also across the table Martin Luther pleads for the abolition of days of fast and Lent in the reformed provinces eating interdictions are indeed abandoned eat drink and dresses you're fit but Luther God is only concerned by how you observe his wishes and not by the way you eat a dress in Protestant society Christians would eat what they deemed necessary the days of fast were suppressed people could eat meat all year long but only for nourishment wine was permitted on condition that one did not drink to excess for one's pleasure in fact the definite excess of pressure was targeted whereas Catholic ethics limited restriction of eating pleasures today's our fast in the shade of their bell towers Catholics are worried not about the austerity of Protestants but about a dangerous waft of freedom that originates from their own church good Catholics can now eat cheeses during days of fast we refer to a buttered up Europe of the 15th century the Catholic Church made rapid decisions to keep their community intact and since butter eggs milk and dairy foods were a daily delight the Vatican proved their tolerance with reformers practices [Music] alas religious issues overrun the question of eating habits theological confrontation led to political turmoil and the result was horrific [Music] Paris August 24th 1570 to those who took the liberty of choice with the fast of Friday but Massacre without pity by order of Catherine de Medici together with the blessing of Pope Gregory the 13th 3,000 Protestants were killed in one day by soldiers under the command of the Duke Diggy's the Christian world was divided by the Wars of Religion they would considerably modify the political scene in Europe and as a consequence dining-table more s in the Europe of religious reform treatise concerning liberalism with meat consumption proliferate however butchers sell less and less of their produce pleasure and meat consumption are no longer compatible another effect fish is no longer the obligatory food for days of fast fishing and fishmonger activities drop so many Christians no longer needed to observe penitence people still needed nourishment though and varieties of fruits and vegetables are seen on tables carrots turnips cauliflowers peas cabbage salads parsnips onions make up the new fruit palette in reformed but rather frugal Europe [Music] in Catholic France Rabelais finally receives authorization no less than from the King to be published rabbie lays characters are grotesque geniuses agreed there isn't a well-mannered gourmet to be found in real life there were many gourmets however they frequented libraries searching for precious recipes in the very first cookbooks in history thanks to the marvelous technique of Gutenberg with his printing press recipes appeared in black and white they instructed chefs in the art of gastronomy and also the principles of healthy eating inherited from the Middle Ages but what was not written in these books most often originating from Italy was that master cooks became capricious when their recipes were not followed to the letter I don't see what I could in the first half of the Renaissance most cookbooks were published in Italy especially honest voluptuousness one of the first to come off the printing press this book was originally written in latin by Platanos it was in fact a guide to a healthy diet and in the principles of cookies recipes from this book spread across Europe but in fact they were not Italian Renaissance recipes they were the work of master Martino the Catalonian chef most recipe books came from Tuscany Umbria or Venetia Italy was the benchmark for culture especially since the arrival of catherine de medici at the court of France she impressed her society with the use of forks Italian table manners skilled cooks and their Collatz irani dishes served cold decorated by varieties of fruit and vegetables [Music] 16th century Italian cookery books contain many recipes for vegetable the extent of the use of vegetables was unique to Italian chefs no other books can be finally equivalent this taste for vegetables increase throughout the Renaissance Italy was systematically the source of inspiration [Applause] Protestant Christians help bring cabbages and onions to southern European kitchens or Belgians and cucumbers blessed by Catholics were adopted by chefs in the north the Italians exported their cookbooks and science of horticulture in all of Europe vegetable gardens became true laboratories methods of selection crossbreeding cutting and grafting led to the production of new varieties of vegetables in particular zucchinis and artichokes and the unpleasant thistle becomes a choice ingredient the renaissance painter recepy arkham bundle incorporated a thistle in his portrait of a prince in his fantastic style painting summer but for most people of the time such exotic vegetables were still and luxury the trend for fruit and vegetable dishes was a consequence of policies emanating from the pontificate meat was prescribed by the higher ranks of the clergy a Duke with all one of the Modi chefs at the Vatican had to invent new ways of consuming fruit vegetables fruit vegetables became the mortal food for the wealthier classroom or liquid CPR be a failure such innovations remained accessible to the general public cardoons from southern Europe for example they're rusty city appealed to austere Protestants a French economist in the late 16th century olivier de Serre described the plant as being unpleasant the root cannot be rid of its grossly sharp taste many Protestants fleeing persecutions found refuge in the Republic of Genoa baked cardoon root became the symbolic dish of Protestant resistance facing troops under the command of the Catholic Duke of Savoy [Music] 15:35 pre-owned valet France the Cathedral of the black virgin has become a leading site for pilgrims can't followers and cooks are very busy chopping than dicing meet before the ingredients are to be sauteed King Francois the first is expected in person followed by his sumptuous sweet the monarch has become a gourmet honoring him will not be easy he is known to be fond of a new delicacy that has crossed the Alps pasta [Music] pasta was made and imported from Sicily thanks to the Islamic civilization well before Marco Polo brought back noodles from China pasta remained a luxury food [Music] there was work to be done to produce good pasta initially pasta was made from corn flour all the preparation was done by hand to make fine pasta the cook needed a strong wrist and a great deal of patience in the kitchens of northern Europe cooks improvised enriching pasta with cream and butter or egg yolk and they didn't stop there pasta was often used to accompany boiled chicken then soft spices were added such as cinnamon [Music] meanwhile in Genoa Naples all Rome noodles yoki tortellinis and lasagna were decreasingly worked by hand the invention of mechanical presses allowed manufacturers of pasta to replace the dominance of bakers and to market pasta in great quantities [Music] last pasta was brought to the palates of diners in every Republic and principality of the Italian peninsula one major culinary detail was lacking cooks and kitchen boys at the time ignored the al dente quality it was good tasted the Renaissance to boil macaroni for two hours and sometimes even make a dessert of them by incorporating sugar and cinnamon [Music] the Renaissance witness great discoveries such as America by Christopher Columbus he dreamed of finding a new world and also fantastic spices however his successors became thirsty for gold but botanists and merchants traveling with the fleets were more prosaic and searched for other treasures such as beans Moreau corn pepper tobacco and cocoa were discovered strangely enough tomatoes and potatoes were scorned Europeans would turn their noses up at these newcomers most two centuries it is fascinating to learn which new products imported from was considered a prestigious discovery and was rapidly integrated Khiladi a penalty not offended such was the case with caps it was corn also made an immediate impact need turkey became a steamed dish courts of Italy during the early years of the sixteenth century a banana mark outdoor it was an age of immensely successful merchants true ambassadors of a new world the greater world was slowly being seen as being round [Music] caravels galleons and Dutch galleons crossed the oceans their holds filled with new treasures when they set out again towards the Americas they transported corn flax barley and grape vine shoots such marine trade ensured the survival of the first colonists and the fortune of merchants arriving also from the new world still called the Indies the plump India hen began its reign as master of poultry farms of the Renaissance it adapted wondrously to the farms and fields of Europe it was fattened with corn from the first plantations in the old continent plump tasty and cheap the India hen was brought into politics at the end of the sixteenth century in France Henry the fourth and his good minister sue Lee issued a decree that their subjects should have the right to eat boiled fowl each Sunday [Music] [Applause] with fouls so inexpensive the economy of the kingdom could not possibly be ruined and poultry finally became very popular [Applause] in an Inn on the outskirts of armoires in France Rene sauce enthusiast still sing homage to the good king who democratized poultry [Music] [Applause] however Henry the fourth was scorned by his wealthier subjects they blamed him for making poultry too popular and thus condemned the food as being vulgar no matter the peasants and emerging middle class for ease Prime Minister sue Lee managed internal affairs well and made it possible to install a strong Sunday eating tradition Protestants and Catholics could sit at the table together whether boiled roasted on a spit the India hen later to take the name of Turkey remained the most wonderful gift the new world has to offer the old world as claimed by the famous gastronomist maria sabaha three centuries later [Music] however for the rest of the week in rural homes the eating mode was much more frugal bread remained the staple food the hay making and harvesting periods were the most significant feasting period of the year for peasants cereals such as wheat or rye were grown to make bread buck wheat barley and oats were used to nourish livestock if the harvests of hay and corn were good there would at least be enough milk and bread as a result to get through autumn and winter the consumption of fresh milk was however reserved for people in convalescence dairy produce such as curdled milk or cheese was generally consumed the most popular cheeses of the sixteenth century in Europe were French Roquefort blue cheese Dutch Gouda or edom or Italian parmesan [Music] we return to cruel you see where the melody of lutes accompanies the call to dinner humble peasants could not possibly imagine the array of luxury dishes on this table the tuscan master of the house likes to impress he is very sensitive to culinary tendencies today he has requested an olefin breeder the recipes of Spanish influence cooks from long body in Genoa made a monument of this dish it was a complete meal in itself and perfectly espoused the growing passion for fruit and vegetable dishes in the Renaissance table etiquette was very sophisticated one had to handle a fork elegantly know how to use flattery in excess mastered the art of simpering then daring to indulge in a strange vogue the hopping dance called tor D or another manner of dazzling guests was to serve succulent desserts we can imagine Leonardo making fun of the French who a little rustic when he came to the art of serving fruits poached in mature terrain wine served in a plate line with sugar [Music] Sugarloaf was sold by apothecaries in the previous century and was rare expensive and even sold for killers now they were centerpieces trophies the banquets during the Renaissance they symbolized good taste in culinary matters Sugarloaf made sweetening with honey become a thing of the past arriving in ever greater quantities directly by sea from North Africa and the Antilles sugar invaded Renaissance tables abundantly the charm okay we are sure that sugar was greatly used during the Renaissance we have many references indicating extensive use of figures in English and Italian society in France however the cooking was still dominated by an acid taste the French converted to sugar later Renaissance recipes are bound with recipes including sugar about 60% of recipes in fact besides its use as an ingredient the sugar was also extensively used to decorate dishes elemental decorative tables were decorated with statues made out of sugar in Florence a Pierrot taka was a renowned sculptor of such words mechanical presses were used to make these statues artisans open shops to restore the statues for future banquets about [Music] sugar became the new symbol of wealth and power it also fired the imagination of creative cooks in Venice foscari palace Venice an evening in 1574 to honor his guests Henry the third King of France the Doge of Venice has decided to draw up a table where all the crockery is made out of sugar goblets plates carafes and of course the dishes making up the dinner made out of sugar that has been spun even the ornamented gondolas used to present the latest fad trache sugar coated nuts and fruit are made from sugar [Music] the powerful Republic of Venice favors the Fine Arts especially table art but the Mannerist painter Varanasi knew how to seize the moment for eternity his work hung in the Louvre Museum attracts strange admirers sits acid acid this painting wedding at Cana is a fabulous testimony society is seized as a homage be something look at the u-shaped table it is a mess if you look closer you can see a profusion of objects and sugar through the table here that this is an orgy of sugar it's also clear that the people present intend to indulge I interpret the scene as if the diners were just wetting their appetite with the delicacy [Music] abounding in jams candied fruit trajes Renaissance tables were reveries of sweetness but there were often a lack of table classes sharing of drinking glasses was admitted and but not delicacies Ferran AZ is represented as a musician in the foreground dressed in white he is concentrating on music as if to say one does not jest with the desire for sugar if you look a little more closely you can see at the edge of the table a small box which is probably made of work inside there is a cutting yak a confection made of quinces then covered in sugar you had a sweet confection that was sweetened again you've really had to like sugar to eat such concoctions since it was the fashion there was no problem miss it Lyra murder nokia it opened in the kitchens of cruel you say as in all the noble houses of Europe master chef Sosa keeps to this fashion this evening as a follow-up to his famous pears in syrup he prepares other sweetened delights such as his green prune tart accompanied by his famous cutting yak the confection of quinces but only he knows how to prepare after having reduced wild quinces to a juice with sugar after three hours simmering so after sugar blends with the savor of the fruit he tosses him a generous amount of ground ginger once the juice cools it will be transferred to a small pine wood box prior to serving [Music] [Music] in Northern Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century the delicacies and refinements of Italian cooking were yet to be as largely adopted as they had been in France in Flanders for example certain medieval practices in sweetened delicacies persisted [Music] no Forks were used no plates either people ate with their fingers but at the right hand and and an eating board the great humanist Erasmus lived in this old house in and elect the small details of Renaissance delights have been concerned [Music] Erasmus was the first to codify the art of table manners in his rising on the education of children he carefully observed how children behaved at the table and he noted shifting their body on a chair or balancing from one button to the other is clearly the attitude of someone who wishes to release wind or who is at least making an effort to in a more didactic way he also clarified rules of propriety posing an elbow or both on the table is excusable only for an old man or a sick man licking any sugar at the bottom of a plate is to act like a cat not as a human being this major figure of Christian humanism left nothing to random Erasmus brings to his time the Quartus II he wants that boys have Menace because before they were mint in Middle Ages they were just at time they were eating with their hands they were running around they were often not washing their hands very important for him as minister wash their hands to clean their nails because he wanted a very pure heart to eat but also a very pure physically pure hands etc he had a very weak stomach which makes that he had to be very careful what he was eating and what he was touching and what he was drinking and so on and so it was really something which goes together with his health for example it turns a lot around Europe and he has a lot of critics on a very dirty rooms where he has to sleep the beds which are not clean and he wanted that little boys did it different with his little book this book of precepts was written at the end of Erasmus life it is filled with principles of precautions those of a person whose health is fragile and who's suffering from dysentery despite his sufferings Erasmus can still joke about his etherion stomach and his Christian spirit among his codes on behavior are to be found a philosophy of food for Erasmus a table is a place want to purify yes certainly not only the heart but everything the ideas the heart so Erasmus had pleasure in at the table in only already in the fact that he was around the table with friends that was very very important for him and he has written about it he has written in his colloquial small that those small dialogues that he wanted friends around him he had to discuss with them do some philosophy and then between the large dialogues they could eat a little bit fresh things coming out from the God for example in one of his dialogues the godly feast there we have the two words very important for Erasmus you have the feast because you are eating with friends but you have also the godly this means is very religious and as I told before he wanted to be clean not only the hands had to be clean but also the heart so you had to be really a very pure person by dedication in Northern Europe the reform had many followers despite an ascetic doctrine in southern Europe such rigors and level-headedness around the table were mocked in his opera della didn't cook Inari the very first art of cooking study edited in Europe barthélémy escapee remained faithful to the precepts of his master the pitiless pope pius v [Music] Scapa imported prohibited ideas and pleasures to the kitchen [Music] scuffie is quite a well-known figure he was also a writer his book of kitchen rules became famous it was claimed to be one of the great cooks of the Renaissance but I have to say there was another very significant at the time of the Renaissance maestro martini de Rossi was probably the one who influenced cooking tendencies of the Renaissance Athena she made to achieve [Music] unlike maestro de Rossi skep II was the first to plan feasting on a large scale and to exceed the borders of the imagination he wrote about his preparations French style German style or Spanish style he even wrote details of Moorish dish with semolina as a base it was called couscous the work of Scotty was also adorned by superb engravings he reviewed every innovation in kitchen utensils deeming them essential tools to preserving the prestige of cooks [Music] in the kitchen of Clos lucé a master cook Souza could have sought inspiration from his mentor master Skippy to treat the Nobel assembly to essentially to compose such a dinner again Suzanne would most probably prepare zucchini lasagna Turkey Cornell's Wolfe foie gras with price bread and bitter orange jam finally he will opt for simplicity voluptuous tender stewed veal with lemons and fresh basil in the manner of scabby [Music] after having finally sliced the veal cutlets the assistant cooks finely chop a bouquet of basil sauce I will saute the cutlets in olive oil in a frying pan [Music] once the veal turns white so sound will deglaze the cutlets with the juice of four lemons without drowning the dish and douse it with a medium sweet clarity the Loire region at the end of the simmering phase suzanne pause a generous pinch of sugar to accentuate the taste now just prior to the moment when the basil exhales its aroma it is time to add a mixture of ground cloves ginger and pepper [Music] suza as Scottie had prescribed did indeed win his personal wager the first duty of a cook is to conform the tastes and character of the Prince to whom he serves a cook must always consider the mood of his master above all da Vinci and Francois the first would surely have congratulated him [Music] Renaissance culinary delights orchestrated by Scotty were always appreciated in Italy in particular in Alboreto this small paradise of a town dominating the plain of poor now boasts in your equal cheerio Marchesi as master chef he has become the first transalpine master code to receive three stars he draws his inspiration from the print press the arts and very often from historical anecdotes nuka-cola came interest what impresses me Scotty's work is its modernity the manner of considering cooking moderately proper Ukraina forces like him I have a natural passion for good projects a of an equation I find it necessary to optimize the quality and tasted good produce when expressing myself through my cooking Tomoki that'll provide a possibility this primacy and I share scampi's idea the art of cooking separate the elements are making up a dish to enhance the appreciation of the food please eat and grow novices Santa but you're a good Filat one piece of meat fish cooked to perfection is the way of honoring the Italian I've been fanfare then you must accompany these foods with contrasting elements so that they stimulate taste young in container say that morning and go study together ëcause him formidable scar P in Alboreto the legacy of the August ancestor of both cuisine lives on as can be seen by the menus take his foie gras for example scar P resuscitated the method from antiquity it had been forgotten during the Middle Ages but Marchesi has reinvented the recipe he has combined the process with a recipe for quail from the Pope's kitchens at the time of the Renaissance frog ha with quail a sublime procession of figs sliced prime zucchini and mustard Canella be lament on the Latino Association a trillion quail and fruit puree with mustard was a typical of the Renaissance period gained or produced a sweet and tangy safe contrast between these silk wanna fatten savor of Wonka truffle and subtle by Tomas Georgia tops all savers can look at me for a finer is Althea together a cause [Music] but the master cooks at the Pope's court and Scapa the master cook of Alba Rhetta had a different idea of presentation scabby was also a sculptor at heart he impressed by creating sublime layers of waha Marchesi prefers fluttering presentations he marries decoration with abstraction such as his very famous resort door a hint of cheese to accompany the subtlety of saffron Marchesi associates culinary history with the art of the painter Casimir Malevich seeing official exam there is a very strong connection with the Renaissance gold was used to decorate fine dishes saffron it was a continent that was cultivated in Italy in Abruzzi and Marquesas rice gold and saffron was also used as an artistic expression it is like harmony in a musical piece as musicians say when they compose it is in fact an embellishment into a dish I always say I've amazed your diners will be my symmetricity the periodico same paronella simply down a suggestion of Malevich's painting a yellow square on a yellow background in the 17th and 18th centuries the tables of Europe would forget the greedy characters of Rabelais the modernization of Erasmus was the organized genius of scout be great refinement was called for supreme luxury and elegance of etiquette this period would put aside spices associations of food in a near natural state were revered as was early produce together with a passion for chocolate but Europe would also encounter terrible famines proud master cooks in the kitchens of great residences would also have to face misery during the century of enlightenment [Music] [Music] you you

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Keywords: history history documentary funny history fun history school, timeline, the renaissance, the renaissance documentary, let's cook history, let's cook history the medieval feast (medieval documentary) timeline, let's cook history the french revolution, renaissance food recipes, renaissance food recipes and pictures, italian renaissance food, european food, european food recipes

Id: dPmK-mGslsM

Length: 48min 14sec (2894 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 12 2019