CULINARY HISTORY
Evolution of Cookery Pt III

The following is a chronological frame of events throughout history that have a direct or indirect influence on food, wine and related topics.

15th Century A.D.
Europe begin to use cast-iron stoves several hundred years after the Chinese
Haricots beans introduced into Europe from South America
In the middle of the 15th century chillies are being grown and used in Europe after being introduced from the Americas
Aubergines introduced into Europe
Christopher Columbus mentions the virtue of allspice in his journals in the latter years of this century

1404
The word 'brioche' first appears in use. Though the actual products history no doubt precedes this.

1411
Production of the spirit Armagnac recorded

1416
The French Butchers Guild that had reigned supreme for centuries was dissolved by Royal Decree, they lost all their privileges and their shops destroyed.

1432
Caviar is first mentioned as an hors d'oeuvres in Rabelais' work; Pantagruel. It was not to become famous in France for another 500 years.

1475
An edict is granted to allow the selling of prepared pork dishes; sausages, pates etc. The start of what we now know as the charcuterie and the masters of the profession Charcutieres. The name is derived from the old French: chair, 'flesh' and cuit, cooked.

1488
Portuguese vessels reached South Africa by 1488 for purpose of spice trading

1489
Portuguese vessels reached Calicut in India by 1498 for purpose of spice trading

1493
Christopher Columbus introduces sugar cane into Hispaniola (Haiti-Dominion Republic)

1498
The toothbrush is invented by a Chinese dentist.

16th Century A.D.
Celery cultivated from the wild and poisonous variety in Italy sometime in the 16th century
Kidney beans, and vanilla pods introduced into Europe from the Americas
Rice and limes introduced to Mexico by Spanish Traders
Avocadoes 'discovered' by the Spanish in Mexico
Cashew and peanuts were introduced into Europe by Portuguese Traders from the Americas
Cauliflower is introduced to France from Italy in the middle of the 16th century.

1509
The first sugar cane mill is established in the Americas.

1513
Portuguese vessels reached Canton, China, by 1513 for purpose of spice trading

1519
Chocolate is introduced into Spain as a beverage. The term "chocolate" was originally applied to a drink similar to today's hot chocolate. The Spanish Conquistador; Hernan Cortes introduced the drink to Spain upon returning from his Mexican expedition, during which he was given some by the Aztec King Montezuma II. Gradually spreading from Spain through Europe and into England, the chocolate drink became increasingly popular.
Catherine de Medicis, born in Florence, Italy; April 13

1520
Corn (Zea mays) is imported into Spain from the West Indies by Hernan Cortes and Christopher Columbus

1524
The Spanish Conquistador; Hernan Cortes introduces the cocao beans to Europe

1533
Catherine de Medicis arrived in France from Florence with a retinue of master chefs. She brought Italian staples: milk-fed veal, baby peas, artichokes, broccoli, and various pastas. The French court tasted, for the first time, such delicacies as quenelles (fish dumplings), zabaglione (a rich egg yolk and wine custard), and scaloppine. With her arrival, French cookery embarked on a course that produced the most complex and refined cuisine in the Western world.

1554
Tomatoes from South America are cultivated in Europe.

1550
The worlds first Café was opened in Constantinople.

1553
Calvados is mentioned in the diary of 'a gentleman' of the Cotentin; Gilles de Gouberville.

1569
A strange law in France is passed, forbidding Bakers to wear breeches other than on Sundays. Which meant they could not go out in public without being immediately identified, this law was passed to force them to stay at the oven all day. They were also forbidden to gather in groups, carry a sword or any other weapon. So was the importance of the Baker in those days.

1573
The potato is brought back from the Americas and cultivated in Spain.

1574
The Corporation of Pasta Makers is founded in Genoa, Italy.

1577
The 'Regolazione dell'Arte dei Maestri Fidelari" (rules for the Pasta Masters Art Corporation) were drawn up in Savona, Italy.

1586: July 28th
First potatoes arrive in England from Colombia, brought by Sir Thomas Harriot

1589
Catherine de Medicis died at Blois 2 weeks after her husband, on January 5

17th Century A.D.
In the 17th century, chocolate houses were the social meeting places of the day
First made in 17th-century Holland, the manufacture and popularity of gin spread quickly throughout Europe, and variations of the Dutch formula began to appear. Gin is an alcoholic beverage made by distilling fermented mixtures of grains and flavouring the resulting alcohol with juniper berries. The name is derived from the French word genievre (juniper).
Jerusalem artichoke introduced to Europe from its native North America early this century
Parsley introduced to America by British colonists
Italy denounces coffee as "Satan's Brew"

1600
British merchants formed the East India Company (1600-1858) and introduced teas into England and the American colonies

1602
The Dutch East India Company is founded
The Massachusetts Bay colonist are introduced to clams by the native Indians

1610
The first inn built in the original American colonies was the Jamestown Inn in Virginia, established about 1610. Lodging houses--called inns or taverns in the north, and ordinaries in the south--were soon established near seaports, canals, river landings, and post roads. An 18th-century Massachusetts law provided penalties for any town that did not offer lodging for travellers
The principle of vending did not emerge again after its first known mention in 200 B.C. until the 17th century, when coin-operated honour boxes holding tobacco were common in English taverns.

1615
Pierre Francoise de la Verenne born: (died in 1678) author of Le Vrai Cuisinier, published in 1651
Ann of Austria introduces drinking chocolate to the French Court

1620
Wild turkeys found by the Pilgrims in the New World

1627
Last known specimen of 'aurochs' (ancient breed from where domestic cattle were bred) recorded in Poland.

1630
Louis de Béchameil born, he was a French financier, farmer-general, and steward to the house of the Duke of Orleans. It is thought that Béchamél sauce is named after him.

1634
Dijon in France granted the exclusive rights to make mustard

1644
The drink; COFFEE, was introduced into Europe in the mid-17th century, by a traveller named La Royne.

1647
A blast furnace at Saugus, Mass., was casting iron stoves. Many of these early stoves were jamb stoves, which were intended to make a fireplace more efficient and distribute its heat more effectively. The most common was the five-plate stove, made of five flat iron plates that formed a rectangular box with one open side. A hole was cut in the back of the fireplace completely through the wall to the room behind it, and the stove was inserted into the opening with the open end of the stove being flush against the rear wall of the fireplace. The remainder of the stove protruded into the room to be heated. When a fire was built in the stove, it served to heat both areas. Designers of these early stoves delighted in casting intricate designs into the visible portions.

1650
In English, spellings of coffee and coffy were established; the former becoming the single standard by 1700

1651
Le Vrai Cuisinier published, the first cookbook to summarise the French Nobilities cooking practices. Written by Pierre Francoise de la Varenne.

1654
French writer; Nicolas de Bonnefons publishes a work called, 'Les delices de la campagne', it was to prove a turning point in French cuisine. The book was responsible in the French turning away from the practices from the Middle ages of spice overuse and being concerned with the natural flavour of food.

1660
American cultivated strawberries introduced to Europe from the New World

1668
Coffee introduced to the Americas

1669
The Ambassador of the Turkish Government to Louis XIV; Soliman Aga, popularises coffee at the French Court.

1670
Coriander being cultivated for the first time in the USA in Massachusetts

1672
At the Saint Germain fair in Paris an Amenian gentleman named Pascal set up a stall selling coffee, his success however was fleeting as coffee was yet to become a sociably acceptable drink.

1678
French botanist M. Marchant demonstrated that mushrooms grew from spawn, thus starting the cultivation of the vegetable

1682 Champagne was invented by Dom Perignon. A blind Benedictine monk/cellarman at Hautevilliers Abbey.

1683
The Café and coffee drinking is firmly established in Vienna, Austria after the invading Turks left behind hundreds of sacks of beans. Given to the victor; Kolschitzky, it was he who created the now famous Vienna coffee.
Around this time the croissant was created in Vienna, Austria in celebration of defeating the Turks. The shape mirrors the Turkish crescent symbol.

1689
The English, who had previously imported distilled liquors, began to encourage the domestic manufacture of spirits from English grain; and gin, which could be cheaply made and sold, rapidly became the solace and the scourge of the nation's poor.

1690's
Lloyd's Insurance takes its name from the late-17th-century London coffee house of Edward Lloyd, where marine insurers met to do business.