Introduction:
Why do we eat what we eat? How has food shaped our cultures, civilization and our very existence?
Some foods, like spices, (salt, pepper), were once used as currency and were worth their weight in gold. So valuable were some food items to the Ancient Egyptian economy that pyramid workers (maybe others as well) were paid in bread and beer. In this blog I’ll explore these questions and many more related to the food and drink that we consume everyday.
Welcome to Ancient Foods:
Let my tell you a little about myself.
My name is Joanna Linsley-Poe
I am a chef, artisan bread baker, ancient food historian, food archaeologist and anthropologist as well as a writer. Although that sounds like quite a mouthful, I guess it’s all about a love of history and food.
In the past I’ve taught cooking classes, recreated recipes and bread with using ingredients from ancient times, and even tried my hand at making Mead.
I’m a curious sort of person, the kind that wants to know where something ( like avocado’s or pomegranates) came from. I like to imagine just how that first piece of raw meat got dropped into the fire and what was the reaction when it was fished out? Was it tossed aside as being
no good or was it eaten and the notion spread everywhere and just how long did that take?
I hope you find this site informative. I would like to dedicate it to my husband Michael who encourages me to try new things and is always behind me in whatever I do, and to my stepfather “Wild Bill” who infused me with a love of food and history.
While I appreciate comments on my blog, I ask that you direct your views to the posts only Please no spam!
Just come across your great blog via a reference on Twitter from leisafarm. You may be interested in our Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog, which occasionally covers the same terrain, though from a somewhat different perspective. I’ve added you to our blogroll. Welcome to the blogosphere.
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Thanks for the link, I like your site also and have added you to my blogroll.
It’s nice to add similar but different perspectives -more human diversity is a good thing!
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Dear Joanna,
I think this blog is fascinating! I’m going to add you to our LEISA’s Farm Blogroll. I have been planning a post on experiences with biochar so found the “black gold” post particularly interesting.
look forward to reading more from you!
Karen
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Karen,
Glad you found the post interesting. I come across such material from time to time but I am also doing research on ancient grains, which you might find of interest as well. Thanks for the link, I’ve added you to my blog roll as well.
Joanna
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I’m just now for the first time happening across your great site .. Joanna could I link this to our upcoming site? .. we are creating Ancient Grains Baking Company here in Santa Fe, New Mexico .. we are working to grow a variety of ancient grain crops here in the area and much more .. Richard
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Richard,
I would be pleased to have you link to my blog-thank you.
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I got what you intend, saved to favorites , very nice internet site .
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Hello –I found your Blog onBing. I must say, I’m impressed with your site. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs and information was very easy to access.Pretty awesome.
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Thanks for another informative website. Where else could I get that type of information written in such a perfect way? I have a project that I’m just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.
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Excellent information once again. Thanks:)
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I stumbled upon your blog and found it very informative. Awesome job once again. Keep up the good work.
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Oh man! This website is cool. How did you make it look this good !
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Hello, I just saw your website and I really like it.
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Thanks for the various tips provided on this blog.
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Great post. I am a normal visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
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I agree with your About Ancientfoods, fantastic post.
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I couldn’t believe how brilliant your blog is. Plainly speaking it feels like forever since I’ve discovered information like that. Keep doing the great work.
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Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my users would truly benefit from some of the information you present here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Thanks!
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as long as you give credit where it is due I don’t mind. Some of my blog is original material but much is derived from other sources. It’s important to give credit to both.
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Excellent website as well as information,stay the best. I added a link on our wordpress blog aimed at your web.Make an effort to actually have a look 🙂
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You’ve most likely been told a thousand times howfascinating your website is. Plainly speaking it’s been a long time since I’veseenwriting of this nature. Maintain the good operation you have.
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I agree with your About Ancientfoods, excellent post.
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Thanks for adding this article was a fantastic read, I hope to be back at some point to catch much more of your postings.
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Fantastic post.Much thanks again. Cool.
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Thank you webmaster for such a meaningful blog post. I am impressed with your view on About « Ancientfoods.
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Thanks so much for visiting my site and becoming a Follower. It’s grand fun to discover others with passions. I’m taking a food writing course at my alma mater and have written one post on The Art of Food. I’ve signed up to Follow your journey. Thanks again, Sally
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I just want to say…that finding your blog is a dream come true for me. Ancient food specialist? I love it! It is beyond awesome.
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Thank you, I hope you find the information useful
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Thank you for reblogging my post! I look forward to reading your blog regularly – yours is a subject I find interesting, to say the least!
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Thanks so much. I love the farmers markets in our area and will post more soon, more pictures tomorrow.
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Hi Joanna! It was nice to talk to you Saturday. You have such a great comprehensive and informative blog. Mine, at this point, is much more subjective and posts can be few and far between. Perhaps that will change and it will be a jump off point for more scholarly bits later. But, I do focus on Anglo-related (and Sherlockian) posts so it may be an interesting read sometimes. I could be missing it, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to connect wordpress and blogspot bloggers that I can find…here is the address: http://www.anglophiledelights.blogspot.com. Hope to see you again at the next event and hope you are enjoying series 2 of Sherlock…even if some good little bits have been cut from the US version.
Cheers!
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Hope you enjoy ancient foods. I added your link for anyone interested in Holmes or anything British!
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We are delighted to find to your informative site! The Heritage Grain Conservancy manages an on-farm seedbank with hundreds of almost-extinct ancient grains with a farm-bakery offering delicious sourdough breads, grain beverages and more. ‘Eat it to save it’ See: growseed.org to learn more.
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you like my site. I have a passion for ancient grains. I will put a link to your site on my blog. We need these ancient seeds and how they were grown and preserved to keep our future secure.
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I love this site! So happy we crossed paths! 🙂
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Thanks, me too. I like your style.
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Glad to find your site, dearly wish a contact form had been included. I’m in the midst of a writing project and looking desperately for someone who can give me some expert advice on two topics (shared food preparation traditions as well as singing/chanting while gathering or preparing food). I’d dearly appreciate it if you’d get in touch with me.
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Love your site! Thank you for sharing so many wonderful information! I’ve nominated you the Inspiring Award. http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/something-else-happened-instead-2/
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thank you so much for the nomination, i am very honored. I am glad you like my site.
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You have been awarded the Illuminating Blogger Award! 😀
For more info on what is going on, go here: http://florenceandthehistorian.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/illuminating-blogger-award/
– Stefani
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Thank you so much for the award, I’m not feeling very good today so will meet the requirements tomorrow or Monday at the latest.
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I keep on forgetting how interesting this material is. Looks like I’d better subscribe!
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Hi Joanna. About the ” Barrel Cactus.” I just looked it up on Wikipedia and there is a lot of info there. Also lots of photo’s if you go through Google images and would you believe, I have one myself. There are many varieties of the flower colors
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Thanks Rita,
I looked them up as you said. Lots of great info and pictures.
I remember them from my childhood in Arizona. Noe I can be on the lookout to get one for myself. I have a cactus my husband bought me about 10 years ago though it’s probably not a Barrel cactus. Time to get one.
Thanks for the info I appreciate it.
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You are most welcome Joanna.
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What a great concept for a website/blog! As an avid gardener (esp. of heirloom and “interesting” varieties) and general “food lover” this is going to provide hours of entertainment – thanks!
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Thank you. I have plenty of posts you should enjoy.
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ciao! luvFAB blog.
thebestdressup
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Hello Ancientfoods
I’m one of your followers – The Geeky Gardener (www.thegeekygardener.com) – and I’ve been so impressed with your blog that I’ve just nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award. Congratulations!
It’s an award that bloggers give to other bloggers.
If you want to find out more, here’s a blog about the award (http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com ), which outlines what you need to do if you choose to accept the award and how you go about nominating your own favourite blogs for the award in the future.
So, congratulations again.
The Geeky Gardener
PS I blog about the science, history, philosophy and art of gardening and the natural world
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Thanks for the nomination, I’m glad you enjoy my blog
I’m up to my neck with relatives in town so it may take me a few days to do the necessary requirements, but when I can I’ll catch up.
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I have nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger award. I see you’ve received a few like this already, so no pressure to accept another! But here’s a link to my post: http://revolutionarypie.com/2013/12/19/versatile-blogger-award/#more-1625. I’m really enjoying your blog!
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Thanks so much for the nomination, it’s an honor. Right at the moment I do not have the time to meet the requirements but I do appreciate the thought.
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I’d like to invite you to participate in a new challenge that I am hosting to bring together the beer, wine, and food blogging worlds. As you may know, each month I host a Beer Versus Wine Pairing Challenge inviting readers to suggestion their perfect pairing with a monthly dish. I decided to make the challenge even more engaging by turning the challenge into a contest with bragging rights. Each month a dish will be presented. Bloggers have a week to post their perfect pairing and why in the comments section. The following week, I will summarize the comments in a post for a vote. The winner not only earns bragging rights but also the honor of coming up with the following month’s dish.
Right now the contest will be hosted at thewanderinggourmand.com. Future plans involve a breakout sight and a badge to post back on your blog. I
welcome you to join the challenge as it begins today with Beer Battered Fish.
Salud!
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Thank you so much for the invitation. My area is ancient foods of course but I may give it a try.
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You might be interested in this article: Food in the Roman World http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/684/
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Thanks for the link, just up my alley!
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I’m glad you liked it. Would you be interested in contributing some of your knowledge to Ancient History Encyclopedia?
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Jan,
That’s an interesting possibility, what would your requirements be?
Joanna
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Joanna, my name is Dennis Aubrey. My partner PJ and I have the Via Lucis project for photographing Romanesque churches. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for your support. I see on almost every post that you have taken the time to read our work. This means a great deal to us.
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Thank you for the recognition. You have an inspiring blog, I thoroughly enjoy it.
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Hi there!
You have done a nice site!
Have you heard, that around 7,000 years ago (before the advent of widespread agriculture) there had been a lot of people who had been feeding by ‘sun gazing’?
And even nowadays, there are people, who practice this pre ancient feeding technique, like yogi Hira Ratan Manek.
Also, ppl like dr Arturo Solís Herrera had explained the biochemical mechanism, which allows humans to feed on light.
(http://www.humanphotosynthesis.com/info.html)
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Thank you for this interesting resource, Joanna. I am a former agronomist. You may be interested in my site, TorahFlora.org, as well. I write and speak about Biblical and Talmudic ethnobotany. I think you’d especially appreciate my food and beverage tasting program titled “Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History.” I invite you to e-mail me at jon@torahflora.org to discuss further or to join my e-mail lsit for announcements of my speaking events and publications.
Best wishes,
Jon Greenberg, Ph.D.
Biblical and Talmudic botanist
TorahFlora.org
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Glad I found this site, eco 🙂
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